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And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
- Mark 9:14-29
In yesterday's reading, we read that six days after Jesus taught that each should take up his cross, and follow Him, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."
And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" My study bible points out to us that the Lord is faithful to His own. Here, Jesus does not ask His disciples what they are discussing; instead, He asks the scribes and it is the scribes who must answer.
Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." Jesus' words, "Faithless generation," are used to include everyone here, including the father of the child and the disciples.
Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." One thing we notice often in the Gospels is that wherever there is an unclean or demonic spirit, it always causes destruction to its innocent victims -- often accompanied by actions of violence. My study bible says that the father's words, "If you can do anything," are prompted by the disciples' inability to heal the child by casting out the demon. It says, "What Christ's disciples can or cannot do reflects on the Lord Himself."
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Some texts render Jesus exclaiming, "If You can! All things are possible to him who believes." My study bible tells us about the father's response: "The presence of doubt does not imply the absence of faith. Christ honors whatever faith we have and will increase faith when we sincerely desire Him." The father in this story has hit upon an extraordinary truth, that faith is a gift from God. "Help my unbelief!" is indeed a great prayer.
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." Some texts leave out the words, "and fasting." My study bible says, "Prayer and fasting are essential expressions of the life of faith. The inclusion of and fasting in the text is quite appropriate, though a number of ancient manuscripts lack it."
Fasting, we recall, is essentially a way of doing without, of cutting away the unnecessary for a time, in order to open up space, so to speak, to better focus on the things of God. In that sense, prayer and fasting imply a great focus on faith, a clearing away of all that is extraneous or keeps us from furthering and focusing our faith. Prayer and fasting reflect the father's prayer, "Help my unbelief!" by clearing out the way to deepen our experience and life of faith. So, it is a way to focus on the things of God, to make room, to clear away all distractions. In this sense we can understand how prayer and fasting can go together, especially in the context of today's reading. What they imply are a direct and deliberate focus on the things of God, of strengthening faith and "helping my unbelief." The time set aside for prayer, when we turn off the noise and fuss of the phone and the television, go into our inner chamber, and really focus on faith, on the relationship to God, this is the time that strengthens our faith and helps our unbelief. It is this that fasting gives us an image of: a time of clearing out space, making a discipline, and making time and room for precisely this important job of strengthening faith. In a modern world, fasting isn't necessarily a common practice. But it's important to remember that fasting isn't about food: fasting is about whatever might burden, encumber or distract us. In several of the homilies of John Chrysostom, his advocating of fasting includes all the fuss and bother of food preparation, the huge effort that might go into a household kitchen where big meals are prepared with much time and effort (complete with servants, cooks, smoke and fire and grease), and attention to every new thing everybody has to have. His admonition on fasting includes the idea of just giving it a rest for awhile, doing away with all this fuss and bother and expense, and going to sheer simplicity, for a focus elsewhere. Nowadays we might compare this to a trip to a shopping mall, with all its possible fuss and bother and distraction. We keep away from things for a specific time in order to better focus on what's important. And that's the point of today's reading. If we're going to take the Gospel seriously, then we have to take Jesus' teaching seriously. There is no greater power than our faith, no greater help through life. We take the time to take care of our cars, our homes and whatever possessions we may have. We take the time to take care of children and family in all kinds of ways. Why do we not set aside time devoted to nurturing and strengthening our faith? Let us remember this prayer of the father in our story, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Faith is a gift from God, a gift of great grace. Let us remember all the things we might do, including prayer (as in this prayer of the father to help his unbelief), in order to take care of our true lives of faith, the place where life and love live in us. Let us make room for the encounter with grace, and take care of our souls.
