A Mustard Seed Faith
When I was a boy, I was impressed with Jesus statement in today’s gospel that, if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could say to a sycamore tree, “Be uprooted and transplanted into the ocean” it would obey you. We had a maple tree in our backyard. So I tried it, “Be uprooted!” Nothing happened. I tried saying it louder. Still nothing. But now I’ve come to understand the statement in new ways. I have never seen faith walking down the street. But I’ve seen people living their faith—sometimes in little ways that nobody else knows about, but what a difference the little things can make!
Once, a new Sister in India was bathing a person who was dying. There was such decay in the body of that man that the Sister had to look away to keep from gagging. Mother Teresa noticed, gently stepped in, and took over the task, smiling and bathing, ever so gently, until the person died. She then told the young Sister in a kind way, “We need to smile when we’re bathing a person. Otherwise they may think we don’t really love them.” A smile, a gentle touch—not all that much really—but what an example of faith. A little woman simply doing what needed to be done right in front of her, in that moment, for that person: a kind of “mustard seed” moment.
An elderly widow used to come to our home when I was little, so that my mother could write letters for her, some in Polish, others in English. And one thing I’ll never forget: she came with $100 in cash (a lot of money back then). Fifty dollars would be sent to relatives in Poland, and fifty to different missionaries that the widow wanted to help. Again, not a million dollar gift from a wealthy person, the kind that would make the newspapers, but faith—a small, but genuine, act of faith, because she knew that some people were worse off than she was. Again, a little “mustard seed” act of faith.
And when I was a young priest in Springfield, one of our parishioners told me about a woman who appeared to be living in dire poverty. My friend asked me to visit her, so I brought her some food and some money. I’ll never forget what happened. She agreed to accept what I brought, but only on one condition: if I gave half of everything to a mother with young children who lived across the street and needed it more. A small “mustard seed” act of faith by a poor person helping an even poorer neighbor.
These little, mustard seed-sized actions, these people simply doing their duty as they saw it, these acts of faith may seem small, but they have a ripple effect. And I believe the world is full of these acts of faith: people doing what they can to make the world less cold, less indifferent, little acts of caring that add up, bring light into the darkness, create love to overcome indifference, and offer hope to those who might otherwise give up.
Today’s gospel of little mustard seeds, of little duties performed, of little acts of kindness, of faith lived in every day circumstances…please take this gospel with you, and notice the little ways right in front of you where you can, if you choose, make a difference.
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