Twenty Seventh Sunday October 05, 2025
Habakkuk 1:2-3;2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14; Luke 17:5-10
Theme: “Lord, Increase Our Faith!”
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
have you ever had one of those moments when you just felt tired—spiritually tired?
When you’ve prayed and prayed, but it seems like God is silent?
When you look at the world, and you wonder, “Lord, where are You in all of this?” That’s exactly where the prophet Habakkuk finds himself in our first reading today.
He cries out, “How long, O Lord, must I cry for help, and You do not listen?”
He’s frustrated. He looks around and sees violence, injustice, corruption.
And maybe we can relate to him. We, too, see wars, political division, poverty, and moral confusion. Sometimes we might even look at our own families or our own lives and say, “Lord, I’ve been praying, but nothing seems to change!” But God tells Habakkuk something very important: “Write down the vision clearly on tablets… for the vision still has its time… it will surely come.” In other words, God is not absent. He is not ignoring us.
He’s telling us: “Be patient. I am working—even when you don’t see it yet.”
That’s faith.
Faith is not pretending everything’s fine. Faith is trusting that God is faithful even when things don’t make sense yet.
Faith is trust — not control
In the Gospel, the apostles come to Jesus with a simple but powerful request:
“Lord, increase our faith.”
Have you ever prayed that prayer?
I think all of us have.
When we’re facing sickness, loss, doubt, family struggles, or even just the uncertainty of daily life—we all feel that desire: “Lord, give me more faith!”
But Jesus gives a surprising answer.
He doesn’t say, “Alright, here’s more faith.”
He says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
A mustard seed is tiny—barely visible.
So Jesus is telling them, “You don’t need more faith. You need to use the faith you already have.”
Sometimes we think faith is about quantity—like having a big tank of gas.
But faith is more about trust and action. It’s not about how much we have—it’s about whether we live it, even when it feels small.
Faith grows when we act on it
Faith doesn’t grow by sitting still; it grows when we use it.
Think of your muscles: if you never use them, they get weak.
Faith is the same. Every time we choose to forgive, when we show kindness, when we keep praying even when it’s hard, when we come to Mass even when we’re tired—that’s when faith strengthens.
St. Paul reminds Timothy of this today.
He says, “Fan into flame the gift of God that is within you.”
Imagine a small ember of a fire.
If you fan it gently, it becomes a flame.
If you ignore it, it dies out.
Paul is telling Timothy—and us—that the faith God gave us in baptism is alive, but it needs to be nourished, fanned, lived.
So maybe ask yourself this week:
How am I fanning my faith into flame?
Am I giving it oxygen through prayer, through Scripture, through love of neighbour?
Or am I letting it fade by neglect?
Faith is expressed through humble service
Then Jesus tells this strange parable about the servant who works all day and doesn’t expect thanks.
At first, it might sound harsh.
But Jesus is teaching about the attitude of the disciple: humility.
Faith and service go hand in hand.
If I truly trust God, I’ll serve Him and others—not because I expect applause, but because love is my response to grace.
In our world today, it’s so easy to expect recognition for what we do.
We post our good deeds online. We want someone to notice.
But Jesus says: “When you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what we ought to have done.’”
That’s not self-pity. That’s humility.
It’s the heart of someone who knows that every good thing they have—their talents, their time, their strength—is pure gift from God.
Faith without humility becomes pride.
But humble faith says: “Lord, everything I have, I give back to You.”
Faith in the real world
Let’s make it real for a moment.
Maybe there’s a parent here today praying for a child who’s drifted away from the Church.
Or a young person wondering what their future holds.
Maybe someone’s caring for an aging parent, or struggling to make ends meet.
It’s in those moments—those “Habakkuk moments”—that faith is tested.
And yet, that’s where faith grows.
When we say, “Lord, I don’t see it yet, but I still trust You,”
when we show love even when we’re tired,
when we keep forgiving even when it hurts—
that’s mustard-seed faith at work.
And Jesus says that kind of faith can move mountains—or even mulberry trees.
A call for us as a community
Brothers and sisters, our world needs people of faith—not just people who say they believe, but people who live that belief.
When we live with faith, we become signs of hope for others.
When the world complains, we can bring encouragement.
When others despair, we can speak of God’s promises.
When people feel abandoned, we can remind them: “God is still here.”
Each of us is called, in our own way, to be prophets like Habakkuk,
disciples like Timothy, and humble servants like those in Jesus’ parable.
Faith is not just about Sunday Mass—it’s about Monday morning.
It’s about bringing patience into our homes, compassion into our workplaces, and courage into our decisions.
Conclusion
So today, let’s echo the apostles’ prayer:
“Lord, increase our faith.”
But let’s remember what Jesus teaches us:
We don’t need more faith—we need to live the faith we already have.
We need to fan it into flame.
We need to act on it with love, with service, with humility.
Because even the smallest seed of faith—if it’s alive—can move mountains.
So this week, when you feel overwhelmed, when you’re tempted to give up, just whisper that prayer:
“Lord, increase my faith.”
And then take one small step—one act of love, one act of trust, one act of service.
That’s how mustard-seed faith becomes a tree of life.
That’s how God’s vision, as He told Habakkuk, slowly unfolds in our world.
It may take time—but it will come.
Because “the just one, because of faith, shall live.”
Amen.