Mark 9:14-29
Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
The Gospel of Mark tells of a story of a father pleading for Jesus to heal his son who is demon-possessed...The father cries out, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"...This verse highlights that faith isn't always a state of absolute certainty, but it can coexist with doubt...It shows that there can be uncertainty in life with a hope of certainty...And when Jesus helps the man, we see the importance of prayer...
Our life's journey can give us a deep spiritual yearning and we still have this uncertainty of life as we move through our lives...There are uncertainty and doubts in life...We can acknowledge the lack of clear direction and the difficulty of knowing oneself fully...This resonates with the human experience as we search for meaning and purpose...We can see there is both faith and trust in life...Despite the uncertainty, we can believe that there can be faith in God....Believers believe that the desire to follow God's Will is pleasing to God, even if the path is unclear...There is a surrender and openness in our life's journey...We might ask are we willing to surrender to a Higher Power and trust the journey, even though the journey and its destination is unknown...We might pray when we are in these times of uncertainty...
Writer and Monk Thomas Merton discusses this spiritual yearning and uncertainty...He said in this prayer: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”...“My LORD God, I have no idea where I am going...I do not see the road ahead of me...I cannot know for certain where it will end...Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so...But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you...And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing...I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire...And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it...Therefore will I trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death...I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.”...“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going...What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”...“If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.”...