TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
2 OCTOBER 2022
We
have been hearing from Saint Luke’s Gospel these past Sundays. Jesus has been
telling parables to teach us how to be disciples. His parable of the unjust steward teaches us
to be resourceful. But we must avoid
causing scandal. We cannot become moral
stumbling blocks that cause others to sin.
Disciples must be willing to forgive.
The older brother of the prodigal son refused to forgive his
brother. We must forgive when there is
evidence of true repentance. We cannot
limit the times to forgive repentant sinners who have done us harm.
The
Apostles seem overwhelmed with these demands.
They wonder how they can remain authentic disciples of such a demanding
Master. So, they ask the Lord to
increase their faith. His response is
interesting. He assures them that if
they have the faith the size of a mustard seed, they could say to the mulberry
tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey them. If their faith is the size of this tiniest
seed, they could uproot a tree with deep roots in the soil to have it survive
in water. In other words, they can trust
that God will allow them to accomplish seemingly impossible things if they have
just a little faith.
The Lord is
giving us, his disciples today, the same message. We can easily become discouraged. Like the Prophet Habakkuk, we can ask God why
there is so much violence and strife and discord in our culture today. Like Timothy, we may want to give up when we
do not see many results from our efforts to make a difference in our world. Saint Paul reminds Timothy that the Lord has
not given him a spirit of cowardice. Neither
has he given that spirit to us. He has given
us the spirit of power and love and self-control. We use these gifts when we have the humility
to see that we are not in charge. We are
humble servants trying to use even the smallest amount of our faith to make a
difference in our world by encountering and living the Gospel.
We are like
those servants who return from plowing.
We plow when we make efforts to evangelize our world. Evangelizing can be as simple as encouraging
someone who is not doing well or showing respect to someone who disagrees with
us. It can be as difficult as forgiving
a past hurt and letting go of the hatred and bitterness caused by unjust
behavior. We tend sheep as priests and
staff members in doing our best to serve the needs of our parishioners in
guiding them to encounter the Lord in each other. We do not embrace these tasks to get a reward
or be recognized for outstanding achievements.
We move beyond our comfort zones because we are disciples of Jesus
Christ, humble servants of the Gospel.
The month
of October gives us many opportunities to be humble servants who promote a
culture of life in a culture that has so many other priorities. The parish Respect Life Ministry provides
information on our website and in the bulletin.
Many parishioners give a generous portion of their time to the
organizations and ministries that make the culture of life more visible in our
community. Please take time to read that
information. Better yet, visit the
Respect Life display in the Parish Life Center to make a commitment to join
fellow parishioners in this effort.
There are ways we can walk with moms who are experiencing difficult
pregnancies. We can learn how to be more
supportive of those who are dealing with any kind of disability. We can participate in the parish ministries
to those who are homebound or in nursing homes.
With a little faith and a great deal of humility, we can make a
difference in a world. With faith, we
can recognize the Lord’s gift of power and love and self-control. We can promote the sacredness of human life,
made in the image of God.
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