Gospel MT 17:14-20
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, “Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
REFLECTION: “Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?”
Living out in the country, with only one driver in the family, left my mom to think efficiently about every trip to town, including practicing our Catholic faith. She always made sure we went to confession about 3-4 times a year. One time, I remember going during the school week and Mother instructed us to not ride the bus home, but to wait for our ride to pick us up right after school. Guess who forgot? As I was riding the bus without my siblings, I remembered and quickly sought a solution to my problem. I figured the bus route passed about a mile from the church and so I got off at that corner and walked the rest of the way. I walked past barking dogs and crossed streets I was not familiar with, but kept on because I did not want to face my Mother’s disappointment and my sibling’s ribbing for not going to confession. I faced my fear of walking alone in the city and the possibility of missing my family at church, leaving me stranded in town. I prayed and banked on my faith that all would work out, and it did.
All worked out for the father of the lunatic son, who showed such reverence for Jesus. He had great faith in Jesus and showed his humility and submission by kneeling. He probably witnessed other miracles performed by Jesus and was driven to seek help for his son. I believe this father’s humble reverence and my childlike faith is what God requires to work his loving miracles.
Jesus seemed to be disappointed in the faith of his disciples and blatantly reveals nothing good comes from lack of faith. Let us humbly approach our Lord in prayer, submitting ourselves to His divine mercy and have confidence in Him. Maybe one day, when we find ourselves in the wrong place, we will pray and see that nothing is impossible for God.
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