The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, 'Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you."

This weekend Christ asks us a simple question: "How strong is your faith in God?" Faith is not something vague, uncertain, undefinable, or something which requires a leap of the imagination or, worse, some kind of blind allegiance. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Faith is a response of trust and belief in what is reliable, truthful, certain, and real. To have Christian faith is to believe and trust in a person, the person of Jesus. When God reveals himself to us, he gives us the "assurance" and "conviction" that his power and presence and glory are just as real, and even more real, than our experience of the natural physical world around us. Things around us change, but God never changes. He is constant, ever true to his word, and always faithful to his promises (Psalm 145:13, Hebrews 10:23). That is why we can have the greatest assurance of his unconditional love for us and why we can hope with utter conviction that he will give us everything he has promised. Jesus is God's visible proof that his word is reliable and true - his love is unfailing and unconditional - and his power is immeasurably great and unlimited.

Faith in God is the key to removing obstacles and difficulties which keep us from doing his will. We belong to God, and our lives are no longer our own. Our joy and privilege are to follow the Lord Jesus and to serve in the power of his love and goodness. The Lord Jesus is ever ready to work in and through us by his Spirit for his glory. For our faith to be effective, it must be linked with trust and obedience - an active submission to God and a willingness to do whatever he commands. This weekend, may the Holy Spirit of God rejuvenate and enliven our Christian faith to follow God and be a blessing to those around us.

Quote from the Early Church Fathers: To increase faith is to strengthen it by the Holy Spirit, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD) "They ask, 'Add faith to us.' They do not ask simply for faith, for perhaps you might imagine them to be without faith. They rather ask Christ for an addition to their faith and to be strengthened in faith. Faith partly depends on us and partly is the gift of the divine grace. The beginning of faith depends on us and our maintaining confidence and faith in God with all our power. The confirmation and strength necessary for this comes from the divine grace."

Fr John

​​​​​​​©2022 Servants of the Word, source: dailyscripture.net, author Don Schwager​​​​​​​