A reflection on the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter Seventeen, Verses Five through Ten.
Monsignor Joji Vadakara, Vatican City
The Church suggests for our consideration today the Gospel of Saint Luke, the seventeenth chapter, five to ten. The seventeenth chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel begins with Jesus’ advice to his disciples. Jesus is speaking to people who are specially chosen and called to walk with him. When Jesus teaches not to provoke others, seven times a day, that is, to be ready to forgive your brother who wrongs you many times, one of the apostles, convinced of their weaknesses and failures, asks the Lord to increase our faith.
Deep faith
This is where we come to the first message of today’s Gospel. Jesus is telling an important truth in the life of faith to the disciples who seek the help of the Son of Man to increase their faith. “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, shake this sycamore tree and it will obey you” (v. 6). The roots of the sycamore tree are deep and strong. But Jesus teaches his disciples a truth that strong faith can uproot even a tree with strong roots. Christ gives them an exhortation that no matter how deep the roots of evil have grown in the human heart, against the divine thoughts and ways of life, if the faith in God is strong, the apostles have enough possibilities to uproot them all. If we do not want to offend others, if hatred and enmity against our brothers have grown strong roots in our hearts like the sycamore tree, we must be able to develop a proper and deep faith in God, who is stronger than them. Because even a little faith in Almighty God can uproot the strong roots of evil, sin. This is the message Jesus is giving here. The success of your spiritual life will depend on who your faith is and what your faith is.
Faith and hard work
In the second part of today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the story of a servant who serves his master. Plowing the land is not an easy task. It’s a job that requires you to get down and toil in the dirt and mud, that is, even in tough places. One who prepares soil for cultivation must be prepared to continue working in the face of sun and rain. It is the same with the shepherd. He must be concerned about each sheep. They should be kept safe, without any accidents, animals or humans carrying them. Have a heart that loves them. But the servant who returns to his master’s house after hard work must be ready to work again. He should be ready to continue the work of a servant, a servant, even after a long day of toil.
The life of faith is also for those who are ready to work continuously. Christ teaches that disciples should be ready for unceasing labor in the life of faith. In the first chapter of the second epistle written by St. Paul to Timothy, Paul calls to ignite the divine gift received by the hand (v. 6) and to share in sufferings for the sake of the Lord, for the sake of the gospel (v. 8). No matter how hard the conditions of life are, no matter how many temptations that burn and weaken us, we must overcome all difficulties, develop faith in God more, sow divine values in our hearts, and be prepared to grow the fruits of goodness. It is when we are ready to work, never tiring, according to the voice of our Master, Lord, God, that faith, as small as a mustard seed, strong enough to uproot trees grows in us.
Faith that breeds humility
A third message that Jesus gives in the second part of the story of the master and the servant is about the attitude of humility. Disciples of Christ are called to be humble people the deeper our faith. That is why Jesus is talking about the master telling the servant who returns after a long day’s work to continue his service, the servant’s work. The life of faith is thus a life of continuous effort. But as a servant, a Christian should patiently and unfailingly carry on the work entrusted to him, humbly as a servant. There, not rights, but duties await him. God’s blessing is not something that can be captured. Rather, it is a gift. A man who does everything according to God’s commandments in his faith life should humble himself and wait for God’s time for God’s favor. We grow into men of spirituality strong enough to root out the weeds of sin when we regard ourselves as God’s servants and begin to labor with a grateful heart taking advantage of the opportunities we get to serve him.
A life of God’s blessing to us
Dear brothers and sisters,
Jesus tells us these truths that Christ teaches in response to the apostles’ request to increase their faith, that is, only through hard work and humble service throughout our lives can we deepen our faith, live a high spiritual life without causing evil to others, and forgive our brothers and sisters who wrong us without measure. . Through today’s scripture thoughts, God reminds us that we should be ready to devote our lives to Christ, who came down to earth for our salvation, carried our sins on his own shoulders, and lived according to his commandments. We should be ready to serve God by standing close to God everywhere and at every moment in our lives. Our spiritual life and faith become deep and meaningful when we are ready to live and work for the God who makes heaven accessible to us. May God bless us to remember the call of God to live with faith, to remember our lives, to be grateful to God, to work in God’s field, and to labor in God’s house. Amen