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| The Mulberry Tree |
So many people I have met feel that they have very little faith, or they will tell me that they are not very religious. However, I think most people have far more faith than they give themselves credit for. Being ‘religious’ and having faith are not necessarily the same thing.
Today we are given the unusual image of something as tiny as a mustard seed, which is about the size of the tip of a pen. Jesus tells the Apostles that if their faith was even as big as that, they could move mountains, or in this case a mulberry tree! There are two ways to look at this. First we could say, if it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains I must have very little faith, since I could never do anything spectacular like that! But the other way to look at it is to say that with very little faith you can do an awful lot. Most of us do have faith and that faith grows as our relationship with Jesus grows. We often talk about God ‘testing our faith’ when we find ourselves going through a crisis. But by ‘testing’ what is meant is that God is stretching our faith to full capacity. It is not so much a test to see if we are up to standard, rather a time of growth. God knows what we are capable of and God is all the time helping us to reach our full potential, just like a good trainer will help an athlete reach his or her full potential. The athelete may not be aware of their ability, but a good trainer will see it and Remember how God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. God knew that Abraham had extraordinary faith, even though Abraham himself probably didn't realise it. But Abraham proved his faith by trusting in God even in this dire situation and God blessed him for it.
The Apostles had faith and must have seen extraordinary things when they were with Jesus. Peter even walked on water for a few seconds, but then he began to sink as he started to think in human terms that it couldn’t be happening. But even the Apostles had a lot to learn with regards faith. After the crucifixion of Jesus they hid themselves away in a room because they were afraid. It was only after they received the gift of the Spirit that they were transformed and began preaching fearlessly and working miracles and they were so convinced of what they believed in that they were willing to lay down their lives for it, and most of them did, but they also had to grow and I’m sure that as their life went on their faith continued to grow. No doubt their faith was very different at the end of their lives than it was when they were with Jesus. They then had a life-time of trying to serve God and seeing many extraordinary things. Faith grows gradually, but it does grow.
The second reading today speaks of how so many people are feeling at this time. All we see is violence and injustice around us. At times like these, God often seems to be very quiet, which can even make us question is God there at all.
In several of the recent mass shootings in schools and churches, people are often critical of and cynical towards those who say ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims.’ Being cynical towards such comments is really to misunderstand what it is to pray for people.
Prayer is not an insurance policy against violence, although sometimes God’s protection may well be there in different ways. Prayer is how we speak to God and express our faith, both in good times and in bad, asking for God’s strength and protection. God will not stop acts of evil, because God has given us freewill. If we choose to do evil, others will suffer. If the Lord kept intervening when someone was about to do something evil, then we wouldn’t have free will. Our actions have consequences.
If we believe that our true life is in heaven, then this will help us not to lose hope. Firstly, no matter what we suffer in this life, it is temporary. Also, if our true life is in heaven, then when those we love die, it means that they have gone ahead of us, sooner than we expected. Sooner or later we will catch up. Just believing that much colors how we see this life and helps us not to lose hope.
One of the most important things that we can do in this life is to bring the hope of our faith to other people. Our hope means that we don’t despair when everything goes wrong, because we know that it is temporary. People need that hope, more than ever at this time. The anger and rage that so many people are filled with, is a sign that they have lost hope and lost sight of our true purpose on earth. If we understand our purpose on earth, which is to love God and to love and serve the people around us, that will affect everyone around us. I can’t fix the war in the Ukraine, or in Palestine, but I can influence the world around me, for better or worse. If I am filled with the hope that our faith gives us, that in turn will be a light shining in the darkness of the times we are in. Bringing hope to people is so important, because all of us need hope.
I am often surprised at how many people smile at me, when they see me, because I am a priest. What they are smiling at is the hope that I represent. Seeing someone dedicated to God, gives hope to people, because we are bombarded with so much negativity. But in order to have that hope, I have to fill my mind and heart with the things of God, not the things of the world. If I immerse myself in all the negativity and hatred around me, I will be filled with it and I will bring it to others.
Recently I was picking up a pizza. There was a big man in front of me, also waiting. The guy who owned the pizza place, Alva Market, knows me to say hello to and he called out, ‘Hey Father, how is it going?’ and I responded, ‘Great. Thank God.’ The guy in front of me turned around and repeated, ‘Yes. Thank God.’ It was as if he was happy to hear someone say, ‘Thank God.’ What we bring to the world affects the people around us, for better or worse.
When we hear of all the terrible things that go on in our world, such as abortion, human trafficking, wars and so much hatre and injustice, we can feel very helpless. But going back to the mustard seed it is good to remember that even with very little faith we can do a lot. You could be cynical and ask, ‘What difference will my faith make?’ But if you remember in September 2013 when the US and France were threatening a military strike against Syria, Pope Francis asked everyone to pray and fast for one day. Just after this President Putin stepped in and offered to work out a deal with Syria over its chemical weapons and a possible war was averted. We never know what our faith can do, even if it is smaller than a mustard seed.
Let your light shine before all, so that seeing your good works they may glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16)
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