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

Yesterday we read that, about eight days after Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, and Christ's first warning of what is to come in His Passion (see this reading), He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that 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" -- not knowing what he said.  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."  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.  Faith is directly connected to the efficacy of healing, as we've seen, for example, in the stories of Jairus's daughter and the woman with the hemorrhage (in this reading), and the paralytic helped by his friends (5:17-26).  Jesus' cry, O faithless and perverse generation, applies both to the disciples and to the crowds.  The disciples' faith was incomplete (see Matthew 17:19-20 for more details of this story).  But the crowd's was still weaker.  In Mark's version (Mark 9:22-24), we read the plea of the father, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

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.  While the disciples witness Christ's extraordinary healings, they must be prepared for what is to come in His Passion and crucifixion.  My study bible says that Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion was meant to encourage and strengthen them for the terrifying events that they would face, and also to assure them that He was not powerless, but goes to the Cross willingly.  The Gospels witness to their natural fear to ask questions about the things He's telling them.

 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."  Jesus teaches the disciples about the greatest virtue for Christians, the foundation of discipleship:  humility.  My study bible notes that Theophylact sees John's comment regarding the person they forbade from casting out demons in Christ's name as one of regret -- John's conscience having been pricked by what Christ says here about the least and the great.  St. Ambrose, to the contrary, sees John as expecting full obedience to accompany such blessings.  But in either interpretation, the response of Jesus tells us that those who act in good faith are not excluded, even if they're not currently numbered among the disciples.  Theophylact writes, "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples" (see also Numbers 11:24-30).  On those who use Christ's name without good faith, see 11:23; Acts 19:13-16.

It's interesting to note the "network" quality of the power of Christ.  True faith works like a network, a communion or communication of circuits working between people and linking them in the communion of power with Christ.  It's as if a circuit is completed through faith, such as in the story of the woman with the blood flow (8:43-48), whose touch to the hem of Christ's garment from behind released power from Him to heal her.  These stories tell us something about the nature of faith and the connections it makes between us through the power of Christ working within each of us.  Jesus teaches, "The kingdom of God is within you" when asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come (17:20-21), meaning both within you and among you.  In Matthew 18:20, Jesus tells His disciples, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."  At His Ascension, Jesus left the disciples with the statement, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."   It is faith that makes a link like a circuit that runs among people and through and within the power and presence of Christ.  We can also see this at work in His sending out of the disciples as apostles.  Luke tells us that He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases (9:1).  This power He distributes through the twelve forms a kind of circuit which can be shared with others through faith.  One wonders if Christ's spiritual reality doesn't simply lie dormant in all of us, waiting for this connection of faith somewhere deep inside us all, a potential for communion and relationship that is always there, made more full as promise of participation through baptism, and kindled within us through discipleship and spiritual growth.  In today's reading, Jesus also teaches the disciples about His Passion to come.  Without faith, what meaning would Christ's suffering have?  How does faith change the way that we see and experience our own suffering, or possible sacrifices we make for the love of Christ?  Moreover, He teaches about humility, a quality necessary for real faith, and for dependency upon God.  So much depends upon this one "circuit" within ourselves, at any given moment.  Let us consider its power.   But the root of faith itself is a kind of mystery deep within us; nevertheless it is that mystery within each of us -- that "yes" from within -- upon which so much seems to hinge.