Sunday Homilies by Fr. Rudolf V. D’ Souza

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27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 7, 2007 Year: C

Hab. 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14 Lk. 17:5-10

UNFAILING FAITHFULNESS 

First Reading...
"Habakkuk called out to the Lord: 'O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you 'Violence!' and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.

Then the Lord answered me and said: 'Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith." [Hab. 1:2-3; 2:2-4]

Second Reading...
"I remind you, Timothy, to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.

Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us." [2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14]

Gospel Reading...
"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' The Lord replied, 'If you had 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.

Who among you would say to your slave who has just come from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table? Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'" [Lk. 17:5- 10]

Parable of the Pencil
The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand."

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you.  Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.

Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change. 

Lessons of faith from the Parable:
To be held in someone’s hand

Experience a painful sharpening from time to time

Able to correct any mistakes you might make

Important part of you will always be what's inside

You must continue to write 

God asks of us that we live our faith, strongly rooted in God, and then live it dangerously, which means, live a challenging life, and enduring all hardships that come on our way, trusting the God who resides in us will be steering our life, no matter in what conditions, but we need to keep on working, through all the ups and downs of life. This is faith, this is what we call being rooted in God. 

The sayings of Jesus in the first part of chapter 17 of Luke's gospel focus on a disciple's responsibility towards those who are vulnerable. Behind the earlier stories of Jesus about the lost sheep the lost coin, the lost sons, and poor Lazarus, are the people who have been 'written-off' by society. Jesus draws the attention of disciples to these written-off ones.

The sayings of Jesus in the early part of chapter 17 focus on the disciples' responsibility towards those who are at risk. Behind the stories of the lost sheep (Lk.15:4-7), the lost coin (Lk.15:8-10), the lost sons (Lk.15:11-32) and poor Lazarus (Lk.16:19-31) and the 'little ones'! They are the people who have been written-off by society. Jesus draws attention to them. His woe is directed against so-called disciples who become obstacles causing such little ones to stumble(v.2). Where a gulf exists between rich and satisfied disciples and the poor, desperate little ones--the former perish (Lk.16:23ff). Jesus' stories confront his disciples (and not erring brothers/sisters) with the principle, 'do not judge and you will not be judged…, forgive and you will be forgiven (Lk.6:37ff).

When the apostles said to Jesus, "In crease our faith" (Lk.17:5) Jesus replied, "If you had faith like a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea', and it would obey you"(v.6 NJB). Both Matthew and Mark record a similar saying of Jesus as a part of story of cursing a fig tree, except that in their versions, a mountain not a mulberry tree is moved (Mt.21:21 & Mk.11:23). The attitude for empowering the little ones and forgiving those who err requires faith! Jesus' disciples are constantly torn between a lofty vision of the future and a more hum-drum passage through life. On one hand, the disciples' desire to share Jesus' justice; and on the other hand, in desperation and grief they want to settle to be ordinary people.

Disciples of Jesus can easily become complacent, small-time gossipers, whose socializing covers up rather purposeless lives. Jesus implies that trivial pursuits and enthusiasms can be substituted for the radical demands of discipleship. If a disciple’s faith is so characterized the possibility of change is not ruled out. Jesus obviously didn't go around transplanting mulberry trees in the sea. But He did act quite differently to most of us latter-day disciples! We assume we will be around forever! Jesus' vision drove him to act to bring about the new seems an echo of the parable of the wasteful steward (Lk.16:1-8).

The correct motive for a disciple of Jesus is neither to gain material reward nor to avoid punishment. Jesus' sayings tell disciples (servants) what to do. Their motive for fulfilling his teaching is defined in the message of Torah or the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

Originally, Jesus may have directed the above sayings about faith and forgiveness at wealthy land-holders, who owned many slaves/servants. Many of the Pharisees were people of wealth. Their book-keeping, cost-benefit-analysis type of religion comes under critical scrutiny in theses sayings. Instead of imitating that kind of person, Jesus says that disciples are to evaluate their performance as a people who have merely to do their duty! That is, they are to act to complete the vision of the Torah and the Prophets as Jesus himself did.

Practical Conclusions:
What do we think about ourselves? Do we in anyway think that we are better than others with regard to faith, work, performance, responsibility? Can we say that we are the best? No, absolutely not. We are mere servants, who have to do our duty and consider ourselves still servants. That is the whole logic behind this Gospel passage. We are just servants. To those who want to boss over, this Gospel is not applicable, until they think they are really unworthy to hold any office at any place in the Church or family. We are, again I repeat, just servants without even a minimum desire for positions, places, honor and glory. Well, what is the bottom line? Just think that you are a servant without aspiring to become someone greater than even the least one.

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