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Now after six days 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 the 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, an 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 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
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 amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" My study bible points out here that the Lord is loyal to His own -- Jesus doesn't ask the disciples what they are discussing with the scribes. Rather, it 's the scribes who have to 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." Then they brought him to Him. Neither the scribes nor the disciples answer here, but the man who needs help for his son. My study bible says that "faithless generation" is said of all, including the father 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." I think it's important to note how destructive to human life the unclean spirit is; it's a characteristic of evil, that which diminishes life. My study bible says, "The man's comment, but if you can do anything, is prompted by the disciples' inability to cast out the demon. 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." A note tells us: "All things are possible because of God's power released through faith. Jesus seeks to elicit faith from the child's father."
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" My study bible says, "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."
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. A note here says that "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."
It's important to consider what faith is here. It's not merely an assent to a set of assumptions. I think that faith is more akin to a relationship. The word in the Greek here for faith or belief really implies trust more than anything else. It's also being "all in" in some way, fully persuaded. It rings to us the meanings reflected in the great commandment cited by Jesus: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind." ("You shall love your neighbor as yourself" is the second, and is inseparable from the first.) This love, these notions of love, of somehow being "all in" -- something that takes every part of us and all of that which keeps on giving -- has everything to do with faith. Faith is about giving our trust. As we see from the answer of the father of the child ("Lord I believe. Help my unbelief!") and my study bible's comment on this statement, "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." In other words, with His help we can grow in becoming "all in" -- heart, soul, strength and mind. The power of prayer consists in just this: a relationship, a connection, with God who shares His strength to help our faith along. We're not alone in the journey of faith, but we must make the effort. We must recognize where we are. It's a deepening, growing relationship, in which we are enfolded in a kind of strength and energy and power that helps us get to where we need to be. Thus, Jesus' teaching about the power of prayer (and also of fasting, which is an aid to relationship with God, a focus on God and thus, relationship). Let us take time today to think about how our faith works, how much it rests on a deepening relationship of love of God that also extends to community, and its heart root of trust. In today's lectionary reading, we also have St. Paul's profound words on the greatest gift of all, the power of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). We get a sense from reading St. Paul here that love isn't something like a commodity or a limited specific action directed in one place or another. Love is a state of being, a way of living, a state of how we are and who we are. It becomes an atmosphere or presence that is a part of us all the time, it is a way of being. If we can link this state of being to faith, I think we are on the road to really understanding where and how Christ leads us. The father is the one who is desperately trying to save his boy: he speaks up to Christ when nobody else will, he petitions, and he eloquently describes a state of being we may all find ourselves in at some levels or others: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Faith and trust are linked to love, to who we are and how we are in the world, and to the journey that asks us for more and more of heart and soul and strength and mind. Love is of God, and love helps us get to the place of faith, which God takes as a seed and grows in us. Let us therefore remember the power of prayer, that place of "seed" and relationship, and sincere commitment. Where we put our trust becomes all in all, including the doubts and whatever else we find, for His work in us.
