My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Magsing-alala tayo. We gather today with hearts that know all too well the cry of the prophet Habak...
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Magsing-alala tayo. We gather today with hearts that know all too well the cry of the prophet Habakkuk: “How long, O Lord? I cry for help, but you do not listen! I cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not intervene.”
In these past days, the Filipino soul has been tested. We are recovering from the tremor in Cebu—a reminder of nature’s brutal, unceasing power. Many are homeless, and some mourn the dead. Simultaneously, the struggle against the unseen earthquakes of society persists: the grinding hardship of joblessness, the scandal of corruption that steals from the poor, and the unsettling reports of violence and political discord that make us fear for our safety and the very soul of our nation.
When we face this double assault—from calamity and from man's injustice—it is natural to echo the apostles’ desperate plea to Jesus: “Increase our faith!” We want a faith so big that it moves mountains and solves our problems instantly.
But listen to the Lord’s answer today, and the challenges of Paul and Habakkuk. God doesn't give us a metric-ton of faith; He reminds us that even a mustard seed of genuine faith is enough to do the impossible. The problem isn't the size of our faith; the problem is the quality of our faith, and that is where our three words today must penetrate our hearts: Faith, Fidelity, and Fortitude.
The Challenge of Faith
We are people of great devotion. We pray novenas; we flock to churches; we profess the Creed. But is our Faith truly saving? Habakkuk teaches us the truth that is the anchor of our hope: “The just one, because of his faith, shall live.”
Here is the challenging statement: If your faith only comforts you on Sunday morning but doesn't compel you to stand up for what is right on Monday afternoon, is it a faith that will truly save you?
Faith is trusting God's promise that justice will come, even if it delays. Our Faith must move beyond mere belief in God’s existence to an active trust in God’s ultimate, though delayed, sovereignty over the chaos in our country. We must pray with sincerity for our nation, but then we must move with conviction, because Faith without action is dead.
The Discipline of Fidelity
Jesus immediately follows His lesson on the mustard seed with the seemingly harsh parable of the servant. A servant who has done all he was commanded is told, "We are merely servants; we have done no more than our duty."
Here is the challenging statement: Are you doing the bare minimum in your duties as a Christian—only what is convenient, only what is praised—and yet you expect a special reward from God?
True Fidelity is about quiet, persistent, unheralded service. It is the teacher who gives his best lesson despite a miserable salary. It is the honest worker who refuses a bribe, even when his family is starving. It is the citizen who helps a quake victim and asks for no photo-op. The call of the Gospel is to be faithful to the ordinary duties of our life—to family, to work, to nation—not for praise, but because it is our obligation, our duty to God. When we do this, the ordinary becomes a quiet, persistent miracle.
The Spirit of Fortitude
Finally, we need Fortitude. Saint Paul reminds Timothy: "God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love and self-control."
Our social situation demands this Spirit. The despair over corruption, the fear of violence, and the exhaustion from rebuilding after calamities can breed timidity. They can make us retreat, stay silent, and only look after our own.
Here is the challenging statement: When you choose silence over truth, when you choose convenience over compassion, when you let fear keep you from using your voice for the voiceless, are you not letting the Spirit of cowardice extinguish the gift of God in your soul?
We must stir into flame the power, love, and self-control that is our spiritual inheritance. We need the Fortitude to speak truth to power, to rebuild lives with hands of love, and to remain self-controlled, patient, and hope-filled, as Habakkuk was, knowing God is faithful.
My dear friends, do not beg for a larger faith. Instead, pray for a deeper Faith. A Faith that manifests as absolute Fidelity in humble service, and a Faith that is powered by divine Fortitude in the face of all hardship.
Let us be the faithful servants who live the Gospel not as an optional act of heroics, but as our daily, indispensable duty to the God who first showed us His undying love. Amen.
No comments