Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus advises to face life with faith, and with an attitude of gratitude and humility. The disciples have an authentic desire to imitate Jesus and to be more like him; to live up to his teaching.

Gospel according to Luke 17:5-10

“The apostles said to the Lord, “’Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you. ‘Who amongst you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending the sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table?” Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless laves; we have done only what we ought to have done!”’

Reflections

The context of today’s Gospel is a conversation between Jesus and the disciples on the journey to Jerusalem. They witness Jesus’ miracles of healing, and they are dining at the house of pharisee, where Jesus presents them with the parable of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, exhorting them to choose well and to accumulate treasures for heaven instead of reveling in earthy goods. 

The conversation turns to ways of living a pure and upright life, avoiding temptations and sins. Jesus affirms that “…Occasions for stumbling are bound to come” (Luke 17:1). He encourages the disciples to “rebuke the offender” and to be ready to forgive when they repent (Luke 17:4). 

Listening to Jesus, the disciples approach him with a very deep and personal request: “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5) They say this to grow closer to him in goodness and holiness, to be able to recognize temptations and avoid falling into them, and to be able to seek forgiveness when they have sinned and forgive others to show remorse. The disciples have an authentic desire to imitate Jesus and to be more like him; to live up to his teaching. (1)

Jesus turns to them, and says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this [mulberry] tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6). We could place the type of tree in brackets because in some translations the type of tree appears as a sycamore tree, but really, it can be any typical tree that Jesus is referring to. Obviously, he is using symbolic language. A tree, such as the tree of life, refers to our spiritual lives, vitality, connection to immortality, and the interconnectedness of creation. (2) The mustard seed, which is a tiny seed, barely visible to the naked eye, is the origin of the “largest tree” so great, that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches,” says Jesus in another parable, the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). In other words, Jesus is saying that if we have even a tiny faith, we can, like a seed, take on new life. (1) The verb “to uproot and to be planted in the sea” is entirely an impossible feat, a miraculous transformation. From something that is tiny and barely visible, God can create something great and something spectacular—says Jesus. If we place our faith in God, there is nothing impossible for Him. 

Biblical scholars believe that the reference of being uprooted and re-planted has correlates in Jeremiah’s prophecy, according to which the Jewish people during the Exile into Babylon were uprooted in 587 BC, when the temple was destroyed, and they were re-rooted, seventy years later, in 517 BC, when they were allowed to re-build the Temple. (3) The divine vision is what the Israelites lost when they rebelled against Moses in the desert. (1) As soon as their vision was blurred, they started to quarrel, and they faltered, as in the words of the Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no prophecy [vision], the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law.” In such difficult times, when, with the words of St. Ignatius, there was “more desolation than consolation,” what helped them to stay on course was to recall the faithfulness of God, and his works which they have witnessed. After repenting from their stubborn ways, a new surge of spiritual renewal bore a new song of praise in their mouths, as it is stated in the exclamation of Psalm 96:1, they began to “Sing a new song to the Lord!” 

The root of faith was recollection, and remembrance of the Lord’s deeds in the past, what they witnessed and what they were grateful for. And the fruit of this gratitude to the Lord resulted in a new hope, and joy, patience in the tribulations, and kindness. –At times of temptation or trials, it is this larger picture, this vision, that Jesus is pointing the disciples’ gaze toward: Recollecting and remembering the faithfulness of the Lord. Gratitude for the vision of love and mercy outpouring and sustaining us.

At the same time, says Jesus, it is equally important to remember our littleness. God created the universe, and according to His plan, we can go out into the world and with His help, do some wonderful things if we have even a little faith. But we have to remember that we are not God. We do not measure up to the strength or power of God. In fact, Psalm 103:14 describes us as “dust.” Listen carefully to this verse: “For He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust.” This verse emphasizes fragility and mortality. And compare this verse with Psalm 8:4, where the psalmist says, and despite our fragility, and mortality, “What is man, that you are mindful of him?” –God cares for humanity despite our smallness in the vast universe. Knowing our limits can make us wise, because it reminds us that ultimately, God is in charge, and God has a vision for each and every one of us that will not fade away and will not pass away. In front of the wonder of greatness, we can only bow, if we are wise, recognizing that humanity was created in the image of God. All our effort is for His service, unless we have become haughty and boastful, trusting in our own efforts and achievements, in which case we have already given into temptation and then it becomes hard to admit our faults and face our weaknesses, and we may find it most difficult to forgive others, or to keep trusting God when things don’t go our way. 

In the novel “As Man Thinketh” (1903), James Lane Allen, the American novelist, remarked that “Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.” (4) The way we handle adversity can build our character, not adversity itself. Interestingly, the basis for this self-help book is a Bible verse from the Proverbs, Chapter 23, verse 7: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”  

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus advised to face life with faith, and with an attitude of gratitude and humility. Summarizing the verses from the Psalms, we may recall God’s goodness and recall these recorded words from the Psalms: “Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 117) and in Psalm 150: “Praise the Lord in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

When calamity strikes, when we have sinned, or strayed away, may we find inspiration from the voice of Habakkuk, a simple farmer, but a minor prophet, who lived 600 BC and said, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of the deer; he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On stringed instruments.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

References

1. Sparough, M. (2022). Homily-Entitled or Grateful? [Luke 17:5-10]. Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry. You Tube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysFAlmZdT6c. Accessed: September 29, 2025.
2. Encyclopedia Britannica (2025). Tree of Life. Meaning, Symbol, Biology, Name, and Movie. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/tree-of-life-religion. Accessed: September 29, 2025.
3. Peters, T. (2025). Luke 17:5-10: The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Gospel Reflection, Year C, Fr. Tim Peters. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZElPr-r_AY Accessed: September 29, 2025.
4. Allen, J. (1903-2003). As a Man Thinketh. Essay in the public domain. Retrieved from: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/As_a_Man_Thinketh. Accessed: September 29, 2025.