Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
Over the last few weeks, we have been hearing accounts from Luke's gospel on priorities in life, including wealth and faith. Today we hear the story of Jesus telling the apostles to have faith the size of a mustard seed and commanding a tree to be planted in the sea. Then in this same passage, we hear of a task-master pushing his servant to do more even though he had already worked a hard day. Instead of rewarding the servant for the work with a nice meal, the master pushes him for more. The passage concludes with the servants, instead of complaining, saying, "We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do."
As Christians, we do not do the Lord's work for purely earthly reward or recognition. We do it out of a duty to mankind, to our community and to those who needs help. Our work as Christians never ends. There is always somebody in desperate straits, someone who is struggling with a life situation, or someone who has lost the faith. We are called to do this work out of a sense of charity offering other kindness, compassion and generosity. We do this as our Christian responsibility to God, and we do it thankfully. After all, God has given us everything that we see, touch, taste, and hear. Even painful experiences in life can be a gift. We're always in debt to God and no matter what we do, we can never repay Him for the greatest gift, his son, Jesus Christ, who came to save us. We are called to be faithful servants to the Father. Mary, the mother of our Lord, gives us this example as she proclaims, "I am the handmaid of the Lord°be it done unto me!" It takes tremendous faith and courage to surrender ourselves, our entire being, to God's will. On the other hand, maybe it's faith the size of a tiny mustard seed. May we live our lives, proclaiming, "Yes Lord, I'm here to do your will!"
