If you have faith the size of a mustard seed

When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’

- Matthew 17:14-21

My study bible notes that sickness, especially epilepsy, is often connected to demonic activity in scripture. I think it's important to consider scripture from the perspective it demands of us: this is a type of literature that is not meant to be treated as merely a "how to" manual, a historical textbook, or a work of fiction. Scripture is in a category of its own - it will always work in us and with us on many levels at once. I believe, as well, that one cannot limit its impact and its unfolding. Scripture may work on levels of which we are aware and unaware at the same time in us. Neither can we predict how it will work to give us insight and help in the future. So, by noting that illness - especially epilepsy - is often connected to spiritual sickness - or demonic possession - we are not making a statement about epilepsy or any other illness, except to say that we understand that to Christ all illness is concern for mercy and healing. What is natural to us, and what is unnatural? How do we understand what it is to live in a fallen world? We understand suffering, we understand the love of a father for his child, and we understand the harm this disease is doing to the child. A father kneels before Jesus and tells him, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water." In other words, the child has no control over his life in some sense, the epilepsy causes him to harm himself, to fall into fire and water. We are to understand the demonic activity at work that is harming the child.

The man continues to tell Jesus that he has brought the child to the disciples but they could not cure him. Jesus answers, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me." Jesus responds at this time by chastising his disciples for their lack of faith. The phrase "faithless and perverse generation" is a quotation from Deuteronomy 32:5. Had the disciples enough faith, this demon could be cast out. Nothing can withstand the power of Christ, especially its bonding activity in us via faith. (See Friday's reading.) The power of the demonic, of hell, cannot withstand the power of the bond of faith. We understand Christ to be Lord of all. This is especially so in the sense that in this gospel we have just read of the Transfiguration, the apostles' vision of the Kingdom, and the reality of the Trinity, and of Jesus' divinity. My study bible notes: "To everyone in need he says, 'Bring him here to me!'"

My study bible continues with this note on the text: "Exorcisms require sincere faith combined with prayer and fasting. Faith is a gift of God, either (1) an assent to the truth, which profits the soul or (2) a special gift bestowed by Christ which effects things beyond man's power. But it is always both a belief and a trust." I think these words are quite powerful. When Jesus tells us what we can achieve with faith only the size of a mustard seed, I need to ponder what this faith is: a belief and a trust. I have no doubt, myself, about the power of faith to counter demonic activity, to break the gates of hell. The bond between God and human beings is something more powerful than we know. It's our faith that activates this power in our lives. But there is so much more to it than meets the eye. We seek God's will and God's purpose, we seek to understand what it is to serve, and to be the servant of all. There are rules to this kingdom that are not earthly rules. And there's the rub. We can't really apply a worldly, material sensibility to the understanding of this power. Within that framework, we come to a place where we must understand that the goals of the kingdom, the perspective and framework of a spiritual life, may be something quite different from a world in conflict with its values. Jesus, of course, heals the young boy - the demon is cast out. And in this case, we come to understand the lack of faith in the disciples which is responsible for their failure. But how do we come to apply this to ourselves, and to understand where faith is and what it does? How do we come to understand our own need and our lack of faith in this context? I often feel that my faith is lacking when I delve into a sense of the futile, of worry or depression. Those times of "dark nights" where God seems far away, and the courage of faith is missing are times when I seem at great conflict with myself. There's the worldly perspective on success and failure or achievement, and then there is the loving voice of faith and encouragement, God's "face," if you will, of love. If I seek to heal and to help, have I met with success? If I seek to be servant to all, or at least to God and to God's purpose of love, have I paid attention to what is important? These are the questions I ask. But there are tremendous influences in my life that tell me all the time that this is nothing: the world of competition, where achievement may simply mean my worthiness is based on how many impressive tasks that others can see, is often in complete opposition to this life of faith.

God's work is often unspectacular, happening in private, in places where healing and love can work unannounced or untrumpeted before others. We forget that so many of Jesus' healing miracles took place in private, and in so many instances he advised those whom he healed to say nothing to others. A life of faith will teach us not just to honor what we know from scripture, from those things that have been revealed to us, but also what we find in the heart - in that centered place that knows love and that communicates with us in prayer. The struggle, I find, is retaining faith in that love, long past the world and its notions of popularity, fame and trumpeted glory. Where do you find your faith - belief and trust?