27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 5, 2025

How strong is our faith; what is our role as servants of God?

Luke 17:5-10

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to [this] mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

by Jude Siciliano, O.P., October 6, 2013

The prophet Habakkuk lived during the time the Babylonian Empire was the dominant world power and was breathing down the neck of Judah. The tyrant Jehoiakim was king of Judah. He persecuted the prophets, enslaved the people and allowed idolatry in the land. Could things be any more discouraging for people trying to trust and be faithful to God?

Habakkuk is a unique prophet. He doesn’t address the people but, in this short work of three chapters, he speaks a lament to God. The opening lines sum it up, How long, O Lord? The prophet sees violence, religious strife and chaos in the land. Aren’t they supposed to be Gods people? Where is God in such dire circumstances? Whats taking God so long to come to help? Certainly God doesnt want such suffering and destruction. How long, O Lord? 

Habakkuk wrote 600 years before Christ. But is his prayer not our prayer as well? Our Pope called for fasting and prayer for Syria, so tired and distressed are we as we watch TV images of still more refugees streaming into Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Two million displaced people! How long, O Lord? We pray for peace, yet there is war.

 And what about our nation? We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, yet there is still racism in our land. How long, O Lord? We pray for a teenager in our family who is schizophrenic and refuses to take his medications. The family is exhausted and frightened for him. How long, O Lord? We pray for a job and when we go for interviews we are told we’re too old. But we need work. How long, O Lord? With Habakkuk, we cry out Violence! Why does God not intervene? We pray and pray and, even though we already know it, we learn again: prayer, even by good people, doesnt guarantee quick results or a specific answer.

 Things will only get worse for Judah. Having rejected God and God’s ways they will have to deal with the violence that the invading Babylonians will bring upon them. Since Judah will not serve God, it will have to bow down before Babylon’s god.

 With all of these reasons to lose faith and to look elsewhere for help, Habakkuk continues to call out to God. Persistent prayer and trust is not only Habakkuk’s way with God, but he is also an example to those who accept his message. In fact, he is told to write it large enough so that it can be read even by those rushing by.

 God tells Habakkuk the people ought to wait and, despite their misery, to trust that God will bring to completion what God has planned. There will be a time when people will live according to God’s order. Meanwhile, they will have to wait and hope that day will surely come, and it will not be late. That time of fulfillment will come with the message which Jesus will announce upon his arrival. 

Habakkuk’s prayer is bold and forthright. He cries out asking what it would take for God to do something. Some people think our prayers are supposed to be proper and appropriately worded. But the Psalms and the prophets are not afraid to raise a voice of complaint to God and they give us the courage to do the same. Faith is the foundation of our covenanted relationship with God. It enables us to be steadfast in troubled times and nourishes the hope that helps us wait with anticipation for God to act. 

Paul gives us further insight. In our troubles we have the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. He encourages us to stir into flame the gift of God we have received. The sufferings of the early Christians would cause them to cry out, like Habakkuk, How long, O Lord? What Jesus foretold, came to pass. Those who followed him would have to take up and bear the cross that comes as a consequence of discipleship. What would strengthen the church, Paul recommends, is to hear the sound message. Holding to the gospel, despite the consequent sufferings, would require strength from the Spirit which we, as a community, pray for at this Mass. 

The gospel picks up on the long-suffering prayer of Habakkuk. It sounds like the apostles are feeling the strain of their vocation. Instead of asking, How long, O Lord, they asked Jesus for what we also need when we are at our limits, Increase our faith.

 The small community of believers gathered around Jesus.  They must be experiencing trials and uncertainties for their prayer is brief and to the point, Increase our faith. But they are asking for the wrong thing. They already have the faith — and it is enough. They don’t need the latest upgrade, or a bigger product. A mustard seed of faith is enough: it’s the quality, not the quantity that makes the difference. Hence, the absurd example: a speck of faith is enough to rip up the mulberry tree, notorious for its deep roots. (Mulberry trees were not planted near cisterns because their strong roots would break down the cistern’s walls.)

