O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?

Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.  And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.

But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."  

Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

- Luke 9:37-50

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' Transfiguration.  About eight days after Peter's confession on behalf of the Apostles that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, and were talking with Him about His decease (exodus) He is about to accomplish in Jerusalem.  The apostles were sleepy, but as they awoke they perceived the three together.  As Moses and Elijah were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

 Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."   Perhaps the disease described here is epilepsy, identified with an unclean spirit.  Whatever it is, if we look at the text we get the idea of the oppression of evil in the world, the helplessness of a father who loves his child and turns to Christ.  This time, the power entrusted to the disciples doesn't seem to be working.  The father turns to the Teacher.

Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.  And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  My study bible says, "the majesty of God is His greatness and power shown through Jesus' miracles."  The implication of Jesus' words is about faith, or the lack of it.  In other examples in the Gospels where the disciples fail to heal, Jesus speaks of prayer and fasting.  The implication remains the same - when we call on God we may find a deeper need for prayer, a kind of deepening resolution within ourselves, a kind of deeper way of giving a situation to God.  The oppressiveness of evil is again emphasized:  even as Jesus speaks the child is again harmed.  In some way, there is the suggestion that what ails us is persistent, and so we need be persistent in our faith.

But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.  If I may continue in a medical metaphor, these words here remind me of something I was once told by my doctor, that bad news is very difficult to grasp.  We can't take in easily, or let "sink down" words of great crisis.  So it is with the disciples, "it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it."  They were afraid to ask Him about it; a natural human response to things we can't quite grasp, or that with which we are unprepared to cope.

Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."  My study bible notes, "The disciples themselves are not above the desire for worldly glory and power.  One of the last lessons they will learn before Christ's Ascension is that of humility and service.  Jesus teaches them by a simple illustration:  a little child -- an icon of dependency."

Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."  Again, my study bible has a note worth reading:  "This is an example of Jesus' tolerance and breath of vision.  It is a temptation for us to want everyone to have a spiritual practice exactly like ours, to do things the way we do, and to be in our group.  How many schisms have occurred in Church history because people missed Jesus' lesson here!"  It's another lesson of humility, too, a way of living peacefully with one another and not striving for hierarchy.  We don't look for enemies to label.  (How often until today do we do this when we disagree among ourselves?)  And it's an example of relying on God's grace, first.

All the readings taken together today remind me of one thing especially, and that is that we are all only human.  The Gospels are filled with afflictions, maladies, foibles, and all kinds of behavior that remind us:  we are only human.  Christ, God through the whole of salvation history, works with us as imperfect human beings.  We're the ones called on to be God- and faith-bearers in spite of and all along with our own imperfections.  The helpless man who brings his child to the disciples who somehow can't quite manage this healing -- all, father, child, and disciples, need the help of grace and the deepening of their faith.  We live in imperfect worldly conditions that make it hard as well, and this is something quite clearly also in the mind of God in salvation history.  The disciples can't quite grasp Jesus' words; despite His saying so, those words don't quite make it to "sink down" into their ears.  And then, perhaps because of Jesus' words about resurrection (see Thursday's reading), they engage in a dispute about which one of them is going to be greatest in the kingdom.  Clearly, the teaching needed for those who are going to bear His kingdom into this world after He is gone is one of humility, considered the greatest of all virtues - and the one upon which all other virtues rest - in church history to come.  We are imperfect human beings.  And yet, it is we upon whom this kingdom rests and is borne into this world.  God has entrusted us with this faith, and this work.  Finally come the verses about the disciples seeking to forbid another who is not "with them" who also uses this power in the name of Christ.  The man seems to be doing work that is also helpful against the oppression of evil in the world.  And here are Jesus' peaceful words in reply:  "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."  So how do we, as imperfect human beings, learn to come to terms with this great mission that we're given, to bear this kingdom into the world?  How do we grasp the bad news of that which would oppress, and tear down, and oppose even the good we seek?  How do we deal with others not of our same group?  I find that we're always so active in labeling others who disagree; it's one more human imperfection to deal with.  But through it all, it seems to me Jesus' exasperated words about this faithless generation with which He must persevere, be with and bear with, teach us something about where our strengths really come from.  We rely on faith, we return to faith, we deepen faith.  With bad news, we can "turn it over" and we can allow grace to be at work in our lives helping us to cope and to learn how we are to carry on.  We can seek a deeper faith, an opening up to God - to Christ who is in effect still with us and still bearing with us! - to learn a better humility, acceptance, for peace within ourselves, for insight, and courage and a better perspective.  Think about how faith works in you, how grace works in our lives and in the lives of the Apostles, how it is God with us who helps us to carry on with our lives as faithful.  We're only human, and yet we are entrusted with His Kingdom.