Homily For This Sunday - 5th October 2025 (Twenty-Seventh Sunday in ordinary Time)

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Have you ever felt like your prayers were bouncing off the ceiling? Like God wasn't listening? The prophet Habakkuk certainly felt this way. In our first reading, we hear his raw, honest cry: "How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen!" Habakkuk was witnessing violence and injustice all around him, and it seemed like God was silent, absent, maybe even indifferent.

Yet God's response to Habakkuk reveals something profound about faith itself. The Lord tells him to write down the vision and wait for it, "for the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint." And then comes that beautiful line that Saint Paul would later quote: "The just one, because of his faith, shall live."

This brings us to the heart of today's Gospel, where the apostles make a request that might surprise us: "Increase our faith!" Not "Give us more miracles" or "Make our lives easier," but "Increase our faith." They recognized that faith itself was what they needed most.

But notice Jesus' response. He doesn't give them a formula for stronger faith. Instead, He tells them that faith the size of a mustard seed – the tiniest of seeds – can move mulberry trees. The issue isn't the quantity of our faith, but its authenticity. Even the smallest genuine faith connects us to God's infinite power.

Then Jesus tells that puzzling parable about the servant who works all day and still must prepare his master's dinner without expecting special thanks. At first glance, this might seem harsh, but Jesus is revealing something beautiful about the nature of faith-filled living. When we truly understand who God is and who we are in relationship to Him, serving becomes not a burden but our natural response to His love.

Saint Paul understood this deeply. In our second reading, he encourages Timothy to "stir into flame the gift of God" and not to be ashamed of the Gospel. Paul knew that faith isn't a passive possession we hold, but a living fire that must be constantly tended and shared. He reminds Timothy – and us – that God has given us "a spirit not of cowardice but of power, love, and self-control."

This is the vision that Habakkuk was told to write down and wait for: that those who live by faith, who trust in God's timing and goodness even when circumstances seem impossible, will truly live. They will experience life as God intended it – not merely existing, but thriving in relationship with their Creator.

But what does this mean for us today, in our own moments of doubt and difficulty? When we face illness, loss, conflict, or uncertainty, how do we "stir into flame" our faith?

First, we must be honest about our struggles, as Habakkuk was. God can handle our questions, our frustrations, even our anger. Faith doesn't mean pretending everything is fine when it isn't. It means bringing our whole selves – doubts and all – before the Lord.

Second, we must remember that faith is not a feeling but a choice. Some days we may feel close to God, other days distant. But faith means choosing to trust in God's goodness and presence regardless of our emotions. As the Catechism teaches us, faith is "the human response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man."

Third, we must understand that our service to God and others isn't meant to earn God's love – we already have that completely. Rather, our service flows from gratitude for the love we've already received. When we grasp this truth, even the most ordinary tasks become acts of worship.

Finally, we must be patient with God's timing. Habakkuk was told the vision "will not disappoint" but that it has "its time." In our instant-gratification culture, this is perhaps our greatest challenge. We want answers now, solutions today, miracles immediately. But God's timeline is not ours, and His ways are higher than our ways.

As we prepare now to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we encounter the ultimate expression of God's faithfulness to His promises. In this sacred meal, Christ gives Himself to us completely, not because we've earned it, but because He loves us beyond measure. Here, our small faith meets His infinite love. Here, the vision Habakkuk was told to wait for finds its fulfillment – God dwelling among His people, the just living by faith, and love triumphing over every form of darkness.

Let us approach this altar not with perfect faith, but with honest faith – mustard seed faith that trusts in His goodness even when we cannot see the full picture. For in receiving Him, our faith is not just increased but transformed, and we are sent forth to be His presence in a world that desperately needs to see that the vision of God's kingdom is real, and it will not disappoint.

Amen.