In the Gospel today, the apostles ask Jesus for something that they think will give them great power too. They want an increase in faith. The Gospel passage doesn’t tell us why they want this, but if you look at the stories similar to this one in Matthew and Mark’s accounts, it’s clear that they probably were asking for this power in order to be able to perform greater miracles. Throughout his ministry, Jesus empowered his disciples with the ability to perform certain mighty deeds in his name: to heal and to cast out demons especially. But the Gospels also tell us of times when they try to do this and fail. Perhaps the apostles think that with increased faith, they will be able to do anything they desire.
You and I are probably not too preoccupied with casting out demons and healing the sick, so we may not be able to relate to the disciples’ ulterior motives for asking what they did of Jesus. But we probably do relate to the request itself: “Lord, increase our faith!” Who among us would not wish to have a deeper, stronger, and fuller faith? “With only more faith,” we think, “I wouldn’t be filled with worries or doubts, I wouldn’t fall victim to the same old sins time and again, I wouldn’t feel so distant from God or his love.” Being strong in faith, we assume, is like a superpower that would be wonderful to have, that would enable us to do all kinds of amazing things. Darn, if only we had that!
Much like the apostles’ desire in the Gospel, I think this way of thinking is perfectly understandable but also misguided. Now, it is not wrong of course to want a better or deeper faith. We all should want that! And we should want to ask God for that. But we should not assume that somehow we lack what is necessary, that we know better than God what he should give us. The apostles think of faith as something to possess, a superpower to do whatever they want, rather than understand it as a relationship to the Lord. That’s why he rebukes their attitude at the end of the Gospel – they are guilty of pride for thinking they know better than the Master what must be done.
While we should desire and ask for a deeper faith, we also have to value and act upon the faith already present. God never fails to provide whatever grace we need in the moment to do his will, but we must appreciate it in order to apply it. Faith is the gift of relationship with God – it’s not like a superpower that we imagine, that gets bestowed upon us from on high: Boom, now you have it, now you can do anything you want! Faith is much more like a seed, as Jesus describes. It may start small, but it grows incrementally and often in unseen ways but in time flowers and produces what God had foreseen from the beginning.
Faith is also, for us as Catholics, a fundamentally communal reality. As I announced at the beginning of Mass, today we celebrate our parish patronal feast. Our Lady of the Rosary is October 7, this coming Monday, but because of its importance for our community – because it is the celebration of the very identity we have as God’s family here in Stuttgart – then the Church permits us to celebrate it together on Sunday instead. Why is that? Because fundamentally, we relate to God not as a collection of individual believers who just happen to gather together once a week. Often we think that, don’t we? “I come to Mass to get what I need, so that I can be informed, or encouraged, or entertained.” But that’s not it at all. As Catholics, we relate to God first as a community, and only secondarily as individuals. My relationship with him, and your relationship with him, is always formed and founded by our relationship with as a community, by the common identity we have as the Body of Christ present in this place.
Our parish’s feast day allows us to reflect upon our common identity and to give thanks for the many blessings God has given us. Perhaps our minds and hearts are drawn to recall the history of our parish, the many good people past and present who have labored to make Holy Rosary what it is. We have so much to be grateful for! From the proud legacy of our school, to the works of service we do, to the witness of faith that we give to each and to our community, we are proud of the spiritual heritage that we have here. Perhaps we also think about the present moment too, about the responsibilities and opportunities we have, and the challenges we face today as a parish. Our numbers are smaller these days than in the glory days of the past, and we have a community that is at times separated by culture and language. And in a day when there are so many other demands upon time and attention and involvement, we face the challenge of trying to form the younger generation in the practice of the faith, as well as encourage the older one to continue to do so.
Hearing Mass, Rocafort by José Benlliure y Gil (1855-1937)
As a parish, we join the disciples in asking the Lord today, “Increase our faith!” But I would encourage us also to not fall victim to their mistake – to lose trust in God’s Providence, to think that we know better than him what we need. Instead, I think the Lord invites us, like the disciples, to consider the faith present within us, even as we yearn for more. By faith, we can do – and indeed are doing – all kinds of things that are truly amazing if only we stop to appreciate them. By faith, we know the love of God’s Son Jesus Christ – we experience that love in the sacraments and share that love with others by works of charity. By faith, we are able to unite ourselves with the Cross of Christ and so endure all kinds of sufferings and trials and humiliations, often in truly heroic ways. By faith, we continue to pray for righteousness, to work for justice, to strive for the good and to stand against evil, to be resolute in not conforming with what is tempting and easy and despairing, to persevere confidently even when we struggle with doubts or discouragements. By faith, we have the power to forgive and to be forgiven, to heal and to be healed, to shine with the brightness of God’s light and love and make it known to the world.
My friends, I don’t know about you, but I think all of that – those things and more that we do as the Body of Christ here at Holy Rosary – are pretty clear signs that God is present and at work in our midst. In the end, we don’t need great superpowers to do what the Lord has given us to do – just the power of faith that he gives us in his Son and that he calls us to act upon. By prayer, by participation in the sacraments, by deepening our involvement in the community life of our parish, we have ample opportunities before us to have our faith increased, to grow in just the way God desires. What might the Lord be asking of you, of me, this day? What might he desire us to do so that we can build and strengthen the identity we have as a community of faith, as the Body of Christ? As we celebrate our parish in this Mass, let’s ask for the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. May we rededicate ourselves to being the Lord’s grateful and humble servants, working faithfully for his harvest, and trusting that he will prosper the work of our hands.
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