You Have Enough

A Reflection on the Gospel for October 6th, 2019:
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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!’”

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How much work would I have to do for God before earning His reward or thanks? This question is flawed, because nothing I could ever do would put God in a position of obligation. He has never, and will never, owe me anything.


Yet, it is easy for me to fall into a mode of thinking that I am entitled to certain gifts, benefits, or circumstances. I can have a notion that my “faithful service” should, at least, spare me from pain and suffering. Experience suggests that life doesn’t work that way.


In our culture, we pay people to do services and we get paid to work hard and accomplish tasks. We place value on ourselves, and others, based on what we, or they, can accomplish. But what do our works and efforts mean in God’s economy?

"He gifts us with grace, without regard for what anyone has done to earn it, and He wants for nothing."

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Our Father relates to us on a completely different level — He is the Giver. He gifts us with grace, without regard for what anyone has done to earn it, and He wants for nothing. He inspires us, and breathes in us the breath of life, the Holy Spirit, who cultivates our hearts so we learn to receive — we can’t even do that first step without Him. Then, plants little seeds that grow inside us over time. When I get discouraged or forget the gifts that God has given me, if it often because they are still tiny, and I haven’t given them room or time to grow. I ask for the gift again, not realizing that I already have the mustard seed inside. 


And God speaks in the silence of my heart and says, “You have enough. You have me”. 


I’m still waiting on that seed to germinate, but in the meantime, I will give thanks to Him. Because He is more than enough, and He knows what I need.


Kendra Lang

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