READINGS FOR THE 27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C, SUNDAY, 2ND OCTOBER, 2022.
First Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Psalm: 94
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Gospel: Luke 17: 5-19
REFLECTION BY FR CORNELIUS NWAOGWUGWU, CM
THE POWER OF FAITH
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
A sincere welcome to the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. Today is the First Sunday in the month of October.
The month of October is significant to our faith. October is called Mission Month. The month of October is dedicated to our Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of the Holy Rosary. Also, in October, there are devotions in honour of St. Joseph and St. Francis of Assisi. The month of October teaches us that faith and prayer are inseparable. Prayer is an act of faith. It means that faith is expressive. God calls us to put our faith into practice in our ordinary lives because according to St. James, “Faith is dead if it is separated from good deeds.” (James 2: 26). Hence, prayer and faith are key elements of our call to mission.
A quick glance at our First Reading and the Gospel reveal the need for us to have faith in God even in the midst of apparent difficulties, and seeming unwillingness of God to deliver us from sorrows, humiliation and oppression.
This prayer of faith was greatly expressed by the prophet Habakkuk in our First Reading today. He prayed, “How long, Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear and you will not save? Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny? Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.” (Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4).
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother does something wrong, reprove him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, “I am sorry”, you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4).
It was within the context of this teaching that the disciples realised the weakness of their faith, they 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.” (Luke 17:5-6).
Today’s Gospel shows that the apostles of Jesus may have found this teaching a challenging one and requested Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus never explained to them how they could increase their faith. He rather said that if their faith was the size of a tiny mustard seed then they could do amazing things. Faith is a supernatural gift of God to humanity. Faith can move mountains and unlock impossible obstacles of life. (Luke 17:5-10).
This is an indication that life depends largely on the quality of our faith. It is not the size of our faith that matters in life. It is the worthiness and quality of our faith. Reliability and trustworthiness of our faith make things happen in our lives. Quality is the watchword. The quality of our faith makes impossibilities possible.
Life is a journey of faith. Faith enriches our life. In our journeys in life, we need faith to experience the help of God. God is constantly at work helping us in every situation we find ourselves. God promised that He will not leave us as orphans. He promised to be with us until the end of time.
We need faith to accept that God is always able and willing to intervene in every situation that hurts us but all in his own time. Though it may seem slow and frustrating but certainly it will come when God deems it suitable and appropriate to answer our request for our own good and the good of others. God’s time is always the best.
To confirm this teaching, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself.” (CCC 1814). God is Truth. We trust in God and we put our lives faithfully into His Hands.
We pray for God’s grace to be strong in faith and trust in Him in our journey of life now and forever. Amen.
Fr. Cornelius Nwaogwugwu, CM.