Homily For Saturday Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 12th August, 2023

Readings: Deut. 6:4-13; Ps. 18; Matt 17-20

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel  Emenike Onyia.

 

DO YOU HAVE FAITH? THEN, MAKE IT GROW LIKE A MUSTARD SEED

 

Oftentimes, we think and wish that we have faith enough to face whatever challenges that come our way. But the fact remains that we can only know the level and capacity of our faith when we are truly faced with a situation that overwhelms our physical and mental abilities. Then we will realize that what we think we have as faith is nothing but a shadow of the reality. Such was the situation with the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel passage today. 

 

For a man came up to Jesus begging him to deliver his son who he bought to his disciples but they where unable to cure him. But Jesus said to them ‘faithless and perverse generation!’ ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And he rebuked the devil, who immediately came out of the boy and he was cured from that moment.

 

Then the disciples came privately to Jesus. ‘Why were we unable to cast it out? they asked. He answered, ‘Because you have little faith. I tell you solemnly, if your faith were the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move; nothing would be impossible for you.

 

Here, Jesus gives two reasons why the disciples failed to cure the boy. The first is connected with their own moral condition and disposition as they are only depending on their own personal abilities. Secondly and more importantly is their lack of faith. Though they had, indeed, shown some faith by making even the attempt at the expulsion of the devil, but they had acted in a half-hearted manner, and had not displayed that perfect confidence and trust which alone can bring success and make all things possible.

 

Thus, Jesus decided to use the analogy of a mustard seeds to give them lecture about having a perfect and complete faith that moves mountain. The mustard seed as we know is the smallest of all seeds which grows to produce the largest of all shrubs. So with the analogy of the mustard seed in relation to faith, Jesus supposed that, if we have the smallest faith that is genuine, we can do all things. Just like the mustard seed produced the largest of all herbs.

 

Therefore, If we begin to nurture our faith to grow and strengthened from small humble beginning, it will grow to the point that it can help us to perform and achieve greater things and conquer most difficult situation that, at first would appear impossible.

 

So faith moving mountains, implies that spiritual and divine ability to make difficult and stumbling situations to vanish. And this is obtained when we are rooted in God through sincere love. Little wonder we heard Moses in our first reading todays instructing the Israelites on the need to love God sincerely with all their hearts and soul as  they have it in their common daily prayer called the Shema Israel.

 

Dear friends, do you have faith? What is the size of your faith? Do you want your faith to grow? Then, you must cultivate the humble habit of a mustard seed, which though small but has the potential of becoming great when exposed to a fertile environment. For us to have the faith that moves mountain, we must be well deposed to embrace the power of God in our lives, we must desire to have a personal experience of the power of God at work in the world and acknowledge that in him come our victory over every situation with encounter.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, faith is your supernatural gift to humanity. Grant that we may embrace this gift even as little as that of a mustard seed, in order to move out of our lives the tough mountains that are crushing us on our daily lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a joyful weekend.