A sermon on Luke 17:5-10

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
HCP columnist

There is a story of a man who felt abandoned by God. He poured out his sadness to an old friend. 

He said, "My aunt whom I barely visited died three weeks ago and left me $1 million in her will. My cousin whom I hardly knew died two weeks ago. He left me $500,000 free and clear. Then my rich uncle whom I haven't seen in years died one week ago leaving me another $300,000 in his will. 

The friend said, "You are blessed, but why so glum?" 

The sad friend replied, "This week, I got nothing!"

"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith.'" (Luke 17:5.). Faith is not money in your bank that you give to God to get what you want. I knew a rich woman who gave a lot of money to charities. She told me the reason for her generosity. 

"Now God owes me a few favors in return." 

God owes you nothing. Our faith in God is not a thing that if you have enough of it He has to give you what you want. Faith is a relationship with God. It is our duty to trust God "faithfully" until we draw our last breath. Jesus describes what this relationship should look like. “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” (Luke 17:10.) 

Jesus wants you to have the heart of a faithful servant who trusts God not to bargain for special favors but to thank God for the blessings He has already given you. In AA, recovering alcoholics call this the "attitude of gratitude" for the gift of sobriety. Your relationship with God should always be one of humble thankfulness. God gives everything to us who deserve nothing. 

I witnessed the power of faith when I worked as a chaplain at the old Providence Hospital. I met two women who showed me what a humble trust in God looked like. I visited one elderly woman who was told she probably would never walk again. I entered her room thinking she would be devastated by this news. Yet, she sat there with a big smile on her face like nothing was wrong. I prayed over her asking God to give her courage and strength to carry this cross. 

Then she spoke. "Father, thanks for the prayer, but I'll be all right. I have many wonderful grandkids who can't wait to push grandma around in my wheelchair. Plus, my husband said he will do all the house cleaning. I'm blessed. Please go next door and pray over a lady who needs you more than I do. She just found out she has fourth-stage colon cancer. That must be awful hard to live with. She needs lots of prayers."

I went to the next room. She told me about her cancer. I prayed that she feels God's presence as she faces an uncertain future. What she said amazed me. 

"Father, I have had a long, good life. I am blessed with a large family who loves me. If He wants to take me, I'm ready. It's a win-win. Blessings down here and even more blessings up there in Heaven. Please Father, go next door and pray for a lady who found out she will never walk again. That has to be tough to accept. She needs your prayers more than I do. God has taken good care of me." 

Two ladies facing some heavy crosses not worried about themselves but concerned about the other. That is the "attitude of gratitude" in action. Their relationship with God was so powerful that their cross will never crush them to despair. 

What's most important is not how much faith you have but who you put your faith in. Faithfulness to God has great power to strengthen you and offers hope when you journey on a road where you don't see the light. Faith means you walk through the trials of life, the sufferings along the way, the darkness of not seeing the future and believing you will one day see the light shine brightly again. Pray, "Jesus I trust in You." That small prayer made with faith is the mustard seed growing, giving you power to carry the biggest cross.

There is a quote about faith that reads, "Faith tells me that no matter what lies ahead of me, God is already there." "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1.) Blessings...Fr. Mike.