Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 6, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4 / Ps 95 / 2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14 / Lk 17:5-10
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

There have been times in all of our lives when we have been in a very difficult situation, faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem. We offer prayers to the Lord God, but He seems not to be paying attention. All three of the readings today remind us to hold onto our faith if this happens, because God is always listening and He will answer our prayers in good time.

In the first reading we heard that the prophet Habakkuk is pretty much like most of us: He complained to God. He prayed, “How long, O Lord? I cry for help, but You do not listen.”

The Lord answered him, “Wait for it. It will surely come.” And then He added, “The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.”

In this day and age, when you can easily get your food from a drive-through window, order anything you want from Amazon, eBay, and many other online stores that can deliver your order the following day – sometimes even the same day – the virtue of waiting patiently without complaining is pretty rare. But the fact that we are all here praying together means that we are willing to wait patiently for God’s answer. As He said to the prophet Habakkuk, “It will surely come.” Of course, we do not know the day nor the hour.

Like the disciples, we should also pray, “Lord, increase our faith.” For us to see miracles, we don’t need to have a faith as big as the Blue Ridge Mountains. All we need is to have a faith the size of a mustard seed, and, with God’s help, we will be able to do what is seemingly impossible by human standards.

As we continue to navigate all our day-to-day challenges, we should always have in mind the words of St. Paul in his second letter to Timothy, which we heard in the second reading: “I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have. For God does not give us the spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”