THE WORD
Rom 8: 18–25 / Lk 13: 18–21
Then he said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and ‘the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.’” Again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed (in) with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
IN OTHER WORDS
In today’s gospel, the apostles asked our Lord: “Increase our faith.” The apostles, whom Jesus had sent forth to preach, were apparently overwhelmed by the demands of their work and dejected by the people’s cold response.
Our Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted’..and it would obey you” (Lk 17,5).
That does not mean that faith will give us the power to move trees literally. But faith will give us power to COPE with difficulties and obstacles, and not lose hope.
A retreat master once compared faith to a pair of sunglasses. When you go outside under a noonday sun, you strain your eyes to see the surroundings because of the sun’s harsh glare. But when you put on the sunglasses, the glare is removed and you can see more clearly. Applied to our relationship with the Lord, you can understand better the will of God through faith despite the harsh circumstances.
But faith or trust in God alone is NOT ENOUGH. As much as we must implore God’s help in turbulent situations, so much must we do our part. Remember the oft-quoted saying, “God helps those who help themselves”?
When people come to me asking to bless their cars, I tell them: “My blessing is good only up to 90 kilometers per hour; what’s beyond that is your responsibility.” Obviously, that’s just a joke.
But the point is: Even if I pour a drum of holy water on your vehicle, if you’re a reckless and speed driver, my blessing won’t work. (Maybe the holy water should be poured on the driver!).
That’s true also in solving our national problems. We may be a prayerful people but if our leaders think only of their vested interests or keep on plundering government funds, we will not prosper as we should.
May the Lord increase our faith and may we do our share, especially in difficult situations.
- Bel San Luis, SVD (CKMS, QC)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
