The prophet Habakkuk lived during the time the Babylonian Empire was the dominant world power and was breathing down the neck of Judah. The tyrant Jehoiakim was king of Judah. He persecuted the prophets, enslaved the people and allowed idolatry in the land. Could things be any more discouraging for people trying to trust and be faithful to God?
Habakkuk is a unique prophet. He doesnt address the people but, in this short work of three chapters, he speaks a lament to God. The opening lines sum it up, How long, O Lord? The prophet sees violence, religious strife and chaos in the land. Arent they supposed to be Gods people? Where is God in such dire circumstances? Whats taking God so long to come to help? Certainly God doesnt want such suffering and destruction. How long, O Lord?
Habakkuk wrote 600 years before Christ. But is his prayer not our prayer as well? Our Pope called for fasting and prayer for Syria, so tired and distressed are we as we watch TV images of still more refugees streaming into Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Two million displaced people! How long, O Lord? We pray for peace, yet there is war.
And what about our nation? We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, yet there is still racism in our land. How long, O Lord? We pray for a teenager in our family who is schizophrenic and refuses to take his medications. The family is exhausted and frightened for him. How long, O Lord? We pray for a job and when we go for interviews we are told were too old. But we need work. How long, O Lord? With Habakkuk, we cry out Violence! Why does God not intervene? We pray and pray and, even though we already know it, we learn again: prayer, even by good people, doesnt guarantee quick results or a specific answer.
Things will only get worse for Judah. Having rejected God and Gods ways they will have to deal with the violence that the invading Babylonians will bring upon them. Since Judah will not serve God, it will have to bow down before Babylons god.
With all of these reasons to lose faith and to look elsewhere for help, Habakkuk continues to call out to God. Persistent prayer and trust is not only Habakkuks way with God, but he is also an example to those who accept his message. In fact, he is told to write it large enough so that it can be read even by those rushing by.
God tells Habakkuk the people ought to wait and, despite their misery, to trust that God will bring to completion what God has planned. There will be a time when people will live according to Gods order. Meanwhile, they will have to wait and hope that day will surely come, and it will not be late. That time of fulfillment will come with the message which Jesus will announce upon his arrival.
Habakkuks prayer is bold and forthright. He cries out asking what it would take for God to do something. Some people think our prayers are supposed to be proper and appropriately worded. But the Psalms and the prophets are not afraid to raise a voice of complaint to God and they give us the courage to do the same. Faith is the foundation of our covenanted relationship with God. It enables us to be steadfast in troubled times and nourishes the hope that helps us wait with anticipation for God to act.
Paul gives us further insight. In our troubles we have the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. He encourages us to stir into flame the gift of God we have received. The sufferings of the early Christians would cause them to cry out, like Habakkuk, How long, O Lord? What Jesus foretold, came to pass. Those who followed him would have to take up and bear the cross that comes as a consequence of discipleship. What would strengthen the church, Paul recommends, is to hear the sound message. Holding to the gospel, despite the consequent sufferings, would require strength from the Spirit which we, as a community, pray for at this Mass.
The gospel picks up on the long-suffering prayer of Habakkuk. It sounds like the apostles are feeling the strain of their vocation. Instead of asking, How long, O Lord, they asked Jesus for what we also need when we are at our limits, Increase our faith.
The small community of believers gathered around Jesus. They must be experiencing trials and uncertainties for their prayer is brief and to the point, Increase our faith. But they are asking for the wrong thing. They already have the faith — and it is enough. They dont need the latest upgrade, or a bigger product. A mustard seed of faith is enough: its the quality, not the quantity that makes the difference. Hence, the absurd example: a speck of faith is enough to rip up the mulberry tree, notorious for its deep roots. (Mulberry trees were not planted near cisterns because their strong roots would break down the cisterns walls.)
The parable Jesus gives next seems to be a warning to the disciples not to presume God owes us a reward for what we do. We work hard in our efforts to live good lives and do good for others. We cant claim a reward for that; its what the faith we have been given calls and enables us to do. We do what is expected of us as disciples and we leave the results in Gods hands. God, working through us, will accomplish Gods purposes. We are not owed anything by God.
When we disciples do what we are supposed to do the credit is not ours, because our efforts come as a result of the gift we have received. No matter how great our deeds, or how seeming-ordinary they are, all comes by way of gift. We have been given enough faith to overcome insurmountable obstacles, or to meet the daily challenges of faithful discipleship, over and over again, until the Master returns.