Sunday 5 October 2025
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts – Ps 94(95):1-2, 6-9. 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14. Luke 17:5-10.
The choice before us
When the apostles ask Jesus to ‘increase’ their faith, I couldn’t help but think of a scene from Star Wars involving Luke and his Jedi master Yoda. Yoda is trying to teach Luke how to use the Force. ‘I’ll give it a try,’ says Luke. Yoda responds, ‘Do. Or do not. There is no try.’
Faith isn’t some commodity that can be increased. It’s something that grows inside and is built up through our actions. Like Luke with the Force, with faith in God we could command miracles. But the moment we feel doubt, the moment it becomes about ‘trying’, we’ve already fallen short.
As Jesus tells his Apostles, faith can only grow by following Jesus. There are no shortcuts, no magical way to ‘increase’ it. When it comes to being faithful to Jesus the choice before us is to do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.
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