Monday of Week 32 in Ordinary Time
Wis 1:1-7
Lk 17:1-6
“Increase our faith.“
My prayer life has often been filled with requests for God to increase my faith – to help me/make me BELIEVE bigger, mover FULLY know Him in all that He is. For years, I have prayed on and off for God to ‘increase my faith’. I’ve always thought that was a, the, correct prayer request. However, after reading today’s gospel numerous times over the last few weeks, I am suddenly struck by Jesus’ answer to this request of the Apostles.
In the past, I have melted this mustard seed reference of Luke with “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20-21). I just realized that Jesus’ reply to the apostles’ request is not that. “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed….” has an entirely different meaning. When the Apostles ask Christ to INCREASE OUR FAITH, Jesus doesn’t say, “good prayer request my good and faithful servant.” No, he actually points out that the SMALLEST faith will product miracles. Uproot plants. Replant plants. And we know it also can move mountains.
So what truth do these words of Christ reveal for me? What have I been missing, or at least misunderstanding?
Is Jesus pointing out that the Apostles (and that I) don’t actually have faith because uprooting, replanting and mountain moving are not — at least up till this moment — part of the Apostles (my) daily life? Uprooting, replanting and mountain moving haven’t been revealed talents, skills or charisms of mine.
We all know that John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” And when John was in prison, Jesus said of him, “Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
So what did John understand and embrace about faith in God, in Jesus, that I and the Apostles (to this point) didn’t understand?
A roller coaster of thoughts have been running through my mind, and they all centre around these three truths:
- God created each of us with free will
- Our free will embraces or rejects faith… God…Christ
- God won’t INCREASE our faith for us because increasing (or decreasing) is a decision of our free will, and God won’t take our free will from us
Okay, so where does that leave – or take – me?
To my knees.
I don’t see it as my faith being lukewarm, I can find many instances where my faith is shown in action, where I am boldly proclaiming my faith with words and deeds. But upon contemplation, I am realizing that possibly at times (often???) my faith is juvenile or passive. I’m WAITING at times (too often) on God to make the ‘move’ instead of MOVING myself (continuing to move, or stay still, in the same direction/manner in which He last directed me). I have held my words and actions back waiting for Him, instead of boldly continuing and, looking back seeing HOW He worked THROUGH me.
My faith increasing is dependent on me – my choices. My daily choices. My hourly choices.
The more silent time I spend alone with God, the more connected I am to the Almighty, therefore the easier it is to hear His word, His guidance, His direction. And then the easier it is to speak and act until He whispers to me to be still or be silent. When I am living for Him, He will be waiting on me to be precisely where He has perfectly willed; so that in my next word or step, the plant will, indeed, be uprooted. Be planted. And the mountain will move.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gina Ulicny)
Prayer: Father God, how we praise You in every instance, in every action. You are able to make all things new – You bring beauty and goodness out of all our missteps and sinful words and deeds – and You never cease to tire of waiting on us so that your Perfect Will will be done.
Thanksgiving: Lord God Almighty, we thank you for your PERFECT will for each of our lives. For your unending and limitless love for each of us – yesterday, today and tomorrow. You know when we sit and when we stand, and you know the number of hairs on our head every second of our life. How we praise you Father, for giving us the free will to increase our faith.
OXYGEN 
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