Gospel: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.
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Reflection:
Jesus has a lot of things to say to us in this gospel reading about Sin,
Forgiveness and Faith.
First: We must always be careful not to be a conduit for our brothers and
sisters to sin. And if we see somebody committing sin in whatever manner we
must always have the courage to advice them to avoid sin. Sometimes we think
twice if we would advice a sinner simply because we are afraid of the
consequence of our actions. We should not allow these factors to deter us
because it is our moral obligation to correct those who go astray.
Second: We must always forgive those who have done us wrong no matter how
deep the wound that they have caused us. If God can forgive who are we not to
forgive? Let us always remember that the more we keep deep seated resentment
and anger in our hearts the more that we allow them to hurt us. Try to forgive
and you will feel as if a big burden has been taken off your back.
Third: No matter how hard the times are right now, we must continue to
have faith for it is in having faith that we manifest how deep our love and
hope for God. The apostles said to Jesus: "Increase our faith."
Isn’t this what we also want to have in our life an increase in our faith
on Jesus? If this is so, we should not only ask, we should do something about
it by thirsting for Jesus. In other words we have to walk our talk. If we will
not work for it, our increase of faith will not drop like manna from
heaven.
God smiles to those who exert effort to know Him and He surely showers
His wisdom upon them. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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