Ordinary Time

1) Prayer

Show us Your continued kindness, Father,

and watch Your people,

as we acknowledge Your guidance and Your leadership.

Renew the work of Your creation

and guard what You have renewed.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

2) Reading

From the Gospel according to Matthew 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."

3) Reflection

• Context. Our passage has Jesus in his work of healing. After having stayed with the disciples alone in the region of Caesarea Philippi (16:13 to 28) Jesus climbs a high mountain and is transfigured before three disciples (17:1-10) and then reaches the crowd (17:14 - 21) and attempts a new approach to Galilee (17:22). What to think of these geographical shifts of Jesus? It is not to be discounted that they could have  geographical value, but Matthew presents them as part of a spiritual journey. In his journey of faith,  the community is increasingly called upon to retrace that spiritual journey which marked the life of Jesus from Galilee to His passion, death and resurrection: a spiritual journey in which the power of faith plays a crucial role.

• The power of faith. Jesus, after His transfiguration, with His small community of disciples, returned from the crowd before returning to Galilee (v. 22) and arriving in Capernaum (v. 24). In the crowd a man approached Him and begged Him to intervene in the evil that keeps his son imprisoned. The description preceding the intervention of Jesus is really clear: this is a case of epilepsy with all its pathological consequences on the psychic level. At the time of Jesus, this type of illness was traced to evil forces and specifically the action of Satan, enemy of God and man, and therefore the origin of evil and all evil. Faced with such a situation in which evil forces far beyond human capabilities are at work, the disciples find themselves powerless to heal the child (vv. 16-19) and because of their lack of faith (v. 20). For the evangelist, this young epileptic is a symbol of those who devalue the power of faith (v. 20), not mindful of the presence of God in their midst (v. 17). The presence of God in Jesus, Emmanuel, is not recognized. Understand something of Jesus is not enough. We need true faith. After Jesus rebuked the crowd, they bring the boy: "Bring him here" (v. 17). Jesus heals and frees him and rebukes the devil. This is not simply the miracle of healing a single person,  but also the healing of the weak and uncertain faith of the disciples. Jesus approaches them, who are confused or dazed by their impotence: "Why could we not cast it out?" (v. 20). Jesus' answer is clear: "because of your wavering faith.” Jesus calls for faith that can move mountains to identify with His person, His mission, His divine power. It is true that the disciples have left everything to follow Jesus but have failed to heal the epileptic boy because of "little faith." It is not lack of faith, only that it is weak, vacillating for sure, with a predominance of mistrust and doubt. It is a faith that is not rooted entirely in relationship with Christ. Jesus goes beyond the language when He says, "If you have faith like a mustard seed" it can move mountains, it is an exhortation to be guided by the power of faith in action, which becomes especially strong in times of trial and suffering and attains maturity in the scandal of the cross. True faith can do anything,  can even move mountains. The disciples, the early community, experienced that you must join in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

4) Personal questions

• Through meditation we observed that the disciples are placed in relation to the epileptic and to Jesus Himself.  Do you find that your faith helps you to relate to Jesus as well as to others?

• Do you feel committed every day to move the mountains that stand between your self-interest and the will of God?

5) Final Prayer

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, stronghold in times of trouble. Those who honor Your name trust in You; You never forsake those who seek You, LORD. (Psalm 9)