 The parable Jesus gives next seems to be a warning to the disciples not to presume God owes us a reward for what we do. We work hard in our efforts to live good lives and do good for others. We can’t claim a reward for that; it’s what the faith we have been given calls and enables us to do. We do what is expected of us as disciples and we leave the results in God’s hands. God, working through us, will accomplish God’s purposes. We are not owed anything by God.

 When we disciples do what we are supposed to do the credit is not ours, because our efforts come as a result of the gift we have received. No matter how great our deeds, or how seeming-ordinary they are, all comes by way of gift. We have been given enough faith to overcome insurmountable obstacles, or to meet the daily challenges of faithful discipleship, over and over again, until the Master returns.

PREPARATION FOR THE SESSION

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. ( 1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. ( 1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

OPENING PRAYER

Dear Lord, it is sometime hard to know if the faith we have will sustain us in times of difficulty and stress. Give us the wisdom to see that you are always with us, and we are to trust in you and your care for us. You will never leave us orphans. Then we ask that you give us the faith in our own abilities to respond to your call to be your servants in the world . Let your love and your grace be our reward.

COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY

From First Impressions 2010, a service of the Western Dominican Province

Today’s gospel opens with a request the apostles put to Jesus, “Increase our faith.” Why do the apostles feel inadequate at this moment on the journey with Jesus? They sound frail. If we had an opportunity to read the preceding verses we might understand the reason for their petition. Jesus has just instructed his followers on the serious nature and consequences of causing another to sin (“...better that a millstone be put around your neck and you be cast into the sea”). Then he teaches them about the forgiveness they must have--even towards those who wrong them. No wonder they’re moved to petition, “Increase our faith.” Having heard what Jesus has just said, we might add, “By the way Jesus, increase our faith too!” Who wouldn’t feel inadequate in faith realizing the kind of people Jesus wants us to be? If, in our vengeance-tending world, we showed a willingness to forgive even offenders, then we will be the highly-visible disciples Jesus has described in other places, “light of the world--a city built on a mountaintop.” In today’s passage Jesus illustrates what faith can accomplish: mustard-size faith can uproot the deep-rooted mulberry tree and cast it into the sea. At this point on the journey the disciples aren’t asking him to make a list of doctrines they must accept and live by. Jesus has been leading his disciples to Jerusalem, predicting along the way, that he will suffer and die. Despite that, he’s asking them to trust him and reflect that trust in specific ways. He isn’t just speaking to their heads, but is asking for total surrender to God through him. It isn’t quantity of faith that matters, he tells them. How could we measure faith in that way anyhow? He wants us to stand firmly with him and to journey through our lives assured that, in his Spirit, he journeys with us. Faith makes it possible for us to do extraordinary deeds. But Jesus doesn’t expect us to use it to uproot forests of mulberry trees. Instead, for the most part, discipleship asks much more ordinary things of us. We are like the servant in the parable, we are expected to be faithful to the tasks assigned to us. The servant is quite versatile and is both a farm worker and the cook! That’s what serving Jesus feels like doesn’t it — multi-tasking. You get the impression from the parable that there is no “off time” for disciples when we are no longer following the Lord’s ways and serving in his name. For example, we practice our discipleship both: in the factory and at home; teaching school and volunteering at a soup kitchen; in business meetings and as eucharistic ministers; as nurses and language tutors, etc. We can’t box up our Christian lives into neat categories: over here I am a practicing Christian, while over there I can relax and just fit in with the crowd. Jesus also tells us that, even as full-time disciples, we are still only doing what we’re supposed to be doing. So, there is no room to boast of our achievements or compare ourselves to others. Those of us listening to Jesus today can’t excuse ourselves from anything less than total discipleship. Nor can we point to the more prominent Christians in the community and the Church and say, “Jesus has given them more faith than me and so they are the ones this gospel addresses.” Whatever the faith we have, he tells us, “Get busy and do what you know you should do and trust that I will be with you in all the various ways you are called upon to serve. A while back I was at a wedding. Another priest was the presider. At the end of the service he gave a “charge” to the couple, challenging them “not to forget this exciting day.” He told them to remember God’s promise to be present with help to them throughout their married lives. He also “charged” them to remember those of us present at the ceremony and the promise we were also making to be a support for them in the years to come. The priest, in effect, charged the couple to remember the sacrament we just celebrated and that they would live for the rest of their married lives. As life tested their relationship, they were to, in Paul’s terms, “stir into flame the gift of God…. “While Paul was speaking to Timothy, his younger disciple, his words aptly applied to that young couple on their wedding day — and to us, the faithful gathered at Eucharist today. We are charged to remember the promise God first made to us at our baptism: in Christ God would be with us throughout our life’s journey. Those present that day, representing the Christian community, also made a promise to support us by their example, prayers and the witness of their lives. Paul wrote from prison and so he knew, from hard personal experience, that Timothy’s life as a preacher of the gospel would have it severe tests. Whatever our life’s vocation, each of us has been given special charisms, gifts of service, that we are called to exercise, not only in the church, but in the world. Like a burning fire those gifts can diminish if not nurtured. So, Paul wants us to tend the flame that burns in us; stir up the ashes, add fuel and fan the flames. If Paul is any example, living and sharing the Word of God through our words and example will invite suffering -- hostile rejection, ridicule, doing without for the sake of others, etc. Each of us then needs a strong burning flame of faith. How do we respond to Paul’s “charge” and “stir into flame” the dynamic faith given us at our baptism? We can’t do this on our own. Paul suggests some things we can do for the “stirring up” of our faith. First and foremost, we have the abiding Spirit with us and Paul reminds us of the help that indwelling Spirit has for us — not only as the source of our faith, but as the ongoing energy that enables us to act on that faith, especially when it is challenged and opposed. Because of the Holy Spirit we don’t, Paul tells us, have to be cowards, overcome by the challenges life throws at us. Instead we can with “mustard-seed faith” (cf. today’s gospel) act with “power and love and self-control.” These are the gifts of the Spirit that are strengthened in us today at this Eucharist. How do we “stir up our faith” at this liturgical celebration? Jesus has described the Spirit as a wind that blows where it wills. So, we invite the Spirit to blow on the embers of our baptismal vocation and to stir into flame what we have been ignoring. Or, to start a new flame for the challenges we face at this moment of our lives.

