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 the 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 of God, 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."  As Jesus is just returning from the mountain of the Transfiguration together with James, John, and Peter, the disciples who were attempting to cast out the spirit were the other nine left behind.  

 

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 that while the disciples' faith was incomplete (Matthew 17:19-20), Christ's rebuke is also to the crowds, whose faith was weaker still (see Mark 9:22-24). 

 

And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to the 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 remarks here upon Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion.  It says that this was meant to encourage and strengthen His disciples for the terrifying events that they would faith -- 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."  Perhaps because of Christ's warnings which the disciples do not understand, they believe that a worldly kind of kingdom will manifest for Christ; so they dispute among one another which one would be greatest in that kingdom.  Jesus points to a little child to correct their thinking.  Jesus emphasizes humility and gracious service as the key to greatness among His disciples in His Kingdom.

 

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."   My study Bible comments that Theophylact sees John's comment as regret, as his conscience was pricked by what Christ said about the least and the great.  But, on the other hand, St. Ambrose of Milan see John as expecting full obedience to accompany such blessings.  Christ's response, my study Bible says, shows that those who act in good faith are not excluded, even if they are not currently numbered among the disciples.  Theophylact is quoted:  "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.

 

 Today's reading begins with a father desperate to save his son from the spirit that harms the child.  He has gone to the disciples to cast it out, and they cannot.  Jesus' response to this scene He comes upon from the Mount of Transfiguration is to say, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?"  Jesus then rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.   It's important that we know that Jesus has just returned from the Transfiguration, in which it was revealed to the disciples on no uncertain terms that Jesus is God; as such, this scene coming upon the heels of that event is significant in its juxtaposition.  We don't all know God's will clearly and concisely; a great revelation -- a Theophany, or revelation ("manifestation") of God -- has just been given to Peter, John, and James.  This is, of course, a rare and exceptional event that teaches about the true reality of Christ as Son of God.  But coming down from the mountain, the encounter with the people returns us back to our state of daily worldly life.  We simply don't know God fully; we are full of doubt and fear when we have troubles, and we don't have certainty.  Some would interpret this scene to say that all we need to do is have enough faith in what we are praying for, and it will happen for us.  But we are forgetting, then, that our faith is not about magic.  It's not about special incantations that "work" one way or another.  It's not even really about us; it's about Christ.  What faith must do for us is not to convince ourselves of the inevitability of the outcome for which we pray.  Faith is not about putting faith into what we want per se as if all of our desires define all possibilities of life.  Faith is about trust in Christ.  Let us note that this healing is framed as a spiritual battle, wherein the people and the disciples could not fully trust God in the struggle.  In the scene that follows, Jesus once again asserts to the disciples that He will suffer.  He says, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  We know Christ goes voluntarily to His death; and yet, in the garden of Gethsemane, He will pray, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."  We see His natural human abhorrence of death expressed in a prayer we can all understand, and yet He prays, "Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."  This is trust, and this is faith, that we give our problems to God to find God's way through them.  We pray for what we deeply desire, but keep our hearts in faith that there is so much more that we don't know.  We don't understand why God allows things we call evil to happen.  We don't understand why God allows suffering, and we see so much suffering in our world.  We don't understand why God allows evil in our world, for the evil one, the devil, to continue in influence.  We know the defeat of the devil is in Christ, and the power of Christ, but we still live in the place where we human beings are the battlefield, and we are invited into the midst of this struggle.  We know that death is not the end, but that life in Christ is eternal.  And so, the devil's defeat is done -- and yet conditions in our world still render us in a struggle with temptation and sin and all that goes with it.  A friend is deeply struggling with an ill child.  It seems like things get better, only to take a step backward later, and it truly seems like this affliction works like a demon.  But the power of God is something we should remember as always present.  Regardless of this child's suffering, God has allowed a circumstance in which great glory is on display in my friend as a father, for his love shines through, and the strength of his child shines through.  There are so many people he has gathered together in prayer and care, his love has magnified across a great swathe of people who pray and who follow the illness of this child.  Of course, we don't know the outcome.  But one thing is quite certain, if even Jesus prays, "Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done," then so this should also accompany our prayers and our love.  For God's vision is always beyond ours, and our blessings are things we don't necessarily know nor grasp.  When Jesus teaches us about faith, this is what we need to remember:  that the God who loves us is the God who brought defeat of death about through death, that even the suffering of Crucifixion made possible through faith the glory of Resurrection shared and offered to us all.  Let us remember what faith is, even in the worst of times, and add faith in God to all that we do and desire.  Finally in our reading today, the disciples dispute and wish to be the greatest.  But Jesus must set them straight on exactly what greatness is, and it's not on the world's terms.  Neither is it on their terms, there are others who act in His name who do not follow with them.  The final lesson in our reading remains that of humility before God.  Let us know that even when God's outcome is not the one that we desire or expect as "good," we will find we are blessed nonetheless through the struggle in our faith.