Daily Mass Reflection (Nov 11, 2024)

Lk 17:1-6

In the Gospel reading there are two different things thrown “into the sea” for seemingly different reasons. First, there is the one who is tied to the millstone. Second, there is the mulberry tree. The first person is thrown into the sea because he caused “little ones to sin.” The mulberry tree seems to be getting “planted” there as a testament to the potential, desired faith of the Apostles. 

It seems too much of a coincidence that Jesus would use such a repetitive image here, but also not obvious why they would go together. I think the first reading from St. Paul might provide a little insight when he describes the qualifications of a bishop. In Titus 1:1-9, he lists both the good and bad qualities of a bishop, including hospitable, temperate and holy versus arrogant, irritable, drunk, aggressive and greedy. He does this because of the uniquely public witness that a bishop is meant to provide for the Church. 

The bishop is also meant to have a unique role of overseeing the Church as the word comes from the word “overseer,” but also as a father to the church. This would make the rest of that Diocese the “little ones” for which the bishop is responsible. When the bishop is a bad example, acting in the way St. Paul describes in Titus 1, it is a scandal to the faithful. It causes the little ones to sin. 

This is not meant to undermine the office of the bishop. It is meant to show the superiority of faith, even the faith of those who do not “outrank” a bishop in their influence. A great example of a Saint who illustrates this verse is St. Catherine of Siena, whose faith was able to move the office of the papacy back into the tumultuous sea of Rome so that it would stop being a scandal to the rest of the Church. 

While the office of the Bishop is deeply rooted in the Church, including the early Church, like the roots of a mulberry tree, even an individual bishop must be deposed. It is a hard miracle that requires a lot of faith, but a necessary one to save the Church at large.