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Gospel: Mark 9: 14-29
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John
and approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
Immediately on seeing him,
the whole crowd was utterly amazed.
They ran up to him and greeted him.
He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
Someone from the crowd answered him,
“Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.
Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down;
he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.
I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”
He said to them in reply,
“O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.”
They brought the boy to him.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
He replied, “Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Jesus said to him,
“‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,
rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!”
Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out.
He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!”
But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.
When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private,
“Why could we not drive the spirit out?”
He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Mahatma Gandhi, who was considered by many to be one of one the leading religious and moral voices of the 20th century, was intrigued by Christianity and wanted to know more about it.
One Sunday morning, he approached a church in Calcutta, India, but was turned away by the ushers at the door. “This church,” they said, “is for whites and high-caste Indians only.”
Gandhi was neither.
Walking away, he said, “If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.”
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In today’s Gospel, a man is searching for Jesus, because he believes that Christ has the power to cast out an unclean spirit from his son.
But cannot find the Lord. Jesus is away on a high mountain, praying with three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John.
The other nine disciples are left at the foot of the mountain to speak and act on the Lord’s behalf. So, they try casting out the unclean spirit from the boy, but are unable to do so.
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What makes this story shocking is the fact that the disciples have already cast out unclean spirits; earlier in the Gospel, Jesus sent them out on mission and they were successful.
But now, it seems, they’ve lost their power. And worse, their poor example drains this man’s faith.
By the time Jesus arrives, this father doesn’t say, “Lord, I believe you can help us!” But, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us.”
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Much like the ushers who rejected Gandhi from entering the church – physically and spiritually, the disciples prevented this man from deepening his faith in Jesus.
Both stories remind us that all Christians are ambassadors for Christ.
Whether it’s something small like welcoming a stranger, or something larger like casting out an unclean spirit, much of what we do either leads others closer to or further away from Christ.
May we lead them closer to God today.
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Image credits: (1) GoalCast (2) Transfiguration, Raphael (3) Jack Hayford Ministries