Gospel Reflection for Sunday Oct. 2nd

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Have a little Faith

Perhaps we have had the experience of another person telling us something that we find hard to believe, and on hearing it, our first response is I don’t believe it. It’s as if we can’t or won’t believe what we have heard unless it is proven to us beyond all doubt. Unfortunately this doesn’t work when it comes to faith and our relationship with God. This sort of faith and belief cannot be proven with air tight arguments. Faith is a gift which enables us to pray, enter into and maintain our friendship with God. Like any gift we are given, it is given freely. Once we have this gift it is up to us to use it properly so as to get the most from it. If we don’t put our faith into action it will simply fade and eventually die. As the first reading this Sunday tells us, fan into a flame the gift that gave you. What is this gift, if not faith?

In the gospel, Jesus uses the very simple symbol of the seed to describe faith. Like any seed it won’t simply grow on its own. The seed of faith like any other seed needs to be nurtured and nourished, it needs to be looked after and cared for. It is worth noting that the seed Jesus speaks about is the mustard seed. This is the smallest seed there is. It is no bigger than the head of a pin. In another gospel when Jesus talks about the mustard he says that it grows into one of the biggest trees where the birds can find shelter.

At times, for many reasons, our own personal faith can be tried and tested. Perhaps we seek and search for answers to life’s questions without receiving any that satisfy us. When we look at the news and see the suffering and violence many people endure, we are perhaps tempted to give up, give in and even feel angry with God. These are very normal human reactions to very human situations. But faith is not magic. It doesn’t make suffering and pain simply disappear. Faith gives us the strength to believe that we are not on our own and God is always with us no matter what we are experiencing.

Having faith is not about believing because we have all the answers. On the contrary, faith is about having the courage to keep believing even when and especially when can’t find any answers. Faith is about believing that God always believes in us. In the gospel of Mark, when Jesus heals a sick boy, his father says out loudly for all to hear, ‘Lord, I have faith, help my lack of faith.’ May this be our prayer too.

•  Michael Moore OMI