Looking at what is happening around us, in our families, in our communities, in our country, throughout the world; I sometimes wonder… Have people become crazy? Has the world gone insane? Are we heading towards disaster or impending doom? We see innocent children being killed, some even while in the womb, since there are some who think that abortion is a right, they are the victim and the foetus is the aggressor. We see marriages falling apart and in some places, even the definition of marriage is being challenged. We see children being mistreated or even tortured, sometimes due to issues between adults or between their own parents. We see domestic violence, maids being ill-treated, misuse of power or authority, rape, corruption, exploitation, people going on amok or on a rampage, just because they have been so easily influenced by certain irresponsible parties.
Amidst all the mayhem and mess we are facing, we could understand how the Prophet Habakkuk must have felt in the first reading when he said: “Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.” Is it any wonder that more and more people around us are experiencing depression, some even to the point of ending it all, due to the madness happening around us. So how do we cope? How do we find meaning in life, when things all around us seems to be falling apart?
The readings today speak of faith. Faith enables us to see that God is in control, even though evil seems to be gaining the upper-hand; faith gives direction when we are lost; faith helps us to persevere and press on even when faced with the many problems. In the world today, we need faith more than ever if we are to survive. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that if we have faith “the size of a mustard seed” we could uproot trees and move mountains. What does this mean? Jesus is not telling us that faith in God means God is going to perform something miraculous or spectacular for us, since that would reduce God to merely an entertainer, magician or some sort of wonder worker. Faith is when we believe God will take care of all things and not allow us to come to any harm. Faith is letting God to be God, letting God take control of our lives and do what is best for us, according to His terms and for His glory. It is in this context that, if we trust God, then even a tiny mustard seed could perform wonders way beyond our imagination and expectation, since it is God who allows it to take place. The problem is that some of us feel we must take a greater role, we want to be ones that can move mountains rather than letting God to do this. But if we say that we have ‘faith,’ then we must be prepared, willing and humble enough to let God have a free hand to do what is best for us.
Today, let us echo the words of the disciple and ask God to “increase our faith.” Let us be docile and willing to let God take care of us and do what is best for us, putting on the eyes of faith and knowing and trusting that no matter what happens, no matter how bad the situation may be, we have a God who will not abandon us and will be there for us.