27 th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 3 October 2010 -
Vatican Radio - Christian Horizons
Biblical Commentary by Don Fabio Rosini
Luke 17, 50-10 We are useless servants
5 The apostles said to the Lord 6 "Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you had faith as a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey. 7 Those of you having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, will say when he returns from the field, 'Come immediately and sit at the table? 8 did not quite say 'Prepare to eat, rolled up her dress and servimi, till I have eaten and drunk, and after you eat and drink too? 9 It is grateful to his servant, because he was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say: 'We are useless servants. We did what we had to do. "
The hear that song is taken from chapter 17 of Luke. The apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus' answer is not immediately understandable.
Yes They ask faith, but the apostles respond in a paradoxical way, "If you had faith as a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea" and it would obey. What does it say about this answer? This is a reply to a paradoxical language typical Semitic, but to uproot a mulberry tree, if one has done this as a mulberry tree, is a huge thing, a more powerful roots of the trees, and planting we are absolutely in the sea ' absurd. What does it mean? Do something difficult, absurd, absolutely unattainable.
This is related to a quantity. Having faith like a mustard seed. A mustard seed is a infinitesimal object is small. Other times it is compared to the kingdom of heaven as a little thing that makes a big thing, but here it is merely taken as a unit. It 's a thing hardly watchable with the eye. We see little eyes. You lose. It can be confusing.
Then the disciples asked: "Increase our faith!" By introducing a quantity issue. Increase, increase. Faith, answered Jesus, is not a quantity. Quantifying the faith. Have faith as a mustard seed, who knows what to do, to make things more impossible and absurd, useless, however, is not the point here. The Faith is not a quantity. Faith, we do not have as much or do not know how much. Faith is an act. Faith is trusting God now You tell me: "Increase my faith," and Christ says, "And I tell you: practice the faith." This is living faith. It is not a question of quantity. Why do not we have faith in your pocket ever. Faith do not have one for sure. How often touching to hear: "Ah, I have great faith!" Mammamia. Blessed are you, a lot of faith .. tell me how many pounds?
This is not the point, because this text, we introduce a logic that is the logic of a service. It is not a result we have to obtain, but is entering a service logic. The service that we are called to make us understand one thing. It is not that a once took a leap of faith in God, once it is open to trust in God, has opened her heart to the love of God, what this leads to a status that is final. Then I, as I have done these things have come. No! It always starts again from scratch. Faith is like that. Do extraordinary things? Make Wonderland? Remains poor. Faith does not have it ever. Faith is one thing that always asks you to grow up, to walk. You wake up in the morning and you have to enter the faith. You wake up in the morning and faith is the faith of yesterday not today. And 'the faith you need today, is not the faith of yesterday. Although yesterday's faith helps you, supports you, encourages you, makes you easier to measure.
And this brings me to this famous term, this useless servants. Let me say something a little unusual about this definition.
At the end of this text that speaks of doing what God gives us to do, this is faith, make the our service and to be happy and to live their faith. "So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say we are useless servants. We did what we had to do. " The idea is that it is unnecessary. Here, it derives a concept of not being very humble essential, what is certainly important, we need, however, because unnecessary, already in Latin means something a bit 'different. In utilis , ie one who has not useful. Within acreios, there is a privative alpha compared to a term that indicates who is entitled to salary. We are not entitled to wages. I do not have to pay. We are a non-profit. Unnecessary for this. In fact, they say: "We are servants who should not be paid because we did what we had to do."
ie. Here we must understand that the reward of faith is faith itself. I do not need to have a lot of results, I have no need to be paid, to live the life of faith. You live the life of faith the reward in itself. That is the reality of living things of God, to work in his vineyard, already is salvation.
When we see people, even in Church services and then they make complaints, they pass the bill, are, in fact, their rights because they have services, we are dealing with people who have not received the real reward. They want to reward the men, by the recognition, they want in this world, even if they are in the Church. The real reward is just the service. The service that God gives us to do. That is our joy, our treasure. Work in the vineyard of the Lord. St. Paul says these things here. "It's not for me to boast, but how can I live without this? How could I live without evangelize without proclaiming the Gospel. " In fact, says the second letter to the Corinthians, God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful giver that this is the one that willingly, who from being happy to give. We have an army of Christians by paycheck in hand that wants to be paid, they want to pay for their acts Christians, for their acts of faith.
This is enough to be misled by faith. Life is the gift of serving God. Living being able to make beautiful things that God gives us to do, but what else have we? But what is most beautiful to be able to serve the one that must be served. To go to bed at night thinking, "I have accomplished my mission!" But what I want more from life. Faith is living like this. If I want something to put in your pocket as a result, a quantity that can give me some confidence, I did not understand what God gives me to do. God must be grateful to us for what we do? Mah! Then it is because he is good, generous, magnanimous is . But we must be, like, themselves from this economic mindset that everything must be paid. So all must have a feedback. We are not entered into the logic of faith. God has the right to ask for services? Sure! Sure! God has the right to ask me to accomplish a mission? Definitely yes! What will be my reward? Accomplish the mission. What God asks me, are gifts that makes me. What God asks me to have put her through that in my life. Woe to me if someone else's servant. Woe to me if I'm before God as people claim, we are called to be happy good things that we have the opportunity to do. That is our reward. Faith? be exercised there. Faith grows there. Faith increases if it is to increase there. In practice than it is what God calls us to do.
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