by Father James Rodriguez
I love being an uncle. My nieces and nephew constantly make me smile and laugh, and they teach me so much about life without realizing it.
When one of them was 4 years old, we were watching television at my parents’ house, a cartoon that made me yearn for the simpler days of Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig. A commercial came on for a toy, and my niece turned and asked me if I could get it for her. As much as I enjoy spoiling them, I said no, to which she responded, “But I need it!”
Knowing better, I smiled and said I’d think about it, which hardly satisfied her. That night, as I said my prayers before bed, I asked the Lord
for something, probably money for the parish, and as I said, “Lord, I need it,” I flashed back to my earlier exchange. It was almost as if Jesus himself was smiling wisely at me and saying, “I’ll think about it.”
Like my niece, I wasn’t entirely satisfied, but I was grateful for the insight — he knows my needs better than I do, and I can trust him. In today’s readings, that wisdom shines through. Habakkuk cries out in desperation as the world around him seems to be crashing down. This cry echoes throughout history, and we can sometimes join our voices to his: “Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery?”
It’s a good question, but if we stop there, we miss the answer: “The vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint.” It’s as if God calmly places his hands on Habakkuk’s shoulders, looks in his teary eyes, and says, “Trust me.”
We can certainly relate. Whether it’s concerns for the world around us or the world within, our abundant problems can sometimes seem bigger than God Himself. The temptation to despair is strong, and it can lead us to harden our hearts against our merciful and fatherly God. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he directed them to call him “Father” as a constant reminder that he is not only trustworthy but also eminently concerned with our needs.
He knows them, and he genuinely cares for them. His apparent silence is not indifference, but a model of patience — a quiet call to bravely trust him. St. Paul speaks in similarly paternal terms to St. Timothy, reminding him of the “power and love and self-control that are part and parcel of our Christian vocation. It is our life’s work to heed his words and “guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.”
Indeed, we must come to the feet of our Eucharistic Lord often, with the desire of the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith.” Pay attention to the great trust in that extraordinary request! Who but God has the power to do what they were asking? Through a parable, Jesus says neither “yes” nor “no,” because good fathers challenge their children and help them grow. Jesus calls them, and us, to be humble servants, living in trust of the
God who provides for our needs, doing much with the little we give him.
This Sunday, let’s join the apostles, humbly loving him who loves us.
Readings for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Luke 17:5-10
Father James Rodriguez is pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in Rockaway Beach.