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
"Because of your little faith."
Faith is not the only thing necessary for salvation but it is the first thing necessary. At first glance, it is unclear whom Jesus was talking to--the father, the son, the disciples or was it to me? "
So many times I say I will pray for someone's needs, whether personal, family, illness, financial, etc. Unfortunately I say to myself, "There is a huge chasm between the sickness and the cure. The cure might just be impossible". Oh, what little faith I have.
But, I am thinking as a human. The paralyzed, the blind, the drug addict, the physical and mental disorders that are consequences of this sinful world seem like a tall mountain too high to climb.
In this Gospel, Jesus shows what He can do. The disciples could not heal on their own. In every encounter God is present. When we pray for one another, we pray to God for the spiritual and physical healing of ourselves or of another person. It is not just the praying person and the sick person but the praying person, the sick person and God.
Another good example is the Sacrament of Confession. Our souls are darkened, cluttered with the worst rubbish of all, mortal sin. We can't heal ourselves nor can another human forgive our sins. The priest acting in persona Christi absolves us of our sins and releases us from sin in the name of God. Jesus brings you healing, peace and pardon.
In the apostolic letter by Pope Benedict Porta Fideli of the Year of Faith in 2012, the foundation of Christian faith is the encounter with the Risen Christ, a gift to rediscover over and over. There should be a joy of believing and enthusiasm for communicating the faith.
How can we get this? St Paul tells us in 2 Tim 1:12, "I know Him in whom I have believed". It is a personal trust in the Lord and the faith which we profess. We have listened to the Word, know His promises and have a profound bond between our lived faith and what we believe.
Do I trust God to be my cure? Do I trust His love, His will, and the redemption gained for me? Nothing is impossible for God. He told us to persevere in praying and when we tire of asking or want to give up, kneel again and keep on praying. The answer may be "No" now, but His infinite love and Will will never fail us.
Faith without charity bears no fruit. Faith and charity both need each other, always recognizing the face of Christ in those we serve. Is my faith constant and strong or does it blow as the wind, depending on the situation, mood or reason?
Keep praying with Jesus. Breathe In, hold Jesus and then breathe out, breathe Out Jesus.
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