17th Sunday after Pentecost
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 37:1-9, 2; Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:1-10
The readings this week are all about faith. However, they are not about a faith that causes us to brag or lead us to self-righteousness. They are also not about the measure of how much we should believe to be able to do miraculous things. The gospel reading may be about the faith we don’t seem to have on our own.
In verse 5, the imperative in the original Greek text indicates a demand from the disciples for Jesus to increase their faith. Interestingly, it comes after Jesus warns them in verses 1 and 2 that “occasions to stumble are bound to come” and that the consequences of falling may be less than pleasant. Throughout the gospels, Jesus does not seem to react well to arrogance. What follows in the next verses feels like a rebuke from the Son of God, reminding the disciples that they don’t have, yet, even the smallest amounts of the faith that would cause the most basic symptoms of a transformed heart and mind.
In the second letter of Timothy, we are reminded that faith is a precious and gracious gift, passed along from generation to generation to fulfill God’s purpose and able to see us through tears and hardships. Faith allows Habakkuk to cry, “O Lord, how long?” Then speaking in God’s name, he declares that the “righteous live by their faith.” The psalmist pleads to the people to remain faithful and committed to God, for good things are bound to follow.
Bridging Faith 