May the good Lord grant us the graces of good and quality faith that will enable us stand steadfast and righteous in dark times and be instruments of faith to others.
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Habakkuk 1,2-3; 2,2-4; 2 Timothy 1 ,6-8, 13-14; Luke 17,5-10: 27th Sunday of the Year C, 2019)
This reading from the prophet Habakkuk consists of two parts. The first (1,2-3) is a direct address to God by the prophet. In the second (2,2-4) the prophet reports the response he received from God. The opening words of the reading are forceful and disturbing. The prophet cries out to God with the words of a psalm of lament: How long? Why? In fact, complaint to God is an expression of profound religious sentiment of belief that God is capable of remedying the situation. Lament is also an expression of hope. One would not turn to God if one did not trust that God would intervene. The case of Habakkuk is unusual. He begins by lamenting what appears to be God's indifference: it seems that God has turned a deaf ear to his anguish. It is not enough that he is engulfed by misfortune; he must also endure God's impassivity. And so he cries out. Finally, God does respond, not with an answer but with a vision. This vision is to be written down. Its fulfilment which is in the future, does have its appointed time of disclosure which is known only to God, and contrary to what appearances might suggest, God is indeed in charge of the events of life. Habakkuk, and everyone else with him, will just have to wait patiently until the appointed time arrives. Without telling him why he has had to carry the burden of suffering or how long he will have to wait, God instructs him in the manner of his waiting: the righteous wait in faith.
In the second reading, 2Timothy 1,6-8.13-14, Paul appeals to Timothy to manifest courage in the face of hardship. In these few verses Paul admonishes Timothy to renew his zeal, not to be ashamed of the gospel, bear his share of suffering, adhere to his teaching and to safeguard it. Timothy was quite a bit less forceful than his colleague Paul. While there is no question about the steadfastness of his faith, it appears that he struggled with a certain degree of cowardice, the kind of terror that grips the timid in the face of extreme difficulty. The zeal that previously blazed within him seems to have waned, and Paul challenges him to fan it back into flame. He received a particular charism on the occasion of his commission for ministry. It is this gift he must rekindle. Timothy needs the power, love, and self-discipline that will enable him to stand up courageously and witness to his faith. Paul also exhorts Timothy to witness to the Lord without shame, adding that he should not be ashamed of Paul either. Furthermore, just as Paul is, Timothy should be willing to accept and embrace the suffering that will inevitably befall him as a minister of the gospel. He must be ready for misunderstanding, resentment, and hostility. He must face the possibility of imprisonment just as Jesus did, and Paul after him. Having addressed Timothy's personal conflict, Paul turned to the substance of his preaching. Paul had handed the essence of the gospel on to Timothy. It was now Timothy's turn to carry it to others. He was not, merely, to repeat Paul's words. They were to be the norm, the standard against which all other teaching would be measured. Just as Paul did in his own ministry, so Timothy would have to refashion the teaching he received for new situations. The ministerial approach Paul advocates is what we, today, refer to as re-contextualization. Then and now, it requires that the minister be both faithful to the tradition and creative in articulating it in a new way. Timothy must guard the trust that is his but allow the Spirit to move where it will.
In the gospel narrative, Luke 17, 5-10, there are two independent sayings. The first treats the power of prayer; the second addresses the responsibilities of disciples. As is so often the case, Jesus' response to a request includes a shift in perspective. The apostles ask for an increase of faith and Jesus speaks about its nature. They are interested in quantity and he is concerned about quality. He employs an image that suggests size in order to describe effective authority. It is not necessary to procure more faith as the disciples requested. Rather, one should be concerned to secure even a small amount of genuine faith. Such faith will be able to realise even what seems impossible. In the second part of the gospel narrative, Jesus is teaching about the obligations of the one in service, not about the responsibilities of the one being served. Disciples of Jesus should expect a similar lot. They have been called to labor, and when they fulfil their duties faithfully, they have only done what is required of them. The saying challenges any form of self-adulation based on accomplishments. The servants are unprofitable not because they do not do good work but perhaps because they are regarded as replaceable. When they can no longer fulfil their responsibilities, there will be someone to take their place. As harsh as this may sound, it is true. The rewards of discipleship must be sought in something other than a bonus.The readings for this Sunday call us to faith. Today we reflect on the sense of the absence of God as the crucible within which this faith is forged and refined. We also acknowledge that faith is a gift from God, not a personal disposition of soul or a prize we have won. Finally, while faith may come to us from God, it is mediated through the community. In our struggles to be faithful disciples we frequently must endure periods of hard times, some quite short and others unbearably long, when we feel abandoned by God. Such experiences are difficult under any circumstances. When we have been intent on serving God with genuine devotion, such times are, particularly, trying for one would expect that God would not withdraw consolations. However, even the righteous sometimes feel abandoned by God. When this happens, the broken heart and the strained spirit cry out to God in complaint: How long? Why? Times of near despair know no restrictions on age, gender or class. Teenagers often search frantically for meaning and identity; people in midlife crises may desperately question their life choices; the elderly can feel that everything they have held dear is either taken from them or is slipping away. People fall victim to natural disasters wherein they lose everything that gave their lives meaning. Husbands and wives are betrayed by their partners, and their entire lives crumble before their very eyes. Illness strikes indiscriminately, and death's shadow looms over all. Finally, we have all known the tedium of life. We have all been worn down by it, tempted to give up, too weary to go on. These are all moments when we stand before the doors to faith and despair, trying to decide through which one we will pass. Faith in God is a gift for which we pray. It enables us to accomplish marvellous feats; with it we can move mountains. As unprofitable servants we do not earn it; we have no right to claim it as our own. If we are honest, we will have to admit that there are many people we know who are more generous than we are, more patient and loving, who live lives of greater integrity yet who do not have the faith we do. If we are honest, we have to ask ourselves: Why are we, and not they, so disposed toward God? And there is no answer to this question, except to realise that the faith we have is a gift from God. In God's goodness, these others will be cared for, but we are the ones to whom faith has been given. And, therefore, we are the ones from whom faithful service will be expected. We will be sent to plow the fields and tend the sheep. We will be called to serve at table. Another aspect of faith is that it comes through hearing as the faith that is ours has been mediated to us through the community. We have heard about God and about Jesus from others: from our parents and families, from our teachers and those who preach, from those with whom we work and play. Faith comes from God, but through the mediation of the community. Timothy received faith from his mother and grandmother. It was strengthened in him through the imposition of Paul's hands and through his preaching of the word of God. Furthermore, what Paul taught had first been handed down to him from those who preceded him. God grants us the gift of faith, but it comes to us through others. Perhaps those whom we know to be better than we are have not yet met someone through whom this gift can be mediated. The challenge could be ours to become instruments through which they may be bestowed with genuine and quality faith. May the good Lord, therefore, grant us the graces of good and quality faith that will enable us stand steadfast and righteous in dark times and be instruments of faith to others. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye
(graphics by Chukwubike)
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