I want to reiterate resuscitation- and not resurrection- because there is only one

Transcription

1 Mark 9:17-27 Belief and Unbelief This is the second in the series of resuscitation stories in the New Testament, and I want to reiterate resuscitation- and not resurrection- because there is only one resurrection story in the Bible, and that is the one we believe at the heart of the gospel, that Jesus was resurrected on the third day- raised into a new and unique kind of existence. Something we don t yet understand, but that we all hope for at the end of days when we are raised up to a new life with him. Now, as we look at this passage and the healing of the demon possessed- or as many believe- epileptic boy, you might be thinking, Hold on, Preacher, this boy is not dead- don t start stretching the truth to make your point; he is just in shock from the trauma and only looks like a corpse. Okay, possibly or probably he isn t dead, but like last Sunday s story of the little girl who was resuscitated, we should read this passage as an encouragement to us to believe Jesus is not only the one who heals but even gives life. The stories are told in the same way, using the same Greek verb as Jesus grasps the hands of the children, and the same verb as they stand or rise up, and so, this story also encourages us to trust that resurrection- being raised up by our Lord- will be the final end, or completion, of our lives.

2 And just like last week s story, the passage not only describes the divine power of Jesus to heal or even make alive, but also the necessity of faith. Here again, is the faith of a father who comes to Jesus, to convince him to act. But in this account of the miracle, and the dialogue leading up to it, the faith of the father, and of everyone else, is lacking, is complicated, or at least, is called into question. Last week, in Matthew 9, Jesus several times approves of the faith of certain persons; but in this passage, quite the opposite: faithless generation, is Jesus rebuke of them; If you are able, is Jesus retort to the uncertain father. We might think that the father comes to a crisis of faith, crying out, I believe, help my unbelief, but perhaps a better way is to consider that, in this scripture, Jesus calls into account the faith of everyone. The disciples cannot heal or cast out, because their faith is misdirected or incomplete; Jesus will not heal because the father s faith is too shallow. And I think we should read this understanding that faith is a constant challenge to us, as well: that faith may not be what we think it is, that we have never figured it out, that we are unable to possess it or control it. For example, in chapter 6 of Mark s gospel, the disciples go out on their own, healing and casting out demons; but here they cannot- their faith is unable to meet this test. Something has changed, perhaps their attitudes or their

3 egos- and maybe because of their earlier success in chapter 6. Thus, this passage begins with the disciples discussing- or we might translate that word, arguing - with the scribes in the crowd, verse 14, until Jesus arrives; and immediately after this passage, Jesus hears the disciples discussing, or arguing, with one another who was the best or most important follower of Jesus. Their faith was confused or prideful and selfish- even corrupted, so that it was no benefit to anyone. That is an important realization about faith, that it is not only an element in our perception of ourselves, and not only the central factor of our relationship with God, but that it also must be something that benefits others. This is how faith challenges us- true faith never permits us to turn inward into arrogance or exclusion or intolerance. I want to examine for a few minutes the exchange between Jesus and the father, verses 22-24: 1) if you can do anything, please help us; 2) if you can! it s all possible if you believe; 3) I believe, help my unbelief. 1) Help us, the man begs, and in those words is the beginning of our comprehension of the divine: the knowledge of our frailty, our powerlessness before the forces of nature and time and destiny, the reality of our pain and the realization that we die; and so we seek after gods- we pray for heavenly guidance and assistance, we worship and sacrifice. But then we ask, Can you do this? just

4 as the man states, if you can, because we ve been hurt before, and it seemed the help we wanted didn t come, and those religious people who should be able were no help at all- they just repeated pious sayings or quoted more commandments- so maybe we have doubts, even as we come for help or healing or forgiveness. If you can, is humanity s challenge to God, and it does not mean only are you powerful enough to do what I need, but also, are you merciful enough? 2) Jesus responds, If you can! faith makes all things possible. And this is his confrontational demand that we reexamine faith. Maybe Jesus repeats the man s own words, If you can, as though mocking him, shaming him, into belief, or maybe he reverses everything, No, if you can; I know I can, but can you- if you are able to believe, then it will be done. This is God s challenge to humanity: that we believe in the God who is able, and trust in the God who is merciful. 3) Right on the edge of despair and hopelessness, at the critical point of going on in faith or losing faith entirely, is the man s response, a confession of faith that understands belief is always a question, that always we are challenged by our humanness. I believe, he says, and at that instant the knowledge of his inability to overcome all the things in this life humans are subject to, the power of the world, personal pride, the weakness and finitude of our flesh, the doubts in our

5 minds; and so, the true and humble profession of faith, Help my unbelief, that accepts the doubting and the ambiguity of our life. Even as he speaks these words, he apprehends real faith: that our faith is greatest when we admit our lack of faith, because it means, of all the things in the world we don t understand and cannot defeat, we know that God isn t done with us yet; we realize that our faith is not ours, as though it is a thing we may pull out whenever we want, like some sort of weapon used to destroy our problems, or problem people. It is rather a gift, like the air we breathe, the sunshine that surrounds us and warms us; a gift, a grace, that fills us at the very point and time we realize that we do not create it or possess it. But rather, it is what we return to God as we experience God s love. And so, the man s response is a profound acknowledgement of faith as commitment to God- I believe, but only in you, and through you - and as dependence upon God- Help my unbelief, I cannot live or have faith without your grace. And out of this kind of relationship with God- of commitment and dependence- there, the power of God is exercised on our behalf. I think we have the idea that our faith is a thing we must increase; we want to make our faith stronger, bigger, deeper, or more reliable. But faith is a thing outside

6 ourselves, or perhaps we should think of it as something that comes from outside ourselves (like the man in this scripture asking for help in believing), so it isn t the reliability of our faith, but the dependability of the one we believe in. And when Jesus compares our little faith to a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20), that, If you have the faith of a mustard seed, then you can tell a mountain to move over there, and it will happen, his point isn t that our faith is smaller than even a tiny seed, and it needs to grow. Rather, he is instructing us to understand the meaning of faith s potential: just as a seed becomes a plant, our faith makes us become what we were created to be. And we are meant to be committed to God and dependent upon God- this is how we live in the proper relationship with God and thus, in the proper relationship with others. This concept of faith lets God do the greatest things, healing and forgiveness and resurrection and eternal life, while we can be just seeds that grow into plants or trees, providing shade and shelter and fruit, nourishment and comfort. This is our grateful and humble response to the might and mercy of God.