Put In the Work

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, October 5th, 2025:
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Luke
17.5-10

The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”

​Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Increase my faith, Lord!
…and the amount of hours in my day too. And money in my bank account. Oh! And my height while you’re at it.

I don’t mean to make light of the apostles’ plea in this passage from Luke’s gospel. It’s a genuine request. But all too often, I give the Lord my laundry list of the things I would like Him to do for me, forgetting two important things. First, He has already given me everything. And second, I have to put in the work too. 

As someone who works for the Church, I’ve often heard people say to the Archbishop: “You need to fix the Church!” Well, the church isn’t just him or his priests or his staff. The Church is all of us. It’s up to all of us to work with the gifts God gave us to “fix” the Church. That will increase our faith. 

When I started to discover my faith, to own it for myself, it was because of a friend. She invited me to talk about faith, to talk about Jesus and God and the impact that He has on my life. It was an ask of me, not an ask of God. I’m sure she prayed for me but she also asked me to take actions to increase my faith. And I think in that simple act her faith increased as well. Yes, I need to ask God for all manners of things. But I also have to ask things of myself and others. Both are needed. 

God isn’t a genie that will grant me my three wishes whenever I want. He’s not magic. He’s the Maker of all Good. Part of that good is me (and you!); created to be in relationship with Him. A relationship that we build together. So, it’s not fair for me to ask things of God without putting in the work myself. There’s a balance. Reliance on God is necessary, but not a blind reliance that absolves me of my responsibilities in our relationship and to the world. God created me with value and worth and that means that I have something to do and to give to the world. God did not create any of us for nothing!

God has already given everything - through His Son. What have I done in return?  Complained? Questioned? Done my own thing? Guilty of all of the above. Yet, God has plans for me and I need to respond and take action - increase my faith! -  for those plans to become real. If I don’t, the world loses out. When any of us don’t put in the work of true discipleship, the world loses something good. Something great even. Many have called the Catholic Church “the sleeping giant”;  that is, if Catholics truly knew the power they have with, in, and through God, they could change the world. So let’s change the world, people!




Aurea Sadi

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