faith rooted in faithfulness

In today’s gospel, Jesus’ friends ask him how they might increase their faith. Jesus replies; “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’

In some way, Jesus’ explanation of faith could makes us feel disoriented because he doesn’t give us the sort of answer we would expect.

In my opinion, there is a hidden purpose behind this explanation about faith. How many times have we felt discouraged because we pray, and pray and don’t get the results we expect from God? Sometimes after praying and praying we feel abandoned by God to the point that we think God doesn’t listen…

We started with a reading of the book of Lamentations. Here we encountered the voices of people grieving for a collective tragedy. We found the theme of despair …people felt abandoned by God. The author of this text personifies the city: the daughter of Zion. Does the lament sound familiar to you? Aren’t we inclined to echo the voices of the people of Zion when we hear the news these days? Don’t we feel abandoned by God?

Then we encounter Paul’s words of encouragement to Timothy. He is using the language of faith to help Timothy with his new ministry. Paul reminded Timothy of his faith and the people of faith who encouraged him, followed him and believed in his faithfulness: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you”. These words are an affirmation of the faith that was modeled for Timothy by his ancestors.

What does this have to do with you and me? How could we relate our own experience and understanding of faith with the gospel? I think that Jesus gave to his disciples what they were asking for. Jesus gave them both an understanding and an experience of faith. Jesus did not reveal it to them with a miracle. Jesus walked with them in the way of love, day by day, Jesus walked with his friends and non-followers with patience and steadfast love. Jesus offered himself fully to his disciples, and he prepared them for his death and resurrection. The disciples’ faith was tested many times, and the same faith helped them to persist in difficult times.


Isn’t this the way faith works? Are we not often like the disciples, pleading with God to increase our faith? Sometimes we feel as though there is no connection to the divine. We can begin to believe that God is not listening to us. Does this sound familiar to you? Often in difficult times or times of desperation we have felt that way. But what do we do next? Do we stop what we are doing and try to put our mind at ease? Do we start praying? Do we ask God to strengthen our faith? Or do we choose to give up?

I found this story among the many stories of Saint Francis. There is a legend about Saint Francis of Assisi, in which he conquers his fears by taming a vicious wolf. “There was a wolf, so the legend goes, who was terrorizing the town of Gubbio. He began by attacking the livestock of Gubbio, and then went on to feast on people. The people were terrified. Saint Francis approached the wolf and expressed his understanding that the wolf was only treating himself to a human buffet because he was hungry, and Francis extracted an oath from the wolf that if the people of Gubbio made sure that the wolf had sufficient food, then the wolf would cease and desist with his people hunting. The wolf agreed, and the people rejoiced.”

At first glance, this seems like an impossible task to accomplish. I appreciate how Saint Francis saw the root of the problem, which was the wolf’s hunger, and didn’t write him off as evil forever. I appreciate the way he negotiated with the cause of the fear (the wolf). Francis’ peaceful approach made the “fear itself” diminish. Does this sound familiar to you? Once we surrender to the Ground of our faith, our fear decreases, and our faith increases.

Many of you have experienced how God has tested your faith. It is among the things God uses to move us in God’s direction. Jesus knew. Jesus knew that, as his followers, we have to face many challenges. Jesus knew that this journey of faith is difficult, and sometimes we will feel at the edge of giving up. Jesus knew that many of us will relate with the words: “my God, my God… why have you abandoned me?” But God in God’s amazing grace never gives up on us, and God knows best that our faith is rooted in God’s faithfulness. As a result of this, a wonderful prayer of lament, perhaps too deep for words, emerges within us, and we thereby come to know God more through our brokenness. And we come to understand that Jesus has answered our petition to increase our faith. Our understanding must accept that everything happens in God’s time.