27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C October 2, 2022
Fr. Alexander Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
It’s not just willpower, you know. Faith is not stirring up some kind interior resolve to summon mystical powers and do the impossible. When Jesus gives this example of the mustard seed moving the mulberry tree, he doesn’t mean that if you dig down enough and just believe in yourself, you can levitate giant trees into the ocean.
You see, faith is not just willpower or self-confidence. Faith is a virtue. Now, I say that – “faith is a virtue” – but do you know what I mean? I often ask people what a virtue is. I almost never get the right answer. People guess part of it… they generally get the idea that virtue is a good thing. But if we can’t tell other people what a virtue is, then we probably don’t really understand what it is. That means we don’t understand what the virtue of faith means.
A virtue is a good habit. It’s a little more than that, but that’s close enough and easy to remember. A virtue is a good habit; something that lets you do a good thing quickly, easily, and with pleasure. It’s usually related to morality, but there are other examples. Someone who spends a lot of time learning and practicing piano has the virtue of music. They can quickly and easily play a song and they typically enjoy doing it.
As another example, you’ve probably heard it said that “patience is a virtue.” Having patience means you’ve built up the habit, you’ve increased your ability to endure difficult or annoying things without complaint. You control your temper quickly and easily and there’s even some part of you that enjoys the sense of freedom and peace that this kind of self-control brings.
Obviously, not all virtues are the same: some of them are more proactive than others. In the example of music, it starts with a person choosing to practice music and slowly growing in the virtue. Patience is more reactive. Something happens to you and you choose to endure it.
That difference is important in understanding faith because, believe it or not, faith is a reactive virtue. You can’t just decide to have faith. Faith is always in response to something… or rather to someone. Unlike music or patience which you can practice by your own power, faith is a supernatural virtue. It is literally impossible for a person to give themselves faith. It is a gift from God. Faith is a gift and faith is a virtue. How does that work? Because faith is a response. God gives us the gift of faith so that we can respond correctly to his other gifts.
That’s the problem with the way many people read this parable. When they hear “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” they automatically translate that to “if I work hard enough, I can make my faith bigger” without considering where that seed comes from. When you go to plant something in your garden – maybe it’s mustard – do you just will the seed into being? Just ‘poof’ and then put it in the ground? No, you have to receive the seed from somewhere.
God’s activity is always first. God’s activity is always first. I’ll say it one more time. God’s activity is always first. Your existence came from him. Your desire for happiness? Came from him. The fact that you chose to come to Mass today to receive his grace? His grace is what made it possible to make that choice. That’s how the spiritual life works. It’s God who gives us the gift of wanting his gifts. He gives us the grace to seek his gifts. He gives us the grace to receive his gifts. He gives us the grace to use those gifts well. God’s activity is always first.
If we really understand this, this parable makes more sense. The mustard seed isn’t a commentary on our power. It’s a commentary on God’s power. To have faith the size of a mustard seed means to respond to God’s initiative even in small things. When the Apostles ask to increase the Lord to increase their faith, Jesus doesn’t want them to shut their eyes and just feel or think really hard about doing whatever they want. He makes the point that even a fraction of God’s power can do amazing things if we accept it. The example of a seed isn’t an accident either. Seeds have to be planted to bear fruit, not just held in your hand.
What am I saying? I’m saying that, no matter how hard you concentrate on believing you can uproot that oak out front, it won’t happen. At least, not unless God first invites you to do it. Faith is the virtue that says “yes” to God’s invitation. Faith is the virtue that hears God say “I want you to do this impossible thing” and says “I trust you.”
This is the key to understanding Habakkuk… to understanding all unanswered prayer. Quite often, we really don’t trust God enough and that’s why our prayers aren’t answered the way we want. But you know, there are some prayers God will never grant. Because faith isn’t a magic wish list. It is a response to his gifts. At the bottom, authentic prayer starts with trusting that God is good and that he loves you.
Does this mean we shouldn’t ask for miracles unless a voice from the sky tells us to? No. Remember that God inspires in us the desire to pray. Remember also that desires can come from other places too. How do we know which desires comes from where? Prayer and study. Knowing who God is and what he teaches helps, but often it is only through prayer that we learn. We pray for what we desire and, if we persevere, if we continue to pray with faith that desire will either fade, transform into another desire, or be answered. And then we’ll know which ones come from God.
This is what it means to say faith is a virtue… a good habit. It takes practice. But if we can only practice that virtue in response to God’s initiative, how do we practice it? Well, by responding to what he has told you. Besides praying a lot, there’s everything he’s told us through the Church. Faith is a virtue… it is a virtue that trusts, which means it’s also a virtue that obeys. You want to increase your faith? Then obey his commands. That’s why the mustard seed is immediately followed by this parable of a servant. That is exactly why the Church exists. The Church, with her scripture and tradition, gives us an external, objective place to practice trust in the form of obedience. It’s not about earning love or spiritual rewards, it’s about practicing faith. That, coupled with deep, persistent prayer teaches you to recognize God’s voice when he does ask you to trust him to perform a miracle. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. You can hear his voice calling you to daily prayer, weekly Mass, regular confession, acts of sacrifice, service to the poor, and continual study of His word. If you harden your hearts to the miracle of the Eucharist and the miracle of being forgiven in confession, are you surprised you lack faith for things like healings and visions? Hear his voice in what the Church has always taught and asked us to do. Hear his voice in your unyielding prayer. Harden not your hearts so that you can be more than unprofitable servants. Open them to receive his word and be what you’re meant to be: sons and daughters of God raised up to be saints for all eternity.