Eight years.
At the outset of joining the seminary, that was what I was told it would take to get through, graduate, and be ordained a priest. Up front, even as a young seminarian, that seemed incredibly daunting. I had just finished all of my primary and high school education, and here I was, about to go through another eight years of education. How in the world would I make it through?
The answer? One step at a time.
The reality of what occurred over the next eight years was that it didn’t seem as daunting as I had thought. Sure, there were days that were easy, and some that were incredibly difficult. Days might have been long- and the night may have been short. Yet, in the end, I kept with it, and as a result, I am able to stand before you.
Yet, I can’t speak about seminary formation without speaking about the necessity of faith. This doesn’t just mean what someone might assume- that I had to be Catholic to make it. It was about choosing to step forward each day. To get up. To do what needed to be done. It was the gift of faith that made all of this possible- even though eight years might have seemed incredibly long up front.
And that, my brothers and sisters, is what we are invited to consider today: what does it take to be a person of faith?
If we start off with the first reading, we hear from the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk is one of the twelve minor prophets found in the Old Testament, though he is relatively unknown compared to some of the “big players.” Nonetheless, he still serves that important role of being God’s mouthpiece, especially within the nation of Israel. What makes this particular reading have such impact, however, is that he isn’t simply dialoguing with the people what the Lord has said, but he is actually speaking on behalf of the people to God. What does he have to say?
Largely, it is a message of lament! “How long, O Lord?! I cry for help, but you do not listen! I cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not intervene! Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me! It is a heavy message, but it is very likely many of us have grappled with at some point. You can hear a sort of bitterness on part of that prophet, and he is not afraid to let the Lord know what is on his mind! He sees that the good are being treated poorly, and the bad are seeming to be rewarded- and so he cries out in pain! Why is this the case?! Why must your chosen people suffer so?!
The amazing thing here, though, is that it is coupled with a response. The Lord listened to his cry, and then, in prayer, responded to him! The Lord actually speaks these words of encouragement- telling that the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint. What does this mean? Habakkuk’s vision of peace and security will become a reality- he simply needs to be patient. He needs to have faith.
We continue with the second reading, only we have now moved into the second letter of Saint Paul to Timothy. He begins this reading, “I remind you, to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.” Paul is actually directly referring to Timothy here, and specifically the gift of being ordained a bishop by Paul to go and to serve the Church in a larger capacity. He continues to encourage Timothy in this second letter in much the same way that he encouraged him in the first. “Do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord” and “bear your share of hardship for the gospel.” He is actually encouraging Timothy in a rather simple way- don’t just rest on a title. Get out. Do the work! Continue the same testimony that you heard from me- and continue in faith and love. Guard these things! What could we hear Saint Paul encouraging Timothy? Quite simply- be faithful and hand on what has been entrusted to you!
Finally, the Gospel continues, yet, in this one, Jesus actually responds to a prompt from the apostles. They give a simple inquiry: “increase our faith!” Likely, we can easily understand this prompt. Perhaps we have even been in that same place! Yet, as Jesus hears that question, two major themes crop up: first, the fundamental power of prayer. He wants the apostles to be encouraged that faith can indeed move mulberry trees- or whatever the obstacle might be. So, in one sense, he encourages them in faith. Yet, there is another side to this as well. He also reminds them of the need to be faithful. It isn’t enough to simply do the smallest amount in faith- and expect that this is praiseworthy. Jesus is cautioning against being a servant who simply looks at the bare minimum, and only scrapes by on what “needs” to be done.
However, let’s go back to that initial question: what indeed does it take to truly be a person of faith?
First, if we look at the excerpt from Habakkuk, we are encouraged to simply believe that having faith changes things. If we have faith- we have the power to do all sorts of things. If we couple it also with the Gospel, we realize that we can often do far more than would be expected with even a small gift of faith. If we but believe, we know that our God is there to make a difference for us. He wants to move our obstacles. To restore what has been taken away. To make right what has been wronged. To restore justice to places of injustice. If we have faith, we are going to reach out with what we have, as small of a speck of faith as it might seem that we have, and we are still going to try to make a difference with that anyways! We shouldn’t approach God with such an idea that He doesn’t care what is going on to us- no matter how small it may seem when we consider the workings of all of creation. God hears, and He responds! He will respond to Habakkuk, and He will respond to us as well!
Second, we should be aware of the power that faith professes. One of the primary reasons that Jesus uses this idea of a mulberry tree isn’t arbitrary, but He is full aware that a mulberry tree is amongst the hardest of trees to uproot. It takes hold firmly in the ground, and to move it would almost seem inconceivable. Yet, with faith, Jesus encourages the apostles that they can. Even in Saint Paul and his letter to Timothy, he takes up reminding Timothy that he has such tremendous responsibility, and that he is given, through the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands, an amazing duty to take care of the faith and to hand it on.
Finally, we need to remember: faith requires trust. We are likely never going to plant that mustard seed if we don’t think that it is going to make a difference in our lives. It requires that vulnerability to actually go forward and to ask God for whatever we need, and whatever the “mulberry trees” are in our lives. If we truly have faith- and we truly trust in what God is going to do- we may find ourselves quite happy with the results that the Lord sends our way. In addition, if we look at the second half of the Gospel, we are reminded that it isn’t enough to scrape by on duty. We cannot just sit idly by and pretend as if it is an “easy” undertaking, but it is something that is going to demand us to do what is above and beyond. We may expect praise and honor for doing what may be the baseline- and yet Jesus doesn’t mince words in reminding us that this is only the bare minimum. If one lives by this, one can simply state that they are indeed an unprofitable servant. That doesn’t sound all that appealing. We should truly strive to do the best we can each and every day. To be very clear, this does not mean that, when we live out our faith, we can gloat or hold it over one another. We should approach faith with all humility, but we should be willing to not settle, but rather see the ways that God is calling us to live that faith abundantly each and every day. Something for each of us to chew on, then, is the question “where can I give that more in my faith this week”? Where is God calling me to go in deeper and to believe that one mulberry tree- that one obstacle in my life- it can indeed be moved?
Seminary required faith. It required eight years of faith- not just in the sense of being Catholic but in the sense of showing up and doing the work that needed to be done. It wasn’t always easy, but it always yielded results, and was definitely worth it when it concluded. The challenge now, my brothers and sisters, is to be faithful. Life may seem long, and faith may seem so invisible at times. Yet, to truly live it out, and to live it out well will yields beautiful and profound result.
Perhaps that is what it is to be a person of faith.
