Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14 Luke 17:5-10
Habakkuk is one of the prophets we read very little from for any of our liturgical settings, especially mass. We read from this prophet once during our Sunday Mass liturgy in cycle C, this year, and once during our weekday Mass liturgy in year II. So, our first response, question ought to be, “Why do we read so little from this prophet”, or maybe a better question for us to ask ourselves is “What is so important in his message that we do not read from this prophet very often?”
First, this piece of scripture is not very long with only three chapters, and each of those is pretty short as compared to our other prophets. Also, the time period for this piece covers just a few short years, from 605-597. This time period is after the Babylonians have come to power and have begun to threaten Israel, but before they invade and destroy Jerusalem in 587.
So just what is it that makes Habakkuk so unique, so interesting that we need to look closely at it? Well, for me it comes down to the conversation he has with the Lord; the content and the tone of the conversation. It is not unique to hear prophets question the Lord, His motives, His reason for their call to serve or even the intentions He has for the prophet or His people. Remember how Moses threw it back at the Lord when the Lord tried to blame Moses for the way the people were acting in the desert, making the golden images of their previous Gods. Moses said to the Lord, it was “Not
my people, but
your people whom
you led out of Egypt!”
Habakkuk and Jeremiah introduce a new style, a new attitude in their prophecy. Up to this tine the prophet would normally just deliver the message, the oracle of God to the people of Israel. The conversation now turns to more of a demanding style, drawing the two into a question/answer type of conversation. That conversation itself now becomes the Word of the Lord that we need to learn from.
We hear a series of two questions and laments from Habakkuk before we hear the Lord deliver his oracle, his reply, to the prophet. He starts right out with the plea “How long, O Lord?” Pretty strong words, a pretty demanding question of the Lord, not what we have come to hear up to this time from the prophets. Habakkuk says he sees the suffering, the violence, the ruin, and the misery that surrounds them. He wants to know how long they must put up with this, and why is the Lord making them witnesses to the evil going on around them?
After skipping the rest of chapter 1, we now hear the Lord answer Habakkuk. The Lord tells him to not only write down the vision He is going to give him, but to write it down clearly so that it can be read by all. The Lord tells Habakkuk that the vision is essentially timeless, that it will come to fulfillment and it will not disappoint. He then says if it is delayed, then we must wait for it, that there is no set time as to when to expect it to happen.
For us today we want instant results, we want immediate answers, we want automatic gratification to our wants and needs, but how often do we look the needs of the others around us? Why is it we are unwilling to wait for the natural progression of the things around us to occur and jump in trying to make changes happen now?
We, if anything should be asking, like Habakkuk, why should we seeing the evil in the world around us, and second, what/when is the Lord going to solve these problems? The answer to us will be the same today as it was to Habakkuk, that the Lord is in charge and that the fulfillment will occur in its own time. That answer for us is to have faith in the Lord. Easy answer, but so hard for us in our world today to allow the Lord to be in command of our lives.
Paul’s letter to Timothy continues in the tradition of the pastor leading his community as the shepherd is called to do. While it entails many hardships, the faithful shepherd has been given the power and authority to lead through love and self-control. He reminds Timothy of the hardships that the gospel demands of us but that we are to derive our strength to carry on from that same gospel and we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit within us.
Our gospel message is short this week compared to the last few we have heard, but has just as powerful a message for us as the parables have been for the last several weeks. The disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. Seems like a simple question just needing a simple answer from Jesus, but we know that is not how the Lord works, both in Jesus time and in ours today.
Jesus again uses examples from their life that they can identify with, the farmer who plants the very tiny mustard seeds, and the servant who is called to fulfill his duties to his master. These two examples are not easy to connect and don’t seem to be linked at first glance. It is only after we ponder, pray and listen to the Spirit speaking to us, that we can begin to understand how they are connected and what it means for us today.
The mustard seed example is telling them that no matter how small their faith is, that in itself is so powerful that we can call on it to carry us through what ever is happening in our life. We don’t need to be overfilled with faith to follow the Lord, we need enough faith to believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and to change our lives to follow Him at all times. As we grow and change, our faith will grow too.
The example of the servant is not as transparent and this is where our prayer and discernment need to take place. When the master calls the servant to wait on him and not automatically join him at the table, the servant must understand the obligations he has to the master and to fulfill those obligations. When those obligations are fulfilled, then the servant will get to participate in the banquet that will be held. That understanding come through the faith he has in the Lord.
It is no different for us today, that we all have obligations we must fulfill before we get to participate in that heavenly banquet the Lord has ready for us. It will test our commitment to stay faithful to the Lord. It will test our faith to follow His commands and to take care of His people. It will test us to never give up and stay strong in our commitment to Jesus. Only then, at the end, should we say “I am your unworthy servant, do to me as you will,” and then our reward will be great when we hear Him say “Well done my good and faithful servant!”