PISTIS

October 5, 2025 – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100525.cfm)

Somehow easy for us to relate with the disciples in our gospel today who asked the Lord to increase our faith…., because we do experience inadequacy of faith in life. Yes, we do struggle with our faith in life. We do at times find ourselves limited  & limiting with our faith. Like the  disciples then, we find ourselves asking for more faith since we experience how lacking we are of faith in Him.

Nevertheless our wanting & needing faith would recognize that faith is something given us & something we receive from God. Faith is God’s GIFT to us & such gift of faith gives & sustains us in life, though at times as disciples of Jesus, we do find ourselves struggling, lacking & wanting more faith in life.

However in response to their & our request for more faith, Jesus gives emphasis to us that there is more to our faith than just being gift we receive from God, for he said: “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.” Meaning, however small, lacking, limited & inadequate our God-given faith is, as long as we have faith that is enough for us, since the Lord once said  “My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Here we are reminded of what really faith is & what it means to be gifted with faith in life.

Consider that the Greek work for faith is “Pistis”. In Greek mythology, Pistis is the good faith, trust & reliability personified or in person. In Christianity, faith is translated with pistis which simply means trust in our Lord. Meaning, faith is more than just about our believing or consenting on something without any question, but moreso about trusting on someone completely. Pistis then is the kind of faith Jesus expect of us Christian. Whenever He says: “Have Faith. Have faith in Me”, what he meant is Pistis: “Have complete trust in me.” Having enough trust in the Lord then really matters before God, regardless of how much or less, many or few our faith may be. Since, faith is our complete TRUST in the person & power of  Jesus….

And so, inasmuch as faith is God-given gift to us, our faith is also our RESPONSE of trusting Him in our lives, however small, lacking & limited  our faith be. Thus, in living our lives & in doing our mission of faith with Jesus, like the disciples, we are to come & go as we are ourselves in PISTIS – with full trust & faith in Jesus. We are to go empty-handed, inadequate, in weakness struggling with nothing except Pistis in Jesus. What we have to preach, share & partake with is our personification of our good faith – full trust & reliability on Jesus, in response to the gift of faith. What is to happen on us then depends on God’s providence & care. All we are commanded & obliged to do is to Trust in Him.

Simply put, in faith with Jesus, we are just to do our part, for God will do the rest & the best in His grace & power. We are just to do what we are commanded & obliged to do since we are His servants, co-partners & coworker of Jesus’ mission in the vineyard of God’s Salvation. And as St. Paul exhorts: “in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus,  (may we) guard this (pistis) rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.”

Lord, take away everything that distance us from you. Grant us everything that bring us closer to you. Detach us from ourselves to give our All to you now & always.

So May It Be. Amen.