LIVING THE GOOD NEWS

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow:

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Is faith for you a collection of theological principles with which we must agree? Are some articles of faith more important than others, or are all equally important?

Why is important for any church to have a set of truths about God for which it stands?

What are the most important Catholic articles of Faith, in your mind?

When is it hard to have faith?

Credo, the Latin word for faith, can also be translated trust or belief. What or whom do you trust in? What or whom do you believe in?

In what ways do both faith and experience shape us? Can faith be quantified? Is it the quality of our faith that matters? What does that all mean to you?

How hard is it to judge the faith of another? Should we being doing so? Do we often do so, in subtle ways?

From “First Impressions” 2022:

Have we ever used the excuse that our faith is weak and done nothing when we should have done something? Have we encouraged others in their faith? How?

Are there certain people in a “servant” position whom I treat with distain, as if I were their master? Do I treat those in the service industry as if they were invisible? Are “please” and “thank you” in my ordinary vocabulary for those who are in a service job? Are “please” and “thank you” in my ordinary vocabulary for those in my household?

When I do a favor for someone, what are my expectations of that person? Do I expect gratitude, or a return favor? What, for me, is the link between faith in God and service to God?

Do I see myself as servant of Jesus; and do I expect some reward from Him for my service? What would that reward be: (good health, happiness, peace, heaven, etc.) What if I am disappointed in my reward for service to God?

In what specific incidents in scripture did Jesus act as the servant of others? Is this an example for me?

CLOSING PRAYER

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for. Dear Lord, you didn’t spend your time boasting about all you did and all you suffered. You were like a slave, serving us all, washing our feet, dying for us. Make me a bit more like you in your humility and self-forgetfulness. While I want to be generous, there are some times when I expect to be served rather than to serve. Give me and humility to look honestly at what I do and why I do it, and the interior freedom to respond to your call to serve others.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

WEEKLY MEMORIZATION

Taken from the gospel for today’s session….The apostles said to the Lord: “Increase our faith.”

