Do I Believe?

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
03 October 2010


We are God’s people, the sheep of his flock: come, let us worship him, alleluia.

First reading Habakkuk 1:2-3,2:2-4
How long, O 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.
Then the Lord answered and said,
‘Write the vision down,
inscribe it on tablets
to be easily read,
since this vision is for its own time only:
eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;
if it comes slowly, wait,
for come it will, without fail.
See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights,
but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

Psalm: Psalm 94:1-2,6-9

Second reading 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14
I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.
Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Gospel Luke 17:5-10
The apostles 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.
‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’

Reflection
By Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento

How much faith in God do you have? Do you proclaim, “Yes, I believe,” yet you worry excessively? Do you say, “I trust in You,” yet you read your Facebook horoscope for the day? Do you tell others, “Lift your burdens to the Lord,” yet here you are wallowing in despair and feelings of helplessness? This is me. A lot of times, I try to examine myself and realize that I am not being faithful after all. Good thing, the Lord is more faithful and He speaks to me in so many ways. I hear Him from my son’s personal prayers. I feel Him through the unconditional love of my family. I see Him working His way when I have almost shut my eyes during times of distress. Today let us ask God to help us increase our faith, the way the apostles did. Because at the end of day, we might realize that our faith has been very little, even more minute than a mustard seed. Let us learn from St. Augustine who said, “Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.”

Father God,
We thank you for always pulling us back into Your arms. When we are in doubt, when we are confused, when we are shaken by what is worldly and modern, You always find a way to call us. You remain faithful even if we are not. Please continue to guide us through the scriptures, and through our brothers and sisters so we may help increase each other’s faith. Amen.

Next on God-speak
None,But The Human Race