For as long as I can remember, I have loved the story of the mustard seed. “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ 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.’” Luke 17:5-6. This week I had the opportunity to reflect on the Gospel for Sunday prior to going to Mass with our bible study group. I was excited as I read the above verse. “Yay! An easy one to interpret,” I thought. But the next part of the Gospel was more perplexing.
“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’?
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’?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
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 obliged to do.'” Luke 17:7-10
The servants did what they were supposed to do and shouldn’t expect thank you or a reward? Tell that to my children… Truthfully, tell that to me some days. I can become so caught up in what I do for my family that I lose sight of the fact that it is an honor and blessing to have my family to serve!
Jesus is pointing out the importance of attitude to his apostles. We can pray for something all we want, but unless we act on our belief that God will answer our prayer, it will go unanswered. We don’t need Him to give us more faith. We need to act on the faith we already have. God can use us with faith only the size of a mustard seed to fulfill His plan for our lives – if we but believe and let Him.
Our attitude will make all the difference.
Let us pray: Please, Lord, when I am caught up in garnering recognition for tasks I am obliged to do, please help me to adjust my attitude in realizing all I need is You, and You see all I do and will give me all I need.
I’d love to hear how you are doing today! How is your attitude as you start your day? What tasks do you have before you and how can you tackle them with a grateful heart today?
