Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed

                                    27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                    

Today's first reading from the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk could well have been written in our own time. His words are the words of a desperate man surrounded by a world full of danger. Look at the words he uses--violence, ruin, misery, destruction, clamorous discord. We only have to glance at the headlines in our daily newspapers to see the same words. Even the fictional shows on television or in the movies are full of destruction and violence.

It makes us want to cry our to God to stop it, to put an end to the suffering of humankind. For others, it makes them even doubt the existence of a God of Love. Nevertheless, the ancient prophet Habakkuk had a vision of a time of peace and happiness. He says, "the just one, because of his faith, shall live."

Isn't it interesting that today's gospel account is also about faith. All this year as we have been reading St. Luke's account of our Lord's journey to Jerusalem, the evangelist has been talking about faith. In today's reading the apostles ask our Lord to "Increase our faith." His answer is surprising. He says,

            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.

 Jesus knew that the mustard seed was the smallest of seeds and so he was telling the apostles and us that even the tiniest bit of faith was more than enough. We really need to look for something else. He then reminds them about how most people would treat a servant.

Few of the apostles had servants and few of us have servants today. Nevertheless, we all expect good service from those we deal with especially from those we pay. When we go out to dinner, we expect good service from the wait staff. When we go shopping, we expect to be waited on courteously and efficiently? We expect tradesmen to arrive at our homes on time and to do good work. We expect our financial advisors to give good and honest advice. We expect our doctors to be there when we need them. When all these people do their work, won't they be compensated?

Our Lord is telling us not to worry about faith but to serve one another.

            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.'

What commandments did Jesus have in mind. We know that He spoke of two great commandments--To love the Lord, your God, with all your being, and to love your neighbor as yourself." But to be more specific, let's look at the famous Ten Commandments.

The first three deal with the love, and gratitude, and respect we all owe to our Maker, and they certainly include keeping holy the Lord's day. The rest deal with our relationship with our neighbor. This is what we are commanded to do.

We must honor our father and mother. This command is so important for children, teens, and young adults but it only increases in importance as our parents age and become dependent on us. We must not kill, but Jesus told us that anger was just as bad. Not only  should we not commit adultery, we shouldn't even think of it. Stealing is out of the question but this would also include loafing on the job when we should be working. How many hours do we spend each workday playing Solitaire on the computer or sending personal or junk emails?

The commandment about bearing false witness would also cover all forms of lying. Lying breaks down the bonds of trust between our friends, our neighbors, and our associates at work. When it is practiced by politicians, it creates a general distrust in government that is like a cancer in society. Finally, we are told not to covet or desire our neighbor's spouse or possessions. Jealousy, lust, and envy will destroy us and our neighbor.

In other words our daily work and the way in which we do it is our faith. We must live our faith. Whatever our station in life, we have been put here for a reason. St. Luke continually talks about service and stewardship.

Today's second reading from St. Paul's letter to Timothy is addressed to Timothy as a priest and bishop but it is also addressed to all of us. It is good advice as we practice our faith. When Timothy was ordained, he received the same Spirit that we all received at Confirmation.

            For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice

            but rather of power and love and self-control.

Life will not be easy and will not ever get easier. The violence, destruction, and ruin that Habakkuk saw will always be with us in one form or another. But Paul, himself in prison for his Faith and about to suffer execution, tells Timothy to "bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God." ###

The Mustard Tree

Reading 1. Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2: 2-4

Reading II. 2 Timothy 1: 6-8, 13-14

Gospel. Luke 17:5-10 (Increase our faith).

Dives and Lazarus

                                    26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                               

Just like last week, today's first reading is from the Book of the prophet Amos. We must remember that for the most part prophecy is not about foretelling the future but about calling attention to the wrongs in the present. Amos is no exception. His criticism of the idleness and greed of the well-to-do in his own time seems to ring true in our time as well.

He says, "Woe to the complacent in Zion!" What accusations does he bring? Their homes are furnished luxuriously. They eat the choicest foods and drink the finest wines. They sing and dance with abandon. Today, we have cable channels devoted to each of those subjects. We have food channels, fashion channels, music channels, and home improvement channels.

One of the key messages of the Hebrew scriptures is the obligation to care for the lowly and the poor. All were expected to act as good stewards on behalf of those in need. In today's first reading the Prophet Amos claims that his people have failed to come to the aid of the needy, and that they will suffer the consequences.

This same theme is the subject of today's gospel where Jesus tells the famous parable of the rich man and the poor beggar, Lazarus. This parable is the third famous story in the 16^th chapter of Luke’s gospel. Two weeks ago we heard the story of the Prodigal Son, and last week it was the story of the unjust steward who cheated his master. Jesus tells the  stories to a group of Pharisees who were known for their strict, even rigid observance of every aspect of the Law. Jesus complains that while they make an outward show of goodness, they fail to abide by the true spirit of the Law.

