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 it came to pass, about eight days after Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus' prophesy about His Crucifixion and the way of the Cross, that 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.   My study Bible comments on this passage that while the disciples' faith was incomplete (Matthew 17:19-20), Christ's rebuke ("O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?")  is also to the crowds, whose faith was weaker still.  (See Mark 9:22-24, in which the father of the child pleads, "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.   My study Bible says that Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion was meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events that they would face -- and also to assure them that Christ was not powerless, but went to the Cross willingly. 

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."   Here Jesus begins to instruct the disciples on how He desires "greatness" among them in His Church to come.  The key to this teaching is grace and humility, even in receiving a little child in Christ's name.  In so doing, we receive Christ, and we receive the Father who sent Him.  Regarding John's comment, my study Bible cites Theophylact, who sees John's comment as regret, his conscience being pricked by what Christ has said about the least and the great.  On the other hand, it notes, St. Ambrose sees John as expecting full obedience to accompany these blessings.  In either interpretation, Christ's response indicates that all acting in good faith are not excluded, even if 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 Luke 11:23; Acts 19:13-16.  

Faith plays a great role in today's reading, as we begin with a story of healing in which the crowd's faith is challenged directly by Jesus.  He says, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?"  Jesus has come down from the Mount of Transfiguration (together with the disciples Peter, James, and John) to find this crowd and a dispute:  the other disciples were asked to heal a child, and they could not.  So, the father of the child brings his case before Jesus, and Christ's words addressed to the crowd and their lack of faith are the result.  It's almost like a signal about the change happening in Christ's ministry at this point, and it coincides with His now second warning to the disciples that follows, that they need to "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  Notice that Jesus insists that they hear this, even as the crowd marvels at the healing that is finally done for the man and his son, and they were all amazed at the majesty of God.   The disciples fail to take in Christ's words:  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.   But even though they can't consciously perceive nor process, perhaps, what is happening, there is a subtle shift nonetheless.  Amidst the great revelation of the Transfiguration in yesterday's reading, and the stunning healing of the boy by Jesus (and casting out of the demon) before the crowd, there is something distinctly turning toward a different end than perhaps they -- or anyone else except Jesus -- would expect.  And then in that change that has begun happening, faith perhaps paradoxically begins to take on even more importance than has been given even in Christ's teaching until now.  Here is the place where the disciples will need to grow their faith more than ever, for Jesus will not be with them for all time -- not in the worldly sense, anyway, and not in the sense in which He can come and effect a  healing which they failed to perform.  For now with His second warning of what is to come in His earthly life at the Crucifixion, the disciples will need to be prepared to carry on this work they've begun in their first apostolic mission (Luke 9:1-6), in their roles as disciples, and in taking up the mantle of authority in His Church which is to come.  Faith will need to play an even greater role, as it must for us today, when Christ is no longer with them as the human Jesus, their Lord and Teacher.   As the disciples begin to understand that something great will happen at Jerusalem, they begin to dispute who will be the greatest.  Perhaps the immediacy of the presence of the Kingdom is something that's been communicated to them about the experience of Peter, James, and John on the mountain at the Transfiguration.  Perhaps Christ's words that He will be betrayed sparks expectations of a sort of confrontation in which they cannot imagine Christ would not be victorious in an earthly sense of power or authority.   But couple these expectations and lack of understanding with Jesus' startling teaching on humility as the sign of greatness, that it is the least among them all who would be great, presents yet a greater demand for faith.  It is a teaching impossible to carry out and to serve without it.   Finally, there is Christ's teaching on the others who cast out demons in Christ's name, but who are not among those who follow together with the disciples.  Even they, it seems, are not subject to the disciples' correction and authority to forbid, " for he who is not against us is on our side."   This again is yet a new, perhaps subtle demand on the faith of the disciples that somehow this mission and aim of Christ's ministry will be fulfilled, even if there are others who do not follow together with them, even if they were mistaken in forbidding the others.  As Jesus is preparing the disciples for what is to come, they are being asked not to give up their mission, but to take even greater responsibilities for faith, for functioning in ways they perhaps have not expected, for meeting even greater demands upon that faith, for humility toward others, for tolerance, for the receiving of even a little child in His name and its ultimate meaning of receiving Christ and even the Father.  These things are asked of us today, and what they ask us for is faith.  For even though Christ's healing of the young boy takes the crowd into amazement at the majesty of God, we who are faithful have a mission for faith that persists and grows in our own lives today.  This is a faith that must be shaped and defined by the Cross and the Resurrection, the hope of things to come but also the love of God we know.  We rely upon the Spirit which is present and filling all things, Who teaches us to pray and brings to mind and gives meaning to the words of Christ which are spirit and life.  All of this asks us for faith, and one that grows and endures.  In this we are prepared by Christ as are the disciples, and we can look at our lives, and the things we cherish that are good in the world,  and know what it is to build upon this rock that is faith.