Stumbling and Bumbling Faith

Luke 9:37-48

But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying. Luke 9:45

The disciples had just been to the mountaintop, they had heard God's voice; Peter confessed Jesus as the messiah, they were truly understanding what God was up to in Jesus....then they come down....hard. The disciples do not always get it right, they are not always the perfect model of faithfulness; they often stumble and bumble their way through. It is easy to sit back and read the scriptures and see their imperfect faith and criticize. But the fact is that their stumbling actually is quite hopeful for us. Because Jesus did not give up on them and continued to encourage them in their process of discipleship, we know there is hope for us too.

When Jesus and the disciples first come down the mountain they are met by a man whose son was possessed by a spirit that convulsed him uncontrollably. The disciples apparently tried to cast out the spirit and failed. Jesus then reprimands them: "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with and bear with you?" (Luke 9:41) He then casts out the spirit. Next, Jesus explains for a second time (cf. Luke 9:21-22) how the Son of Man will suffer and be betrayed. This too was beyond their understanding as the scriptures say "the meaning was concealed from them" (Luke 9:45). Finally, the disciples complete fall from grace was completed by an argument between them over who was the greatest disciple. Jesus must have felt totally exasperated! The disciples completely forgot everything he had been teaching them! These same disciples who got everything right on top of the mountain get everything wrong on level ground.

These stories teach us that being a disciple is a long process of peaks and valleys. We will have our moments when things click together and we understand and follow, while other moments we will revert to our very human natures and stumble. The good news about the life of faith is that God will work through us even though we are sometimes thick-headed about our faith. God works through ordinary people to do extraordinary things. God works through our imperfect lives to bring health, wholeness, and redemption into the world.  We will occasionally fall short and mess up, but God will continue to be faithful to us even when we are not.