5 The Apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.” 6 The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you. 7 “Suppose one of you has a servant who is ploughing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry and eat his meal? 8 Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ 9 The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? 10 It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
Other readings: Hab 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; 2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14
LECTIO
Jesus packs a lot of teaching into these few short sentences. There are two themes: the first two verses concern faith and the later verses are about servanthood.
We begin with the disciples asking for faith. It is helpful to put their request in context. In the verses preceding today’s Gospel reading the disciples have had a lesson about forgiveness and the consequences of causing someone else to lose faith. Forgiving someone three times was considered honourable according to Jewish tradition at the time. But Jesus calls his disciples to forgive as often as is needed. The disciples realise that following Jesus will demand far more than they are able to give, so they ask for more faith.
Jesus replies that what is important is to have a genuine faith in God. It doesn’t matter how small this may be; whenever genuine faith is present remarkable things can and do happen.
Jesus then talks about the idea of servanthood. The heart of his teaching is that God deserves our service simply because of who he is. God owes us nothing; we owe him everything. The worldly attitude is to expect a reward for what you do. It’s a great temptation to expect God to bless us in some way when we serve him. Jesus makes it clear that this attitude is wrong. Taking pleasure in serving him out of gratitude and love is all the reward we need. To be servants of God means, above all, to be people of faith. Right attitudes in serving God keep us humble and help guard us against pride.
MEDITATIO
Which of these verses speak most clearly to you at this point in your life?
Do you see yourself as God’s servant? Think about the reasons why you serve God. Are you satisfied with serving him out of love and gratitude, or do you look for praise from others?
Spend a little time with your eyes fixed on the Lord. Let him soften your heart and draw you close to him so that your faith, service and gratitude may grow.
ORATIO
Prayerfully consider your response to God from this reading and your meditation.
In today’s reading from Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, the Apostle encourages the young evangelist to keep alive the gift God gave him. This can speak to us too. Ask the Holy Spirit to nurture these precious gifts of power, love and self-control, enabling you to live out your life in humble service to God. The Holy Spirit will also help you endure when times are hard.
CONTEMPLATIO
Consider this verse from Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “So then, my brothers and sisters, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer” (Romans 12:1).
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