Faith is why we are all here today. It is a gift, too, and a precious one at that. It is never our own initiative, but God’s. We all want an increased faith, just like the apostles wanted, but much of our faith depends on the trust we place in God.
Whilst faith is a gift, we must trust God on our own initiative – trust that he is bestowing his gifts upon us. To do this, we must allow ourselves to ‘be’ trusting. One way of putting it is this: to trust when we do not trust. This is not easy. We are beset with doubt at many times on the road of life. It is a difficult road, to live according to a God whom we cannot see or hear directly, and to sense his presence through so many signs and symbols.
It should be heartening to remember that even the disciples sensed this struggle, even when Jesus was before them. They asked for greater faith. The answer, perhaps, is to trust, even when we do not trust, to remind ourselves that we do not understand him, and that we never will completely understand in this life. There are so many spiritual blind-spots in life that we will never really be able to be without the gift of faith… we need it in order to stay faithful. We cannot do this without him. Yet, if only we give him our love, our trust, then we shall walk that road a little easier.
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 17: 5-19
Glory to you, O Lord
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith’. The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you. ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty”.’
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