MEDITATIONS

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read the following passage from Luke: When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” They divided his garments by casting lots. The people stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.” Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last. Now imagine that you are Jesus, and this is what your mission appears to have come to: an ignominious death on the cross. Do you wonder if you failed, somehow? Do you wonder if you could have spent the last three years with a wife and family in your little carpentry business? How does it feel to have the crowds who followed you so happily now staring at you in stony silence—perhaps afraid of those soldiers? What kind of temptation exists to try to save ourself by renouncing all you did and all you taught? What kind of temptation exists to demand that your Father save you? After all, you were on His mission, doing what He had sent you to do. Did you expect silence from Him? Where did your final words in the Gospel of Luke come from? The point is this: for all that he was the Son of God, for all that he has a special relationship with his Father, this man too died not with the experience of resurrection, not with unassailable proof that he would rise from the dead; he died with faith in his Father, with hope of life forever. That is why his last words on the cross are so striking, so faith-full: “ Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” In Luke’s gospel, he died trusting—trusting in a Father ever faithful. (Fr Walter Burghardt, S.J., in Speak the Word With Boldness). In what ways do I have trust in God? In what ways do I lack trust? Do I think God understands? What are my expectations for being a “faithful servant”? Do I expect more favors and special treatment from God than Jesus received?

A Meditation in the Franciscan style/Action. From First Impressions 2025, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Okay, so you have finally arrived, crossed to the proverbial pearly gates. You find yourself face-to-face with God, the God of infinite, selfless love. “Hmm,” your half of the dialogue concludes, “Well, I did what I was obliged to do.” Kind of falls flat in the face of so much love, doesn’t it? If good work is expected of the servant in today’s gospel, why should a disciple of Jesus think faithful loving service is not the way to follow the master teacher? Continuing even further, if we are truly made in the image of God, shouldn’t we be love to the world? Our Church has given us some guidelines; now we must exercise our hearts, stretch our souls. Here is a little checklist for “Works of Mercy 101.”:

Spiritual Works of Mercy

• Comfort the sorrowing –Be someone to lean on in times of hurt and sadness.
• Counsel the doubtful—Be a good listener and let others know how good they are.
• Instruct the ignorant—Share your advice and experience, gently and lovingly when asked.
• Warn the sinner—Let others know there are better choices.
• Forgive all injuries—Don’t carry a grudge and go easy on yourself.
• Bear wrongs patiently—Give others and yourself the room to make mistakes.
• Pray for the living and the dead—include the whole human family in your prayers.

Corporal Works of Mercy

• Feed the hungry—Share what you have with those who need it, down the street or around the world.
• Give drink to the thirsty—Share your joy and hope with those whose lives are dry and lonely and with those who are literally dying of thirst.
• Clothe the naked—Stand up for those who are most weak and vulnerable; advocate for those whose voices are not heard.
• Shelter the homeless—Welcome everyone in your heart and help give people simple, decent places to lay their heads.
• Visit the imprisoned—Help prisoners and those who are confined due to fear, illness, or sadness.
• Visit the sick—Be there for people who need you.
• Bury the dead—Love and respect the person who has died. These works are just the tip for a life of discipleship, but they are a good place to start (and add caring for our common home for good measure).

Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

This week, pray the Lord’s Prayer each day, not as a series of petitions, but as an act of faith:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. YOU give us this day our daily bread; and YOU forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and YOU lead us not into temptation, FOR YOU deliver us from evil. Amen.

Poetic Reflection:

In this sonnet attributed to St Francis Xavier we see what moved him to become a servant of the Lord:

It is not your promised heaven
That moves me, Lord, to love you.
It is not the fear of hell
That moves me to fear you.
What moves me Lord, is you, Lord,
Fixed to a cross and mocked.
What moves me is your wounded body,
The insults and your death.
What moves me really is your love, so that
Were there no heaven, I would love you still.
For me to love you, you need nothing give,
For even if I did not hope as I indeed hope,
Even so I would love you as indeed I love.