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Luke 17: 1-6
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day
and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”
And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Jesus often uses strange, mysterious language to describe the power of faith.
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” he says in today’s Gospel, “then you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
I’ve never wrapped my arms around a mulberry tree, but I imagine I’d look like a fool if I tried pulling one out of the earth. After a tug or two, my arms would be scratched and red all over, causing me to lose heart and give up.
Not even the world’s strongest person could uproot a tree with their bare hands.
But with faith, anyone can do it, Jesus says, because faith derives its power from God.
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What does this mean more concretely?
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There are all kinds of unwelcome things – people, habits, memories, experiences, emotions – that get deeply rooted in our hearts.
We want them gone. We try to uproot them, but for one reason or another, we cannot summon the strength.
This is where faith comes in.
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It may require asking the Lord over and over again, but with daily faith the size of a mustard seed, that mulberry tree can be cast into the sea.
It begins, as with all things in the spiritual life, by turning to the Lord.
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Image credits: (1) A Christian Pilgrimage, WordPress (2) One More River To Cross, WordPress.com (3) Inklings Community