Faith and the Fullness of Life

27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 6, 2013

Luke 17:5-10

“Lord, Increase our faith (Luk 17:5).”

 Faith speaks of our deepest desire of human being; our soul’s longing for someone who would fill this fundamental inadequacy since deep inside us, we are radically incomplete and wounded. Through faith, we discover Him who gives Meaning to our meaningless life, because He is the Word that inscribes the barrenness of our soul. Happy indeed, the person who has faith. As the Psalmist would sing, “My soul is longing for the Lord, more than watchman for daybreak. Let the watchman count on daybreak and Israel on the Lord. Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption (Psalm 130:6-7).”

We are hunger for God, for Him that completes us. Thus, like the disciples in today’s Gospel, we ask the Lord, “Increase our Faith!” To quench our thirst for the Divine, we engage ourselves in various religious activities. People throng churches with dynamic preachers and uplifting liturgy. Others seek the healing Masses. Other choose to attend profound Bible Study groups. Others prefer to be part of energetic Charismatic Prayer groups. Other love silence of retreat houses and Taize meditation. While some other favor the solemnity of classic old Mass. Every one of us has practically the luxury to adapt religious activity that would suits our taste. If we cannot find that would fit us, then we are free to create our own spiritual chemistry: a little prayer, a several Bible verses, and a lot of sleeping! Name it, you have it!  

Yet, our Lord reminds us that faith is not simply about spiritual gratification. Otherwise, we just treat our faith and religion just like other worldly entertainments that amuse us every time we feel dry and bored. Worse, it merely serves as tranquilizer when our lives are so messy. This is why Karl Marx once accused religion as the opium of the masses. Faith and various spiritual exercises are demoted into easy ways to fulfill our selfish interests. Instead receiving the fullness of life, we plunge ourselves into abyss of despair and delusion.

Jesus says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.” Faiths should impel us to concrete actions and to love others even more. It is rather sad if we attend uplifting Bible studies just to escape problems in our house or office and remain in our vices, or we enjoy the energizing prayer meetings but are not involved in the Church’s fight against injustice in the society.

“Ite missa est!” is the last phrase of the Eucharistic celebration in original Latin. It roughly means ‘Go, you are sent!”. The Eucharist, the summit and the source of our spiritual life, commands us not to stay within the worship, but to go out to the world and bring the fruits of our worships to others. In a recent World Youth Day in Brazil, Pope Francis told the youth not only to make noise during the week-long celebration, but rather to make their noise be heard in their own parishes, dioceses and societies. The encounter with God should lead us into an agent of change. Faith must become the source of the fruitfulness of life. It is the origin of transformation in life, family and society. Live out our faith to the fullest then!

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP