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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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Jesus’ divine nature is affirmed by his heavenly Father twice in Mark’s Gospel.
First, at his baptism, when the heavens are rent open, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the Father proclaims, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
The second affirmation comes at the Transfiguration, when Jesus’ body becomes dazzling white as he speaks with the Father, who then makes the same declaration to Peter, James, and John, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
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After each divine affirmation, Jesus is confronted by evil.
After his baptism, he’s sent into the desert where he’s tempted by Satan for forty days and forty nights.
Now we find him in today’s Gospel after the Transfiguration. As Jesus descends the mountain with Peter, James, and John, he finds his other disciples arguing with the crowds over their inability to cast out an unclean spirit.
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This is a test for Jesus in two ways.
First, he must confront the evil that’s held this poor boy captive because his disciples are unable to. At the sound of his voice, Christ sends the spirit out.
But the greater evil here is the lack of the disciples’ faith, compounded by the crowds. The Lord is nearing Jerusalem. He has openly predicted his Passion and death and has already given his disciples authority over unclean spirits.
Yet the second Jesus steps away from them to pray with his inner circle, they become spiritually inept.
It’s a scary thought for Jesus. Is this how the disciples will be once he returns to his Father and hands over all of his authority?
“O faithfulness generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?” he moans. “This kind (of evil) can only come out through prayer.”
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So, it is with us.
There are many things the Lord wishes to do for us and through us. But before he can perform any “mighty deed,” we must believe in his power to save.
So, how might we demonstrate our love for him today?
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Image credits: (1) Abide, Getty Images (2) Biblword.net (3) PeterDeHaan.com