GOSPEL — according to Saint Luke 17:5-10

5 At that time the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 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. 7 Which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare my supper, and get dressed and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank that servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were commanded, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

RELY ON THE POWER OF GOD

These are verses that follow one another and are not alike! It seems that there are two parts in this text: first part, a dialogue between Jesus and his apostles on faith, with this somewhat terrible formula from Jesus: “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would have said to this tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would have obeyed you. “The second part is a kind of parable about the servant, and it too ends with a very powerful statement from Jesus: ‘When you have done everything you were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”’ To begin, we must remind ourselves that Jesus is certainly not trying to discourage us; and that, moreover, if these verses follow each other so closely, without any break, in the Gospel of Luke, it is because there is a connection between them. Let us return to the text at the beginning: ‘The apostles said to the Lord’; the word ‘ apostle ’ means ‘sent one’: it is therefore a dialogue between Christ and his messengers; this means that this statement from Jesus concerns evangelistic activities; the apostles, the messengers, say to the one who sends them, ‘Increase our faith’; this prayer is often our own. When we become aware of our weakness, our powerlessness, and it seems to us that if we were richer in If we had faith, we would be more effective. But how do we reconcile this with Paul's words: "If I have all faith, so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2)? In his own words, Jesus answers that it's not about trying to evaluate our faith; that's not the point. It's about relying on God's power; it is He who acts, not our faith, whether small or great. Jesus deliberately emphasizes the paradox: the mustard seed was considered the smallest of all seeds, and the large tree he speaks of (in Greek, sycamore) was considered impossible to uproot. Jesus' words, therefore, mean: "You don't need to have much faith; just a tiny mustard seed would be enough to do seemingly impossible things." We can translate this as: "When you act in the name of the gospel, remember that nothing is impossible." God.” We know the slogan “the word impossible is not French”; after today’s reading, we should rather say “impossible is not Christian.” Concretely, this means that nothing should discourage us, that no situation is definitively lost; and therefore, that there is no question of giving up, which leads us directly to the parable of the servant.

OCCUPATION: SIMPLE SERVANTS

The expression used here is "mere servants" (according to other translations, it can be read as "unworthy servants"): which can be translated as "you are only subordinates," that is to say, serving a task that is beyond your capabilities. And thank goodness! Who among us would feel strong enough to bear the responsibility of the Kingdom of God? These words of Jesus are therefore not harsh or worrisome; on the contrary, they are encouraging! Yes, we are only subordinates; the responsibility does not rest on us. What a relief! We are not "useless" for all that: if the servant were truly useless, no master would keep him! If God takes us as servants, it is because he wants to need us; if Jesus chose apostles, if his words "the laborers in the harvest are too few" continue to resonate for two thousand years, it is because he wants to need our collaboration. We are ordinary, but with our small, ordinary work, he reaps his harvest. God associates us with his work… This can fill us with pride! But without worrying us: he only asks us to be his servants; he is the one in charge! Almost always, when we contact a mother to teach catechism, or young parents to help prepare for baptisms—and we have other examples right in front of us—almost every time, the person contacted begins by saying, “But I’m not capable!” Which is the absolute truth! None of us is capable. Those who think they are capable of the Kingdom are the ones who would be dangerous! We only need a little faith… The Lord will do the rest. This is the meaning of the last sentence: “When you have done everything you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” With this, Jesus suggests two attitudes: first, he invites us once again to move beyond the perspective of merits or rewards; but above all, he invites us to remain serene in carrying out our mission. He is the master of the harvest, not us. So we better understand the link between the two parts of this text: the message is indeed the same; a little faith, however little we may have, is enough for God to perform miracles. But we must put it at his service.