This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting

 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as 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.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

- Matthew 17:14-21

Yesterday, we read that, having taught the disciples about His future suffering, death, and Resurrection, after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.   My study bible points out that in Scripture, sickness is often connected to demonic activity.  This father shows humility, he kneels before Jesus.  But Jesus' emphasis here is on lack of faith.  It's a way of telling us what is truly essential, necessary for a particular connection with Him.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as 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.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."  Jesus doesn't rebuke the disciples in public, but in private He also chastises them for their lack of faith.  My study bible says this teaches us that we ought first to correct people in private.  Apparently, Peter, James, and John -- Jesus' inner circle -- were not included in this rebuke, as they'd just come with Jesus from the mountain where the Transfiguration took place.   By noting prayer and fasting, Jesus emphasizes the importance of spiritual practices.  Faith, prayer, and fasting have always held a place of important emphasis from the early Church and even the teachings found in the Didache, the earliest book of teachings we have.  These are important both for those who need healing, and those doing the healing.  This example is that of an exorcism, making the circumstances perhaps all the more dire and vivid for us.

In today's reading, Jesus emphasizes the essential nature of faith as necessity for healing.  But He also speaks to the disciples about really tough cases, great difficulties.  And for that He includes prayer and fasting.  What we have, then, are tools for times of great difficulty, problems that are exceedingly hard to resolve.  That is particularly true, I think, for times of danger and the accompanying great temptation to respond in ways that don't reflect our faith.  I think it's important to remember that fasting can take on all kinds of forms.  It's a way of abstaining from what can lead to temptation, or put us in a situation that makes it easy to forget that we're to be watching our words and language, we keep an eye on the ways in which we interact with others.  At a time when his own community was under dire threat of retaliation from imperial power because of local riots, St. John Chrysostom exhorted his flock to abstain from oaths.  This may seem silly to us.  But as they were waiting to hear back from their hierarch who'd gone to petition the emperor for clemency, Chrysostom stressed the importance of watching our own conduct.  Abstaining from certain types of inflammatory speech is a form of fasting.  He also spoke about fasting from excess.  He noted great luxury -- and called particularly for a time of withdrawal from all the effort and fuss impressing the neighbors, so to speak.  For him, that included impressive meals, home decor, servants, and the rest.  His attitude was that we should just give it a rest for a while -- make room for something else.  Think about where we go and what we do that invites in too much temptation.  Think about the poor.  Simplicity opens up time to think about our life with God, our spiritual state.  And that's what fasting and prayer is all about.  As we head into the holiday season, Advent is a traditional time for prayer and, historically, for fasting.  Ironically, St. Chrysostom was then in Antioch, Syria.  It was the first place in the world where people were called "Christians."   Right now this community is in danger of disappearing.  The world is responding to terrible tragedy and shocking violence.  There is brutal warfare that can spread anywhere and civilians of every kind are endangered with violence and deliberate targeting.  It is indeed a time that makes for great temptation to extremes.  So let's remember Jesus' words.  Let us take tradition seriously enough to know that it's a good time to make time for God.  Find a way to practice some form of fast before the holidays, even by sacrificing some time for reading Scripture, or abstaining from something you know doesn't really help you.  Certain words of judgment can exacerbate rage and hurt.  Particular types of entertainment invite in what doesn't help us.   Simplify in preparation for the holidays and think about the one relationship that defines and puts everything else into place, and creates community.  Make time for prayer and get centered in the place you need to be.  It's a good preparation for whatever lies ahead.  An attitude cultivated in such practice can only help us.