—Gospel of Luke 17 : 5

This Gospel of Luke, chapter 17, finds the apostles asking Jesus to increase their faith. Evidently, they realized that, with faith, they could accomplish great things just like their Master. Faith is a force so powerful, Jesus explains, you could say to a tree: “Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.” ( Luke 17 : 6 ) Jesus is using this image of ‘uprooting and planting a tree in the sea’ to convey to His apostles the strength and importance of faith in their lives. Faith in Jesus is so powerful it can dig up the roots of our past and replace them with ties to Him that lead to changed lives. We no longer become defined by our past. Through faith, we are defined by the price of His love.

Faith also is not ours to own but to share. It is a gift given to be given again and again. “When you have done all that you have been commanded to do, say: we are useless servants. We have done no more than our duty.” ( Luke 17 : 10 ) How different is this generous spirit of faith, that seeks only God’s will, from the spirit of the world!

The spirit of the world is a selfish spirit that asks: “what’s in it for me?” Always counting the cost, always looking out for number one, always making demands and always satisfying one’s ego and needs. We call this kind of collective behavior, prescriptive; that is, the perceived needs are set by the general public. This may work in democratic institutions, provided the sane majority rules, but it does not satisfy the deeper needs of the human soul which can only be satisfied by God alone.

Faith is a beautiful spirit. It is, as St. Paul states, “no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving, and wise.” It does not follow the herd for the needs of faith are normative; that is, they are life-saving, laid down for us in “the rich deposit of faith,” in the “sound teaching” of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1: 13-14).

Faith is a sharing in a divine gift. We need to let the Lord increase the gift of faith in our lives. We nurture and increase this gift when we go to the source of faith itself which is the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who reveals Himself to us in the Scriptures. We draw from this source whenever we meditate on the Word of God, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and endeavor to put it into practice. This means putting ourselves under the influence of God’s word by reading the Scriptures as often as we can, and applying the lessons learnt to our own practical lives. Everyone should spend some time each day reading and meditating on the Scriptures.

When people are grateful to God for the power of faith revealed to them in the Scriptures, a power that is greater than themselves, they will deliver results that Jesus compares to moving mountains, and transplanting trees.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy