Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle C)
Readings:
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Luke 17:5-10
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Increase Our Faith!
Today's readings address the topic of faith, a gift of God that
must increase as we mature as Christians on our journey to salvation. It is
easier to have faith when life is simple and without turmoil, but it is harder
to have faith when we or the ones we love suffer. When we experience suffering
and do not receive a clear answer to our prayers, we sometimes feel God is far
from us, resulting in our faith faltering. In those times, we must have the
courage to pray that God will increase our faith. Either our trust in God grows
as we face the struggles of life, or it withers and dies. God promises that in
times of difficulty, He will not abandon us and our persistence in faith is not
in vain. We will either receive temporal salvation from our problem or, if it
is not God's will to release us from our earthly suffering, He promises that He
will credit our suffering in faith toward our eternal salvation (Mt 16:24-25;
Rom 8:17).
Our First Reading, from the Book of the prophet Habakkuk, is unique in that it is one of the few times in Scripture that a prophet questions the ways of God and calls Him to account for how He governs the world. The prophet begins with a complaint against the evils when the powerful oppress the poor and engage in depravity and violence. He asks how long God intends to let these abuses continue. God answers the prophet, asking him for patience because His justice is coming at the right time, according to His divine plan.
The Responsorial Psalm invites us to praise the Lord as King of the universe and our personal Lord God. First, we are encouraged to bow down in liturgical worship before "our God," acknowledging Him as our divine Shepherd and ourselves as the sheep of His flock. Then the psalm's message changes to that of the Lord speaking to His people "today." His message is one that we should take to heart because it is not only meant for the covenant people of the past but is a warning for God's covenant people who live in the "today" of every generation. God wants our promise to be heartfelt in our worship and praise, and to persevere in the obedience of faith.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul writes to St. Timothy, encouraging him in his ministry. He assures Timothy that he has resources beyond his human strength because the Holy Spirit is the first guardian of the sacred Tradition Jesus passed on to the Church that dwells in the teaching ministry of both Timothy and Paul. It is the same oral teaching tradition Jesus passed on to His Apostles and disciples, which they, in turn, have faithfully passed on to Timothy's generation. He has the same responsibility to pass it on to future generations. The sacred Tradition of Jesus's teaching that Paul and Timothy received is the same Tradition our present generation has received. Now it is our responsibility to pass on the same closely guarded Tradition received from Jesus to future generations in the Church.
The Gospel Reading is the Parable of the Unprofitable Servants. Jesus compares human service to Christian discipleship and tells a parable to make His point about service in His Kingdom of the Church. His warnings can apply to our Christian service today. Christians who only carry out the minimum requirements to serve the Kingdom of Jesus Christ can regard themselves as unprofitable servants." Those minimum requirements are listed as the five precepts in Catechism #s 2041-43 and include: 1. attending Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor; 2. confessing your sins at least once a year; 3. receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season; 4. observing the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church; 5. helping to provide for the needs of the Church.
The conduct of a Christian in fulfilling what he sees as his ritual obligations does not guarantee his salvation—the reward of God's grace is a gift that cannot be earned or purchased. Our good works are evidence of our faith and make us open to receive God's gift of grace and the eternal blessing of salvation. Finally, there is no room for human boasting as far as our service to Christ and His Church is concerned. If we accept that our salvation is secure because we have done "our part," our self-righteous attitude, like the attitude of the Pharisees of Jesus's time, will contribute to our downfall. God exalts the humble and faithfully obedient servant who offers his service out of love.
The First Reading Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 ~ The Faith of
the Just
2 How long, O LORD? I cry for help, but you do not
listen! I cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not intervene. 3 Why do you
let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are
before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord. [...] 2:2 Then the LORD
answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that
one can read it readily. 3 For the vision still has its time, presses on to
fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely
come, it will not be late. 4 The rash one has no integrity; but the just one,
because of his faith, shall live.
The visions the prophet Habakkuk received dated from 605-597 BC. These were the years between the Battle of Carchemish on the Euphrates River in northern Syria when Babylonian general Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians and took control of the region in 605 BC, and the Babylonian invasion of Judah in 597 BC (Jer 42:6). During these years, the situation in the Kingdom of Judah was desperate, with the practice of idol worship and political intrigue widespread in the kingdom.
Chapters 1-2 are an "oracle" or "pronouncement" (massa in Hebrew) that the prophet received in a vision (Hab 1:1) followed by a dialogue between the prophet and the Lord. The Book of Habakkuk is unique in that it is one of the few times in Scripture that a prophet questioned the ways of God and called Him to account for His governing of the world.
In verses 1-2, the prophet complains to Yahweh about the evils and miseries in Judah that the Lord has not addressed. "How long," the prophet asks, will God continue to let these abuses go on? Habakkuk's appeal is similar to the complaints of Job and other prophets condemning the social injustices of their day (c.f., Job 19:6-8; Ps 18:41; Is 59:9-11; Jer 10:23-25; 14:9). God answered the prophet in verses 5-11, saying that He was preparing an avenging instrument, Babylon/Chaldea (Hab 1:6), which He will use to punish the sinful people of Judah.
2:2 Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the
vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. 3 For the
vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. 4 The rash
one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.
The prophet's second dialogue with the Lord concerning the
Southern Kingdom of Judah's many sins and covenant violations begins in
1:12-2:1. God gives His answer in Habakkuk 2:2-20. In verse 4, God told the prophet
to draw up a covenant lawsuit [riv/rib] against the people of Judah in which He
pronounces five "woe" judgments against the nation (2:6-20). God will bring His
judgment against the wicked, but He promises to spare the righteous who have
faith in Him; their faith will be their salvation (2:4). The trust in God,
which enables the just man and woman to survive the coming destruction, is both
a confident belief in God's divine justice and the patience to endure in living
through its fulfillment.
Verse 4 states that the righteous will live by faith (Hab 2:4), a statement affirmed in New Testament teachings. St. Paul uses these same words in Romans 1:17; Galatian 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. The Letter to the Hebrews quotes this verse from the Greek Septuagint translation to exhort Christians to persevere in the faith they have received. This is the faith by which we will be justified and receive supernatural life in Christ Jesus: But my just one shall live by faith, and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him. We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life (Heb 10:38-39). It is a confession of faith and trust in God that we should all turn to in times of affliction. See CCC 153-55 and 1814-16.
Responsorial Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9 ~ Be Receptive to the Lord
Who Guides His People
Response: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your
hearts."
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; cry out to the
Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with a song of praise; joyfully
sing out our psalms.
Response:
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before
the LORD who made us. 7 For he is our God, we are the people he shepherds, the sheep
in his hands.
Response:
7b Oh, that today you would hear
his voice: 8 "Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah
in the desert. 9 There your fathers tested me; they tried me though they had seen
my works."
Response:
The proclamation of God's divine kingship in Psalm 93 and the acknowledgment of the Lord as "our God" in Psalm 94:23 lead us in Psalm 95 to an invitation to praise the Lord as both King of the universe (95:3) and our personal Lord God (95:6-7).
The psalmist begins with an invitation to praise the Lord in verses 1-2. He urges the faithful in verse 6 to bow down in liturgical worship before "our God," acknowledging Him as our divine Shepherd and ourselves as the sheep of His flock. This image of the Divine Shepherd guiding the faithful of His flock (community) appears several times in the Psalms (c.f., Ps 23) and in the books of the prophets to define God as the Master and the people as His obedient domesticated animals (see the chart "The Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets."
7b Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 8 "Do not harden
your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the desert. 9 There your
fathers tested me; they tried me though they had seen my works."
Suddenly the voice of the psalm changes to that of the Lord
speaking to His people "today." We should heed the warning to listen to God's
voice "today" literally. It is not only meant for the covenant people of the
past but God's covenant people of every generation. The Lord wants our promise
to be sincere in our worship and praise. He warns us to avoid being like the rebellious
Israelites on their wilderness journey to Mt. Sinai and later during their
journey to the Promised Land when they continually tested God to prove His
power and loyalty. Instead of having faith in God to guide them and trusting
Him to care for them, in Exodus 17:1-7, the Israelites accused God of letting
them suffer and tested Him to see if He was with them. Moses gave the places
the name Massah ("testing") in Exodus 17:1-7 and Meribah ("strife") in
Numbers 20:1-13 because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying,
"Is the LORD in our midst or not?" From then on, the names Massah and
Meribah came to symbolize rebellion by failing to have faith and trust in God
(see Ex 17:1-7;
Num 20:2-13, 24; 27:14;
Dt 6:16; 9:22; 32:51; 33:8; Ezek 47:19;
Ezel 47:28). But in the events at Massah-Meribah, God also tested Israel: At the
waters of Meribah, I tested you and said: 'Listen, my people, I give you
warning! If only you will obey me, Israel! (Ps 81:7).
What is the message for us "today"? The passage warns us to avoid accusing God of not acting in our best interest. We must not make demands that test God's goodness and fidelity in the attempt to force Him to act as if His previous works and deeds were not proof enough of His love for us. In the Letter to the Hebrews, there is a commentary on Psalm 95:7b-11 that the inspired writer presents as spoken by the Holy Spirit (Heb 3:7-19). After quoting the psalms, the inspired writer warns us: Take care, brothers, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart, so as to forsake the living God. Encourage yourselves daily while it is still "today," so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin. We have become partners of Christ if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end, for it is said: "Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 'Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion.'"
The Second Reading 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 ~ Faith is a
Gift of the Holy Spirit
6 [For this reason] I remind you to stir into flame the
gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. 7 For God did not
give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. 8 So
do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his
sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that
comes from God. [...] 13 Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard this rich trust with
the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
Our passage is from St. Paul's second letter to St. Timothy. Paul wrote the letter to Timothy from Rome, where he was a prisoner. Timothy was ordained by Paul as the pastor of the Church at Ephesus. Paul was concerned that discouragement over the many difficulties Timothy faced in his office as leader of the faith community might become a challenge to Timothy's faith. Paul's concern was why he began this passage with the words: "For this reason" (not in our lectionary passage), as Paul called upon Timothy to remember when he laid his hands upon Timothy, ordaining him as God's ministerial priest, that he was supernaturally filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill his mission (the Holy Spirit is named in 2 Tim 1:14). The image Paul presents is that of coals covered with ashes that need to be stirred, revived, and fanned into a flame. St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, wrote concerning this passage: "It takes much zeal to stir up the gift of God ... It is in our power to kindle or extinguish this grace ... For by sloth and carelessness it is quenched, and by watchfulness and diligence it is kept alive" (Homilies on 2 Timothy, 1).
7 For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather
of power and love and self-control. 8 So do not be ashamed of your testimony to
our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship
for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.
Paul assured Timothy that fear and timidity had no place in
the one endowed with the Holy Spirit. Then Paul listed three attributes the
Holy Spirit imparts: the Holy Spirit is a spirit "of power, love, and
self-control."
These gifts of the Spirit would give Timothy the strength to endure his office's hardships and be a powerful preacher of the Gospel.
13 Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from
me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard this rich trust
with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
Paul speaks of the oral teaching ("words that you heard from
me") he has passed on to Timothy as a sacred trust. Timothy must follow the
"norm" or pattern set by Paul's teaching as his own. The emphasis is on
guarding and holding on tightly to the oral teaching Tradition Jesus passed on
to His Apostles and disciples and which they, in turn, faithfully passed on to
Timothy's generation. Timothy was responsible for passing on the Tradition of
Christ's teaching to future generations. Notice that Paul calls this trust
"rich" (kalos = also beautiful or precious). Paul's choice of words
gives the nuance of infinite wealth available in the sacred Tradition and
something that can be the source of endless contemplation.
Finally, Paul assured Timothy he possessed resources beyond his human strength and the endurance needed to guard this trust. The Holy Spirit is the first guardian of their sacred Tradition and dwells in both Timothy and Paul (see Jesus's teaching in Jn 16:12-15). In the Letter to the Hebrews, the inspired writer (most likely St. Paul) wrote: Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised (Heb 10:35-36).
This passage in Paul's letter to Timothy provides a foundation for the Catholic Church's understanding of our sacred oral Tradition received from Jesus and written down by the Holy Spirit-inspired New Testament writers. The Vatican II document Dei Verbum expressed it this way: "This Tradition, which comes from the Apostles, develops in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke 2:19, 51) through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the preaching of those who have received through episcopal succession the sure gift of truth" (Dei Verbum, 8). It is important to remember that oral teaching preceded the written word in Scripture. See St. Paul's teaching on the sacred oral Tradition they have received from Jesus and the responsibility to pass on in 1 Corinthians 11:2; 15:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:15 and 2 Timothy 2:2; also see CCC 75-79, 81, 84, 97, 126.
The Gospel Reading Luke 17:5-10 ~ The Power of Faith and
the Parable of the Unprofitable Servants
5 And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our
faith." 6 The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you
would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it
would obey you.' 7 "Who among you would say to your servant who has just come
in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here immediately and take
your place at table?' 8 Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for
me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may
eat and drink when I am finished'? 9 Is he grateful to that servant because he
did what was commanded? 10 So should it be with you. When you have done all you
have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we
were obligated to do.'"
5 And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our
faith."
This verse has the first mention of the Apostles as a
separate group from within the community of disciples since Luke 9:10 when they
returned from their first missionary journey (Jesus did mention them in His
teaching in 11:49). Their request for Jesus to increase their faith shows that
they have been reflecting upon Jesus's teachings on discipleship in Luke 14:25-35, 16:8b-18 and 17:1-4. To fulfill His teachings on the demands of true
discipleship, the Apostles realize that their ability to live in compliance with
Jesus's teaching depends on their faith. However, the Apostles understood that they
would need more than their frail human faith to obey Jesus's commands, so they petitioned
Him, saying, "Increase our faith."
6 The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a
mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in
the sea,' and it would obey you.'
For the second time, Jesus used the image of the growth of a
tiny seed (see Lk 13:19), but this time, He used an example that defied natural
law. His answer to them was that genuine Christian faith is a process in which
growing faith can lead to limitless power. A person who experiences this kind
of enriched faith can effect changes that are not according to the laws that
govern the temporal world. Next, to complete His point, Jesus told His Apostles
a parable about how being a vigilant and faithful disciple depended on the
extent of one's service to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Luke 17:7-10 ~ The Parable of the Unprofitable Servants
7 "Who among you would say to your servant who has just
come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here immediately and
take your place at table?' 8 Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something
for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You
may eat and drink when I am finished'? 9 Is he grateful to that servant because
he did what was commanded? 10 So should it be with you. When you have done all
you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what
we were obligated to do.'"
This passage is the last set of sayings in the series of Jesus's teachings addressing the inadequacy of service versus the expectation of reward. Once again, Luke used a familiar household analogy of master and servant/slave (see 12:35-40, 42-48; 13:25-27; 14:16-24; 16:1-13). Servants/slaves always ate after the master of the house had finished his meal. In verse 9, the point is not good manners but social conventions and acceptable behavior for a servant in the presence of his master. The rhetorical question Jesus asked in verse 9 presupposes a "no" answer.
In this parable, Jesus compared human service to Christian discipleship. In serving an earthly master, a servant does not deserve, nor should he expect a greater reward for doing what his master expects. Such an attitude is like the Pharisee in Luke 14:15, who believed the Pharisee host and the other invited Pharisees and scribes deserved to eat at God's banquet table in the heavenly kingdom simply because they were descendants of Abraham and members of the covenant. And yet, as Jesus had shown them repeatedly in His teachings, they had failed in their service to God by not fulfilling even the minimum expected. They failed in their understanding and instruction of the Law (Lk 14:3-6), in mercy, compassion, and justice to the poor (Lk 11:39-52), and in their love of money over love of God (16:13-15; also see St. John the Baptist's condemnation of the Jews for this attitude in Lk 3:7-9).
| Symbolic Images in the Parable of the Unprofitable Servants (Lk 17:7-10) | |
| The master | God |
| The servants who work on the master's land | Christians within the Kingdom of the Church |
| The unprofitable servants | Christians who only do the minimum service that God requires of a Christian |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013 | |
Jesus's point in this teaching is summed up in verse 10 and applies to our Christian service in every generation:
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation): Habakkuk 2:4 (CCC 153*-155, 1814-16)
Psalm 95:1-6 (CCC 2628*); 95:7 (CCC 1165*); 95:7-8 (CCC 2659)
2 Timothy 1:6 (CCC 1577*, 1590); 1:8 (CCC 2471, 2506)
Faith (CCC 153*, 154-155, 156*, 157, 158*, 159, 160*, 161, 162*, 163*, 164*, 165*, 2087*, 2088-2089)
The deposit of faith given to Christ's Church (CCC 84*)
The supernatural sense of faith (CCC 91*, 92, 93*)
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013; revised 2022