Monday in the 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, November 7, 2022

Luke 17, 1-6

Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.” And 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.”

“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur.”  The Greek text actually says, “It is impossible that snares not come.”  The word “snare” is much more concrete than the “things” the Lectionary proposes.  The Greek phrasing also makes the statement stronger: Snares will most certainly come upon you.  Now, “snares” do not “cause sin”, but deliberately walking into them will.  But the Greek text does not mention sin.  Jesus is actually talking about snares that result in someone’s loss of faith: the Greek text translated here as “to cause one of these little ones to sin” in fact says “so that one of these little ones should stumble”.  The Lord says that these snares will be set by certain persons.  That is, persons who pretend to be Christians but are not.  They may have lost their faith or they may have never had it and simulate faith out of their hatred for Christ and desire to harm those who believe in him.  Wicked popes, bishops, and priests come to mind readily, but anyone can harm another’s faith.  When Christians held in esteem by others are found to be hypocrites, great damage results.  Years ago, a friend of mine (we were just out of high school) discovered his father’s pornography collection by accident and it destroyed his life, including the loss of his faith.  The Lord teaches that people will lay these snares because there will always be those who are attracted by evil, but they will be most severely punished in hell.  The loss of one’s faith is the worst thing that can happen to a person.  We must pray fervently to remain firm in it, come what may, and never think for an instant that we will never lose it.

“If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.”  Here, the Lord does talk about sin.  The Lord is particularly speaking of personal sin against another individual.  If your brother wins against you, rebuke him.  If, as a result, he repents — apologizing and promising to make amends for the harm he has done — then forgive him.  The Lord seems to allow for the temporary withholding of forgiveness for this kind of sin as a goad to bring about the sinner’s repentance.  If the person is adamant in his impenitence then the one who is sinned against forgives him in his heart but does not need to do so publicly.  The Lord adds that if the same person sins continually against another, and asks forgiveness, he should be forgiven.  But his repentance, again, requires the promise of making up for the harm that has been caused as well as the promise not to do this again.  Prudence would suggest that a person sinned against regularly by the same person stay away from this person and avoid situations in which this would occur again.

Returning to the subject of faith, the Apostles pray to Jesus that he increase theirs.  To this the Lord replies, “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.”  He wants them to prize the faith that they have and to understand how great even their little faith is.  Peter, for instance, was able to walk a few steps on the sea because of his faith before he panicked and sank.  Faith was also an essential element in the cure of those who came to him for healing.  The Lord speaks of a sycamore tree (not a “mulberry”) being planted in the salt water of the sea.  He is speaking of the conversion of sinners and of the conversion of both the Jews and Gentiles.  If a tree or any living thing depending on fresh water for life is to live on salt water, it must become a very different thing.  It has to change its nature.  Thus, the Gentiles, who saw the Cross as foolishness, and the Jews, who saw it as a stumbling-block (cf. 1 Corinthians 1, 23) were converted due to their love for Jesus Christ.

In praying for the firmness of our faith let us not neglect to pray for the gift of faith for all who do not have it.