The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.’ Luke 17:5-6

One thing is for certain, she will never walk. Her spinal cord has developed in a way which makes it impossible. To make matters worse, she does not have complete control of her arms also. Her family is extremely poor and they work hard to maintain the little they have. Many times she was left alone in a tiny room with moldy walls. This was where we met her for the first time. Then she was always surrounded by her nieces and nephews. In fact, she was the only adult constantly present in their lives while their parents were busy working for very low wages. She never needed to raise her voice with the children. They listened and obeyed her. It is not that she has a commanding presence. The children just saw something in her others failed to see. Perhaps their faith was purer than most adults who could not get pass her disability. Their faith could not remove the “mulberry tree”. All her nephews and nieces are adults now. I am not sure if their childlike faith is still intact.

Her prayer has always been to become a “regular” person. For years, she prayed fervently for healing. Whenever she heard testimonies of miraculous healings, she would go into a depression. It made her feel less secure about God who seemed to ignore her pleas but never failed to attend to others. She wants to be healed so that she can become a contributing member in her family. Her mother worked all her life doing menial jobs. It is time for her to retire and enjoy the rest of her life. However, our friend’s disability stops her from even helping her mother. In a recent conversation, she told me that a friend had convinced her to attend a healing service. This was one of those miracle spectaculars organized by a dubious minister who claimed that he could heal the blind and the lame. Our friend was feeling hesitant about the whole affair. She has been through this disappointing saga countless times before. However, her friend was convinced that this time it was going to be different because her pastor was incredible. She was right. There was nothing credible about him. The so-called pastor told our friend that he failed to heal her because of her lack of faith. In other words, her physical disabilities were her fault. It is hard to imagine how anyone who could do such a thing to a poor suffering soul. It happens more frequently than one realizes. Maybe you know this already and I am the one who is naive enough to be shocked by this. Our friend decided that she has had enough of church. She did not stop believing in God. She just stopped believing in church.

The words of Jesus in the gospel reading could be misconstrued to strengthen the argument of this callous minister. Nevertheless, these words were meant to bring hope and encouragement to someone like my friend, not further condemnation and isolation. I should be able to say these words to our homeless young people for the same reason. They are not homeless because of their lack of faith. All of them have faith but this does not mean all their mulberry trees are swimming in the ocean. They are still there or maybe they are not what they seem to be. I am talking about the “trees” here. It is possible that Jesus does not see my friend’s disability nor the children’s condition as an obstacle. There is a strong chance that it is our lack of faith which sees it as an obstacle. Maybe just like the people from Jesus’ hometown who could not believe that a mere carpenter could also be the Christ.

Of course, my friend’s disability and the children’s homelessness are real things hindering them from living the so-called normal life. These are obstructions and the likelihood of overcoming them is very slim. Wallace and Wilton are working now. They work hard in a construction company. Their salary is enough to pay for their food and not their housing. Edson works as a security guard at night and during the day time he sleeps in a tent in the streets. Kawanna and Erica just got jobs in a cleaning company. Now they will not have to ask us for help to buy food but they still have to continue to be squatters in an abandoned warehouse. They will always be living in the margins of society. Perhaps there might be a radical shift in society which will change everything. Some people believe this. To be honest, I do not have much faith in it.

My friend has always been disabled. Therefore, she has no idea what it is like to be something else. She desires healing so that people will see and treat her more than just a disabled person. The problem is not her disability but how people see her. Our children and teens were born into extreme poverty. They do not know any different. We see children who are third generation homeless and it disturbs us profoundly. The children are oblivious to this fact. They are playing in the streets and rolling around in the dirt without a care. I am not saying that these conditions should considered as a norm. However, it is more important to see the person and not just their condition. My friend is a very interesting and life-giving person. Our children despite their homeless situation bring joy to our hearts. They help us see Jesus in a different light. This week the heavy rains stopped us from going out every day but when there was a short reprieve, we rushed out to the streets. Not because we felt obliged. It is because these children and teens bring something to our lives. They are able to give us something real and precious. However, many people walk past them and just see homeless people. Many people see my friend just as a disabled person. The mulberry tree is blocking their view.

I will be talking to my friend later this week. I think I will refer to the later part of this gospel reading to help her understand better what Jesus is saying.

So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” Luke 17:10

I know this might sound worse than the previous words especially to our modern ears. It contains two problematic words, “worthless” and “slaves”. We live in a time where everyone believes that they are free and special. I do not disagree with these ideas. However, I believe despite these hard words, Jesus wants to build us up and not tear us down. He is not trying to put us in our place. He is helping us to understand that faith is not given to us so that we can compete in life with others. It is given to us to help us fulfill our uttermost calling to be a servant of God. By the way, words “slave” and “servant” were interchangeable in Jesus’ time if that helps to overcome any uneasiness. At least, it helps me a bit. However, the essential message here is that no matter what our social or physical condition is in this world, all of us share the same ultimate vocation. Some people might be privileged to be born in a place where they can achieve most of their dreams and desires. It does not mean that they are in a better position to fulfill their ultimate vocation. To the contrary, it might become an obstacle. Most people in the world do not live in this reality but it does not stop them from accomplishing their ultimate purpose in life.

Our faith is not an instrument to get ahead in life. It is a gift to help us become servants of God. There are no such thing as super servants and regular servants. These are standards of the world which quietly creep into our spirituality. In the Kingdom of God, there are just servants and our faith will help us to fulfill this role despite our social or physical condition. Our friend was instrumental in transforming a brutal and chauvinistic man into a living saint. Of course, he will reject this label as a saint does immediately. Presently he is an Anglican priest and has started a church among the poorest of the poor where the congregation can not provide a living for him. He did not allow this mulberry tree to stop him. He will tell you that he met Jesus though our friend who was stuck in the tiny dirty room. I can say the same too. Our friend, despite her limitations, has touched the lives of many with the love of God. We met this friend before we went back to this ministry with the homeless children and teens. In many ways, she has helped to remove the mulberry trees in our paths and to see God’s loving presence in the lives of the children and teens. Our friend has done much more than most able bodied people. She did it without leaving her tiny room. Her faith is quite amazing. I have much to say to her when I talk to her later this week.