Isn’t it obvious that the stories are directed to us as well. We live in the richest country in the history of the world. Even in these economic hard times the poor in our country are more well off than most of the rest of the people on the globe. A few years ago I heard a priest say that there are 7 million street boys in Brazil alone. These abandoned street children are ill-clothed, ill-fed, ill-housed, and ill-educated. Most are already involved in criminal activity and will surely not even live to manhood. Efforts to help often seem fruitless and counter-productive.It breaks your heart.

What can we do? Frankly, I think it would take a great saint like Mother Teresa to deal with such a problem. But she started out by reaching out to heal one single child. From that point through prayer and self sacrifice she built a world wide order of sisters devoted to caring for the poor. Most of us cannot match the zeal and skill of this great woman but maybe we could profit by looking closely at today’s gospel.

First, Jesus makes the care of the needy a personal thing. He does not talk about curing world hunger and bringing about world peace. He focuses on two men: one is incredibly rich and the other incredibly poor. The poor man does not live far away on another continent. He lives (maybe it’s more accurate to say dies) right outside the rich man’s palace. Jesus is saying that the Pharisees could have used the excuse that the beggar was unclean according to the Law, and not touchable by any self-respecting person. But Jesus is saying that this excuse in not available to us. The spirit of the law requires us to help.

Thank goodness most of us do. St. Paul certainly understood the message of today’s gospel. He tells the young priest, Timothy, that he has the obligation to see Christ in all those entrusted to his care, and warns him,

But if we deny Him

He will deny us.

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Reading 1. Amos 6: 1a, 4-7

Reading II. 1 Timothy 6: 11-16

Gospel. Luke 16: 19-31( Dives and Lazurus).

Parable of the Unjust Steward

                                    25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                

One of the key messages of the Hebrew Scriptures is the obligation to care for the lowly and the poor. All were expected to act as good stewards on behalf of those in need. In today's first reading the Prophet Amos claims that his people have not only failed to come to the aid of the needy, but that they are actually cheating those they are supposed to help.

For these oppressors the service of God and their neighbor is of no value. The unscrupulous business practices that Amos points out in his own time have their counterparts in our time. It was common in ancient times to debase the coinage or medium of exchange used in business dealings. To diminish the ephah or add to the shekel was a way of cheating the unwary. In the same way adjusting scales to give false readings was a way to give less value for the money.

Today, most forms of cheating in business seem far removed from our ordinary lives. Most of us will never be involved in nefarious Wall St. scandals that will see us led off to jail in handcuffs. Most of us will never be in a position to embezzle thousands from our employer. Most of us will never be like illegitimate building contractors who take money but never complete the job.

Today’s gospel is about another crook, the unjust steward. He was cheating his own master or employer. You may recall that last week’s gospel was also about someone who squandered his master’s wealth. Last week it was the Prodigal Son. Today’s gospel follows immediately after that famous parable in St. Luke’s gospel and there is good reason. While there are similarities in the two stories, there is a profound difference.

In last week’s gospel the Prodigal Son, after squandering his father’s inheritance, realized what he had done, repented, confessed, and begged for forgiveness. In today’s account the unjust steward, after squandering his master’s wealth, neither repents nor asks for forgiveness. He just seeks a way out but only gets deeper and deeper into crime. He goes to his master’s debtors and does them favors by cheating his employer further. He’s hoping that these debtors will remember and reward him. After all, he admits that he dislikes hard work, and is too ashamed to beg.

People have wondered why the master seems to “commend” the unjust steward for his criminal behavior. “And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.” Personally, I detect sarcasm here. It’s as if the master was saying, “Sure, hang out with those bums. Just wait and see what happens. Why would any of those debtors ever trust the steward when they know that he has cheated his own master? Even crooks understand the words of today’s gospel.

The person who is trustworthy in very small matters

Is also trustworthy in great ones;

And the person who is dishonest in very small matters

Is also dishonest in great ones.

Politicians like to tell us today that there is a difference between private and public morality. They think that they can cheat on their spouses but serve their constituents faithfully. Nevertheless, deep down we all know that if they are unfaithful to their own spouses, why should they be faithful to us?

In today’s second reading St. Paul asks us to pray for those in authority. He must have known how difficult it would be for people in power to be faithful and just stewards. Still, it is clear that it is not just political leaders who are called to be stewards. We are all called to stewardship. We must follow the example of Jesus “who gave himself as a ransom for all.”

We have all been entrusted with the responsibility to care for others. Husbands and wives have the responsibility to care for each other. It’s amazing to me how often people in business will treat their clients with the greatest care and respect, but ignore the needs of their spouses. In another place, St. Paul tells us that single people have an even greater responsibility to care for others. Speaking of responsibility don’t we make a great mistake when we give our children little or no responsibility?

Even though most of us are just ordinary people, we are all called to be stewards. In the eyes of those who have been entrusted to our care we are the biggest shots of all. Why on earth would we turn our backs on our loved ones to make friends with the “mammon of iniquity” ?

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Reading 1. Amos 8: 4-7

Reading II. 1 Timothy 2: 1-8

Gospel. Luke 16: 1-13 (the unjust steward).