Faith is generally understood as believing in a Supreme Being, and, perhaps, believing that because of our faith, that Supreme Being will do something for us. The prophet Habakkuk, in this Sunday’s first reading, has such faith and believes his Lord will do something for him, “O Lord, … I cry out to you.” The Lord seems to obligingly reward the prophet’s faith, “a work is being done in your days.” Such faith and its rewards seem apparent when disciples ask Jesus to do something for them, “Increase our faith.” Jesus’ response however does not affirm a connection between the disciples’ faith and God doing something for them. Rather, Jesus’ response affirms a connection between the disciples’ faith and their doing something for God.
Habakkuk’s faith is not about him doing something for God. Habakkuk is in need, “Destruction and violence are before me, there is strife and clamorous discord.” He faithfully calls upon the War Lord deity he believes in, Yahweh, to do something Habakkuk believes Yahweh is obliged to do – practice the violence he has always practiced. “With Yahweh went pestilence and plague … In wrath you marched on the earth, in fury you trampled the nations … You came forth to save your people.” The violence believed to save the people when done by Yahweh is the same violence believed to save the people when done by Ares and Mars and every nation’s military and all armed police. It is the same violence believed to save the people when done by members of the KKK and the GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. It is the same violence done by Obama’s drone warfare and Clinton’s term at State. It is the violence all warmakers believe in, project onto deities, and oblige the rest of us to believe in and do. War Lords convince us their War Lord deity will obligingly reward us. Everything changes when peacemakers, like Jesus, gather communities not for obligated violence but for life-giving service. There will likely be no obligated reward, perhaps a cross, in response to our service. What is the life-giving service we are obliged to do? Is it “plowing and tending sheep in the field.” Are we obliged to “Prepare something to eat. Put on your apron.” Are we to serve, feed, and nourish. Are we to obliged to be artists, economists, educators, nurses. And when we “have done all… we can say, ‘We are but servants, we have done what we were obliged to do.”
“I’ve got the children to tend The clothes to mend The floor to mop The food to shop Then the chicken to fry The baby to dry I got company to feed The garden to weed I’ve got shirts to press The tots to dress The can to cut I gotta clean up this hut Then see about the sick And the cotton to pick Shine on me, sunshine Rain on me rain Fall softly dewdrops And cool my brow again.” (Woman Work – Maya Angelou)
Prayer: Obliging Spirit, may we be obliging in love.
Question: What amount of joy and eagerness do I bring to my obligations?
October 2, 2016 Gospel Luke 17:5-10 Twenty-Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time