MONDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Sir 1: 1-10; Ps 93: 1-2, 5; Mk 9: 14-29
LORD, HELP MY UNBELIEF
“Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see” (Heb 11:1). We hear and speak about faith and growing in faith and passing on the faith. Today’s gospel is just a good illustration of several things related to faith. It starts with the scribes taunting and arguing with the disciples because the disciples fail to cast out an evil spirit. Jesus comes down from the mountain and as he sees the commotion and hears about what happened, he says “O faithless generation”. A generation that has lost faith in God’s great power but also in God’s faithfulness. The father of the boy with the evil spirit says to Jesus, “If you can do anything, help us.” This shows his lack of faith and hope. After Jesus’ surprised reaction, the boy’s father says, “I believe, help my unbelief.” This father is close to the point of losing hope and even his faith, since his child has had this evil spirit since childhood.
Jesus is restoring the faith of this father and the entire faithless generation. No one else can restore our faith. Not the scribes, not the disciples, only Jesus, because he is the Son of God. Jesus started this process of restoring the faith when He walked the earth, but His work continues today through the Holy Spirit which moves over the earth seeking souls to restore. If we are to grow in Christ, we have got to realize that it is quite possible that we do not trust the Lord as much as we think we do.
It should become clear to us that even though we participate in our salvation and our growth in faith, it is only God who can create, restore and increase our faith. But the Good news is that God wants to do that. He has been doing that since the beginning of time. Our cooperation in this work of faith restoration and strengthening is very important. Let us keep seeking our God and saying our prayer “Lord, help my unbelief” and He who is faithful, will restore and increase our faith. Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Response: The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
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