It is said that St. Thomas Aquinas, a great scholar and doctor of the Church, would pray, "Lord, help me in my unbelief." Hard to imagine that the man who wrote volumes on God, a good part of them discussing God's existence, would have need of such prayers. I argue not only did St. Thomas Aquinas need such prayers, but you and I as well.
In today's Gospel Jesus tells us, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the seas,' and it would obey you." (c.f. Lk. 17:5-10, NAB) Is Jesus being serious, how can I uproot a tree or make a mountain move? EXACTLY!
Once the slightest hesitation occurs in our thoughts or our belief, then the tree and the mountain will stay in place. For example, I may be looking for employment in an economy that is moving downwards making it real difficult to land a job. I may even pray that the Lord help me and all those looking for work to find it. However, the economy is so bad that I know it's going to take a very long time. This little bump, hesitation, doubt is enough to keep me and the tree in place.
One may argue, "You have to be realistic, when the economy is this bad, it's almost impossible to find a job." Remember man that this may be impossible for you, but with God all things are possible.
The interesting thing, and the comforting thing as well, is that we are all in the same boat, i.e. looking to increase our faith, both a man like St. Thomas Aquinas and us as well. We are in good company.
Jesus, however, does not stop with just having faith in this passage, does he? No he goes on to tell us what we must do or be like when we have faith that can move mulberry trees, and that is, we must always be diligent, obedient, and ready available servants, expecting nothing in return. You see, once we expect something then pride sneaks in and even complacency. Do we deserve anything from God? Does He owe us something? This kind of thinking is contrary to faith. It also separates us from God in the sense that we believe that something is ours by right and not by the free gift of God.
It is true and right that God respects and loves us, but we have nothing over Him. We cannot dictate what is owed to us. This is the trap the Pharisees fell into, believing because they did a, b, c, and d, that God would reward them. We do a, b, c, and d because we love to and expect nothing in return, we do our work simply for God's sake and for the assistance we provide to our neighbors.
You may think that kind of faith is tough and you are right, it is tough, but maybe that's why the mulberry tree is still where it is.
Fr. John Picinic
Picture is of Abraham being shown the stars found at http://www.wmcwels.com/clipart/024.gif
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