Small Seeds...Bountiful Harvest!

“ Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”

- Saint Augustine

First Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and thou wilt not hear? Or cry to thee "Violence!" and thou wilt not save? Why dost thou make me see wrongs and look upon trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.

Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

Hence I remind you 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 timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God, Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, `Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. "Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come at once and sit down at table'? Will he not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"

Reflection
By Gharri Tulabut

Fans like me have just witnessed dreams fulfilled in the recently concluded talent show The Voice of the Philippines. I have been following that show since the blind auditions. And every week, the showcase of talent is really something I do not regret spending my time with.

In that program the artists are grouped into four teams headed by a coach. But there is another division in there that we don’t really care about. In fact, I only noticed it because it is something I can relate with our Gospel topic for this Sunday.

What I am talking about is that in every episode, we see the aspiring singers on one side, which is the stage, and the coaches on the other side. While some of the contestants are already professionals in their field, still we cannot deny the fact that they are nothing (yet) compared to what the four people on the other side have already accomplished. These four coaches are superstars, big names in the industry.

But we know that these coaches did not reach their status overnight. They were once like these contestants trying their best to become somebody someday. And mere talent did not put them where they are right now. It took them years to perfect their craft through hard work and determination.

Same is true with many successful individuals. May they be people in sports, showbiz, employment, business, or in any other fields.

Often times, we admire these people. And we want to be like them. But the problem is we want to be like them at an instant. We want Manny Pacquiao’s wealth and popularity without receiving the same punches every bout. Not to mention his gruesome training. We want to be a LeBron James without being a reserve first. We want to be a Gary V., yet we haven’t even joined single amateur singing contest.

Even at work, sometimes we hate our bosses because we feel that we can do just as much as they can, yet they earn ten times our salaries. They earned it through years of hard work.

Good news is they all started small. Like all of us did.

We just have to keep on planting those small seeds every day. Even if it seems like nothing is happening, let us just keep on planting the right things. Keep on improving our skills. Keep on practicing. Keep on doing good to our customers and subordinates. Keep on improving those relationships that seem impossible to heal. Keep on investing a little of your income every month.

And one day we will harvest big.

Same is true with our faith.

Don’t be discouraged that you do not know much about your faith right now.  
Don’t be discouraged that you cannot even defend your faith because your faith is still very small.
Don’t worry if you think you have very little talent to contribute to your parish or community.
Don’t worry that you have very little treasure to share.
Don’t worry that you barely have time to serve.

Put all these little things together, every day, non-stop. Plant all those small mustard seeds of yours everyday even if it seems like nothing is happening.

You’ll be surprised that one day, you can already deliver a talk in your community. One day, you’ll give even more than 10% of your income to God’s works on earth. One day, you will discover or improve your talents and you’ll be a very important contributor in Church. One day, you’ll have all the time in the world to serve.

But do not wait until all these are with you before you serve. Do it now. With whatever little you have. Let’s start small. But let’s dream Big. Work Hard. Plant everyday.

And one day harvest will come.

Big!

Prayer

Father, we thank you for the little mustard seed of faith that You have placed in our hearts. May we be able to plant these seeds every day and every day and every day until the time You give us a bountiful harvest. Amen!