Faithless and Perverse

When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, ¹⁵and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” ¹⁷Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell 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; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:14-20

There is great mystery in prayers for healing. I have heard many stories of people praying for healing for themselves or a loved one where healing took place. I have seen it and believe in the power of prayer. There are also countless times when people faithfully prayed and asked God for healing and it didn't happen. I often say, prayer is powerful and mysterious. Prayer does not work like a magic genie that grants wishes. Prayer connects us to God in powerful ways and is an agent of change, but things don't always work out like we hoped they would.

In this story, the disciples were trying to heal a boy who struggled with epilepsy. I am sure they fervently prayed and sought to heal the boy with everything they had, yet nothing worked. Many can relate to this situation where you have given all you can and seen no change. It would be easy to lose hope in such situations. Jesus was the hope for the boy and his healing reminds us that through God all things are possible.

Jesus is quite harsh in his critique of the disciples for their inability to cure the boy, calling them a "faithless and perverse generation." Jesus calls them out for their lack of faith as the reason they could not cure the boy. This is an instance where I would have preferred Jesus to have displayed more empathy. Yes his point is valid, we all need to grow in our faith, but we are not always capable of superhuman faith. Life beats us down and grinds us up. We lose hope and faith because of all we face. The good news is true healing and hope are found in Jesus. Just as he cured they boy of his terrible affliction, Christ brings true healing into our lives, restoring faith and hope. Like the disciples, I too struggle to trust and believe all things, but thanks be to God for my savior Jesus Christ!

Prayer: Lord, help me to not become discouraged in the midst of suffering and pain. Remind me of your unfailing love and grace, given freely to me each day, and allow me to trust in your promises, in Jesus' name, AMEN.