Scripture Reflection for Oct. 5, 2025, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hb 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14
Lk 17:5-10

Between the disciples of Jesus and those whose faith is mostly performative, whose piety is a bit too much for show, there should be the starkest difference. One should not be like the others; a Christian should act differently. That's what this brief passage from Luke is about.

Taking in the broader context helps. Jesus has just told a parable about a rich man so enamored of his wealth, so isolated by it and so proud, that he doesn't see the beggar right outside his gate (Lk 16:19-31). Earlier he warned his disciples against being like those who were "lovers of money" (Lk 16:14). He also warned them against "exalting" themselves (Lk 14:11). He warned them against worrying too much about the things of the world (Lk 12:22). By a study of contrasts, Jesus drew the outline of a disciple -- what the Christian looks like, how the Christian acts.

Which leads to the brief description of a disciple found in the few verses immediately preceding this Sunday's passage. The disciple lives a life free of scandal, not free from temptation but a life free of contradiction. The Christian also speaks the truth, rebuking even a brother if he should sin. But the Christian also forgives, and forgives repeatedly, refusing to withhold forgiveness no matter what; "you must forgive," Jesus said. That's what a disciple looks like, what a disciple does (Lk 17:1-4).

That's how the very next line, the opening line of this particular Sunday's passage, makes sense. "The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!'" (Lk 17:5)

In those few short verses, Jesus set a very high bar, and in reply the disciples beg for more faith. These words are perhaps exasperation as much as they are prayer. But Jesus does not lower bar; he talks again about a mustard seed, this time making slightly different use of the image (Lk 17:6; cf. Lk 13:18-19). He doesn't at all lessen the moral demand of Christian life; he simply says to the disciples: Yes, that's a good idea; you should pray for more faith.

But even with such faith don't expect a pat on the back from Jesus just yet. What follows, you see, most people today would consider harsh counsel. Simply to fulfill the basic moral commands of the kingdom -- those commands iterated, say, at the beginning of the chapter -- is not to earn an extraordinary prize; it's not even to feel able to expect one. Rather: "When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'" (Lk 17:10) That, Jesus suggests, is the proper disposition of the Christian, extreme humility just like that.

But why is that? Why is the Lord so harsh here? We must remember that Jesus continues to draw the sharpest lines of distinction between the pride of the religious elite -- Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes and so on -- and the necessary humility of the Christian disciple.

A disciple should explicitly not seek the higher place but instead the lowest place (Lk 14:10). The Christian should even rejoice whenever he or she is reviled and persecuted (Mt 5:11-12).

The Christian should seek to imitate in every instance the humility of Jesus, how he "emptied himself, taking the form of the servant" (Phil 2:7). This is the theological reason behind Jesus' seemingly harsh counsel. He's inviting his disciples to conform themselves to him, to the sacrificial Lamb who opened not his mouth (Is 53:7).

It's interesting to see how some of the ancients interpreted such harsh counsel. St. Pachomius, for instance, intensified Jesus' counsel here. "Should some brothers see your ascesis and praise you for it," he said, "say to yourself at once with tears, 'My Lord Jesus, if they knew the impure deeds I have done…they would not only not address me with words of praise, but they would not even wish to look on my face because of the stench of the sins I have committed before the Lord.'"

This is maybe too harsh an application of Jesus' teaching, unless perhaps you're a desert monk. It remains, however, effective against pride, one that if it's true that in our own day we've wandered too far in the opposite direction, we may be wise to reconsider.

For me, however, a more interesting and ready application of Jesus' harsh counsel is found in the Rule of St. Basil the Great. St. Basil sees in this verse an openness to greater holiness and greater mystery. That is, the reason the Christian should consider himself or herself an "unprofitable servant," never considering the mission complete, is because our life in God is in fact never finished; that is, it is perfectly fulfilled yet mysteriously never ended.

St. Basil sees in this passage evidence that the Christian life is about "reaching for something greater." This too unveils something essential about what Jesus was trying to teach. The Pharisees, you see, were content to take pride in their status; the Christian never does. And that's because the Christian believes in the eternity of God's heaven, that there is more to God's reward than the petty human status.

But I have wandered off into the tradition! Back to the Bible, back to Luke. The lesson is simple: Be a humble servant. Don't be like those who take too much pride in themselves and their religious status. In fact, don't worry about status at all. Just call yourself a Christian and then act like one. That will be enough -- this side of the resurrection at least.