Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

 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

Yesterday we read that after six days (from the confession of Peter, and the revelation that the Christ would suffer, and be killed, and rise after three 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 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?"   Once again, as in other readings (this one, for example), we first notice Christ's protectiveness of His disciples in front of the multitude.  He will put Himself between the scribes and the disciples who are disputing with one another.  But in private, He gives rebukes to the disciples when necessary -- teaching us also to first correct people in private (see Matthew 18:15-17).

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."  This rebuke is meant for all present, the crowd and the man whose son has a mute spirit.   However, it does not include "the pillars" of faith:  Peter, James, and John (Galatians 2:9), as they had been on the mountain with Christ at the Transfiguration from which they have just descended with Him.  Sickness in Scripture, my study bible notes, is often connected to demonic activity. 

 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.  The sincerity of the man in seeking faith is evidenced by his tears, even if his faith is little or partial.  We note also that Jesus works as He saw that the people came running together;  He has had the man and the child brought to Him away from the multitude, in order to strengthen faith so that His healing power can work.

 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."   My study bible says that this kind refers to all powers of darkness, not simply those that cause a particular illness.   It adds that the banishment of demons requires faith, prayer, and fasting.  Spiritual warfare and healing require all three.  Starting with the Didache, it has been taught that both the person in need of healing and the person performing the healing must believe, pray, and fast.  Interestingly, as noted in a recent commentary, some modern studies on intermittent fasting have concluded that among its effects on the body is to increase production of brain cells and the growth of neurons, giving us a glimpse of even a biological component which may indeed help to "deepen prayer" and focus on faith when all are practiced together.

Over and over again, Jesus focuses on faith as the key to participation in the Kingdom, so that God's spiritual power can be at work in us, particularly for all forms of healing.  Mark's Gospel especially seems to make this point repeatedly.  We observe signs in the Gospel that taking all measures to shore up and strengthen faith is important and necessary.  Time and again Jesus will take those who need healing (and their loved ones upon whose faith healing also matters) aside from crowds who scoff or ridicule or dispute, so that faith can be strengthened.  Even at the Transfiguration, we observe along with St. Paul that it is only "the pillars" of faith among the disciples -- Peter, John, and James -- whom He takes with Him up the high mountain.  What Jesus seems to "have faith in" Himself, so to speak, is the efficacy of faith and not only its necessity.  That is, even if it means limiting the number of people who are immediately involved in the working of His spiritual power, His confidence is in the very presence of the Kingdom.  From there, His ministry and the Gospel will spread.  It seems to teach us something counter intuitive to our predominant cultural impulses -- as is so often the case -- that the quest for popularity is not of prime importance or significance.  What is truly of prime importance is faith itself, and the need to strengthen it often includes taking people aside to be healed, outside of a town, inside of a house, and excluding crowds.  It also seems to contraindicate the popular notion that constant clash in debate is a good thing for advocacy; this isn't so when it come to Christ and the message of the presence of the Kingdom (Mark 6:7-13).  He instructs His disciples to simply shake the dust off from their sandals in rebuke when they're not received in a town.  Once again, what really takes root is faith:  where the disciples are received, they are to remain in that house until they depart the town.  Even on a personal level, the constant message we're given is that what makes a difference is the depth of faith, and the importance of building that depth rather than a focus on the surface attention level of those whose faith doesn't take root (see the parable of the Sower).  Jesus, of course, has given the Great Commission to His Church, and I would suggest that "to make disciples of all the nations" is to actively seek those people everywhere with this capacity for faith and its growth.   But the tearful prayer of the father in today's reading remains simply so poignant in light of the emphasis on faith Jesus always reminds us about:  "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"   It's a good prayer for any of us, at any time.