The request the Apostles make to the Lord in today's Gospel, "Increase our faith," is a beautiful prayer. The Lord's response is surprising, turning the request on its head. He says, "If only you had faith." The Lord is the one who asks the Apostles to have faith. He asks them to have faith, even if it is as small as a mustard seed. This seed is smaller than the head of a pin!

Why does the Lord use this image? He exaggerates to teach us something. He teaches us that authentic faith, even as small as a seed, can do the impossible in our lives. True faith can uproot trees and plant them in the sea.

The second image the Lord uses is that of the mulberry tree. He uses it as an example of the uprooting of a tree. We wonder why the Lord uses this particular tree. The mulberry tree is notable for having widespread and intertwined roots, which makes it very difficult to uproot. These roots can cause damage to surrounding buildings and structures.

The mulberry tree and its roots symbolize the major problems we face in this life. Many of them have widespread and intertwined roots that seem impossible to uproot. For instance, people with addictions can understand how difficult it is to uproot an addiction. They know how difficult it is to break free from them. Just like the mulberry tree, some of our problems may be causing harm to others around us.

Now, why does the Lord use the image of planting the tree in the sea? In the Bible, God throws evil into the sea. There is where God buries it. True faith can uproot evil and bury it in the place prepared by God. Why do we find it so difficult to uproot evil from within ourselves? The answer may be that we have not offered the minimal collaboration or the small amount of faith needed for God to act.

Today the Lord invites us to think about our faith and about its quality. Today we ask ourselves, what is faith? The Bible only gives us a few definitions of faith. In contrast, the Bible gives us an unlimited number of examples of people who had great faith. This is why it is good to read the Bible to learn from these examples of faith. Faith is complete trust in God. Faith is a gift from God; it is a theological virtue like hope and charity. As a gift from God, we must ask for it as the Apostles did. If we ask Him insistently, the Lord grants us the gift of faith.

We might also ask why, in today’s Gospel, the Lord chose the unprofitable servant as the example to teach us about faith. As I said before, the way the Lord answers the Apostles' request is by returning it to them. He asks them to have faith. As we saw before, faith is a gift from God, but God asks for our collaboration so that faith may be within us, mature, and grow. The Lord invites us to do our part so that, together with Him, we may see wonders in our lives.

The unprofitable servant signifies the collaboration we must offer to demonstrate our faith. Faith goes hand in hand with service. It is in service that faith is kept alive, where it matures and grows. But this must be selfless service, one that does not seek its own benefit. It mirrors the image of the servant who simply does what is required without seeking gain or reward. True faith is accompanied by selfless service, for this is the example of the Lord Himself. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to do the will of His Heavenly Father, without seeking reward or personal gain.

Let us humbly ask the Lord to increase our faith and help us to demonstrate it through selfless service.