Luke 17:1-6

Titus 1:1-9

Psalm 24:1b-2, 3-4ab,5-6

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, increase my faith. I want to be generous in forgiving my brothers and sisters. I pray that I be forgiven by you to the degree I forgive others. You are so bountiful in mercy. You are perfect love.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Sin and Forgiveness: The Gospel of Luke today contains three lessons drawn from the parables and teachings Jesus has just given. The first lesson is about scandal. Scandals or “things that cause sin” are “moral stumbling blocks that lead others to do evil” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 290). Scandalous behavior, Jesus teaches, will inevitably occur throughout the centuries. Earlier, Jesus pronounced a woe on the Pharisees and the Scholars of the Law who, through their hypocrisy, were sinning and causing others to sin (Luke 11:37-54). Here, he pronounces a woe on the one through whom scandals occur. Jesus is warning his disciples not to behave like the Pharisees. The second lesson is about the need to forgive without limits. This is a lesson drawn from the parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son (15:1-32). When the lost coin is found, when the lost sheep is brought back into the fold, when the prodigal son returns, when the person who has sinned against us encounters us, forgiveness, merciful love, and restoration are what they need from us.

2. Increase our Faith: The third lesson in today’s Gospel harkens back to the parable about the mustard seed (Luke 13:18-19). When Jesus’ apostles learn about their responsibility to forgive without limits as leaders of the Church, they ask Jesus for an increase in faith. Jesus teaches them that even a little faith is powerful. Just as the mustard seed will grow into a large shrub and welcome the birds of the air, so the Kingdom of God that Jesus entrusts to his faithful Apostles will grow and, over time, welcome the Gentile nations, who, in the Scriptures, are often symbolized by the sea. Through the ministry of the Apostles, the small tree of Israel will grow and flourish among the Gentiles in the sea of the world.

3. Qualities of a Bishop: The Apostles will function as the overseers, a.k.a. the bishops, of the Church Jesus establishes. In the First Reading, Paul reminds Titus why he was sent by him to Crete – to appoint presbyters (priests) for the growing Church there. In his letter, Paul instructs Titus about the qualities presbyters and bishops need to have. Those appointed as presbyters should have three qualities – first, they should be “above reproach,” meaning that they haven’t committed a public crime or dishonor; second, they should be “a man of one wife;” and third, their children should be faithful members of the Church and virtuous. Paul’s thinking is that if a man’s family and household, known as the domestic church, are in disarray, how can that same person pastorally govern, teach, and sanctify a larger community of persons in the Church, the family of God? The terms “presbyter” (elder) and “bishop” (overseer) were somewhat fluid and interchangeable in Paul’s writings. In any case, he writes that those who are appointed as bishops should also be above reproach and holy, not a drunkard but temperate, not greedy but just, not aggressive but self-controlled, not irritable but a lover of goodness, not arrogant but hospitable.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me grow in virtue today. I want to be a person of faith, hope, and charity. I want to be just, prudent, temperate, and courageous in all that I do. Help me to imitate you, the man of perfect virtue, when life is difficult.

Living the Word of God: What are my vices and virtues? Am I intemperate, greedy, aggressive, irritable, and arrogant? Or am I striving for holiness, temperate, just, under control, and hospitable? What vices do I need to work to overcome this month? What virtues can I strive for? What theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) do I need to ask for in prayer more insistently?