Gospel
Mark 9:14-29
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John
and approached the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.
Immediately on seeing him,
the whole crowd was utterly amazed.
They ran up to him and greeted him.
He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
Someone from the crowd answered him,
“Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit.
Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down;
he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.
I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”
He said to them in reply,
“O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.”
They brought the boy to him.
And when he saw him,
the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around
and foam at the mouth.
Then he questioned his father,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
He replied, “Since childhood.
It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Jesus said to him,
“‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,
rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again!”
Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out.
He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!”
But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.
When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private,
“Why could we not drive the spirit out?”
He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”
Reflection
In this Gospel there was a boy who had been possessed by a demon and suffering since childhood. His condition seemed hopeless so much so that even his father expressed doubt when desperately asking for help,“If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us". Jesus immediately challenged this doubt, saying, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith" and commanded the unclean spirit out of the boy. He echoed this similarly at the end of the Gospel when they asked why they could not drive out the spirit on their own to which he responded, "This kind can only come out through prayer”.
I think this Gospel serves as a reminder of the power and need for prayer and how true strength comes from God, not from human strength alone. It makes me wonder how often we try to solve our struggles on our own, forgetting to turn to God in prayer? I believe the father's cry, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”, is one of the most relatable moments in the Gospel. It reflects the tension and doubt I am sure many of us feel in our faith. Yet, instead of turning away, the father brings his doubts to Jesus, asking for help. It makes me question what things we are holding onto, doubts or uncertainties that we could be giving to the Lord to handle and to unburden us.
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