Why we need to ‘increase our faith’
October 5, 2025 – Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Psalm 95, R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14: Gospel – Luke 17: 5-10
“[Lord,] increase our faith.” (cf. Luke 17: 5-10) This opening line of the apostles’ prayer in today’s Gospel is a multi-faceted request. Let us reflect on this from two perspectives or points. Then our third point for reflection is the “exhortation” to service.
To add a little bit of context, today’s Gospel comes after Jesus tells his disciples to be forgiving. Some commentaries say that this is why the apostles asked for an increase in faith.
In general, it was an acknowledgement of the need for a strong and firm faith to be able to do one’s ministry and mission. The plea expressed the realization that faith is essential to ministry and discipleship. It lies at the core of discipleship.
Faith in Jesus that leads to him being the center of our life and mission is the grace we must desire. Believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior gives us the grace to be more Christlike as we become what or who we believe in.
Responding to the call of faith
The second point is Jesus’ response to the request. He points to the mustard seed, a small seed, as an analogy of faith. One of St. Therese of the Child Jesus’ sayings beautifully captures this: “Remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love.” This can shift our faith and perspective.
The Parable of the Three Bricklayers (origins traced to a 1927 book, “What Can A Man Believe,” by Bruce Barton, which appears online with various versions) vividly captures this shift.
In 1671, after the 1666 great fire that leveled London, architect Christopher Wren was tasked to rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral. He once “observed three bricklayers on a scaffold, one crouched, one half-standing, and one standing tall, working very hard and fast.”
He asks all three, “What are you doing?” One says, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard, laying bricks to feed my family.” Another answers, “I’m a builder. I’m building a wall.” The third, when asked, smiles and proudly replies, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.”
What it means to serve
Finally, the “exhortation” to service in the final section of today’s Gospel makes us reflect on the meaning of duty.
Duty, more specifically, the sense of duty as a moral obligation, is a good framework to use to understand the final part of the Gospel. Duty versus entitlement, to perform one’s duty to God and to others, the community with honor and joy lies at the heart of this “exhortation” to service.
To serve the other and the community, with humility, selflessness, and other-centeredness, with greatness of soul, is what Jesus exhorted us to perform. To perform one’s duty this way constitutes the essence of Christian service.
Together with the apostles, we pray, “Lord, ‘increase our faith.’”
