Down Mount Hermon, they
came -- Jesus, Peter, James and John -- from being on the mountain top, returning
to the "real" world.
There's a quote which is
applicable -- and serves as a reminder as we go about our daily lives. "It
is much easier to preach the gospel of love for mankind than it is to love
individual not-very-lovable sinners. It is easy to be filled with sentimental
affection for the human race, and just as easy to find it too much bother to go
out of our way to help an individual member of it." [i]
Into the chaos, Jesus
goes. A distraught father had brought his long-suffering son for healing; yet,
the remaining nine disciples were unable to heal the boy. The father and the
nine disciples are flummoxed by this turn of events while others in the crowd
selfishly celebrate this failure. "Jesus isn't all that, and this could go
our way" is along the line of thinking of the scribes.
DID YOU
KNOW…?
This situation isn't the
first time a "disciple" failed at healing. Click on the link for a
great story shared in 2 Kings 4:11-37
(RSV) about the prophet Elisha and his servant Gehazi. Plus there's a tie-in
later.
Facts +
* To whom did the father
bring his son? The town doctor? The disciples? He searched for Jesus.
* Why did the father bring
his son to Jesus? Because he believed Jesus could heal him.
* What evil spirit had
persistently seized this youngster since childhood? Was it a unclean spirit or
demon of gruesome power? Some will believe such. Many scholars and theologians
believe though the boy had epilepsy. Given what is in the verses, epilepsy
seems a logical explanation.
* Was a long-suffering
child the worst of this family's problems? Far from it. People would avoid this
family as being unclean. People would consider the child's condition as divine
retribution for having done something wrong (more likely the fault of the father).
Not only would the family be ostracized, the hardship for the boy had to be dreadful.
"Cast into the fire and into the water." Fire burns disfigure the
skin. The boy had been scarred for life (literally and figuratively). Also, the
amount of energy and time to watch this youngster had to be overwhelming for the
family.
* Did the father's faith
falter when the disciples couldn't heal his son? Absolutely.
With all of this in the
mix, Jesus appears. "What's going on?" And the Teacher gets an
earful. Does Jesus get frustrated? Well, with a response that leads with
"You faithless generation," it certainly seems so. But Jesus quickly
shakes it off and seeks more information about the ill child.
Can you blame the dad for
his slip when he says to Jesus, "If you are able to do anything,…"?
The man is beside himself; desperate, discouraged. To which Jesus replies,
"If you are able!"
If Jesus wanted to Lord it
over this distraught man, here was his chance to belittle and tell him what's what.
Yet, Jesus has a great follow-up line, "All things can be done for the one
who believes." The father instantly cries out he does believe but his faith
has been shaken to its core. "Help my unbelief!"
How many times in our
lives has unbelief, fears, doubts clouded our faith? Been depressed or anxious
about how the world is turning -- seemingly upside down (like with the most
recent tragedy at the Boston Marathon or the fertilizer plant blast in West,
Texas)? Struggle to rise from the pathos?
My faith is far from
perfect. Doubts rise. I'll be the first to admit my imperfections. I'd prefer
to not have any; that's not the case though.
Several years ago while at
an antique store in Texas, I bought a beautiful, large stained glass window
which now hangs in my home. In one pane of glass is a noticeable crack. The
salesperson stated, "You do realize there's a flaw in this window. We have
others that are perfect." I responded, "It's perfect as is."
Perfect to remind me of my own imperfections and the imperfections of the world
around me.
To realize it though is
one thing; we must also "do" something about it. If we lose sight of
our connection with God, our own personal worlds will come tumbling down. As
Leah * pointed out, "It's not a one-way street." We must be willing
to allow that connection to happen. We must be willing to risk. We must be
willing to admit our imperfections and ask for help. It is an active faith; not
an inactive faith.
Jesus' words have fired up
the father. He has reconnected. Eventually through it all the boy is healed and
the celebration begins. However…
The disciples, while
pleased for the boy and his dad, are still flummoxed. "Why couldn’t we
heal the boy?" Why indeed? Perhaps they were overconfident by what they
had previously accomplished. Perhaps they were becoming a bit full of
themselves -- with the gifts of healing power bestowed upon them. Perhaps they
forgot a greater power, a divine power, must be drawn upon -- instead of
relying upon their own "powers."
Jesus puts it succinctly.
It's about prayer. The same happened with the prophet Elisha when Gehazi
couldn't heal the boy. Elisha prayed to the Lord and then proceeded to heal him.
For some, this statement about
prayer causes the affirming nod of heads and acknowledging smiles; for others nonetheless
it causes unbearable inner turmoil. Yes, I completely agree "prayer is the
key that unlocks faith in our lives" [ii] but what about the lives
of soldiers lost during war, loved ones dying from a horrific disease such as
cancer or AIDS, Hilter and the Holocaust, the children and teachers of Sandy
Hook,…? Personal prayers and the prayers of others,… why wasn't prayer answered
then?
This topic is a long
study all unto itself. Many wonderful books have been written about prayer, and
one of my favorites is by Philip Yancey: Prayer
-- Does It Make Any Difference. Yancey explores such questions as: Is God
listening? Why should God care about me? Why do so many prayers go unanswered?
Why does God let the world go on as it does and not intervene? Does prayer
change God or me? If prayer tugs at your heart and mind, read what Yancey
shares. I've included a link for the book: Prayer.
I'll close this post with
two separate quotes from Yancey's book.
"Jesus clung to
prayer as to a lifeline, for it gave him both the guidance and the energy to
know and do the Father's will. …Although Jesus offered no metaphysical proofs
of the effectiveness of prayer, the very fact that he did it establishes its
worth." [iii]
"…place faith in a
God who has yet to fulfill the promise that good will overcome evil, that God's
good purposes will, in the end, prevail. To cling to that belief may represent
the ultimate rationalization -- or the ultimate act of faith." [iv]
NEXT
And for the third time,…;
those wacky disciples
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