Faith is the Cross!
Two Sundays ago we heard about the faith of the four friends who brought a man through the roof of a house so that Jesus would heal him. Today we hear a father cry out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And in between these two Sundays, last week we heard those ever-challenging words of the Lord, If we wish to follow him we must pick up our cross and follow him. We witness degrees of faith or lack of faith, and the Cross in the middle: Faith – Cross – Lack of faith. Faith is indeed the cross most of us must carry. And please notice the title here is not “Faith in the Cross” but “Faith IS the Cross!” To believe in today’s world is becoming a more and more challenging thing. For many people it has become impossible to believe in God or Christ any more.
The father in today’s Gospel story is a man whose faith had not grown or evolved. He believed, but he needed help with his unbelief, his inability to deal with the situation at hand. And it was his son who needed all the faith that he could muster. It was a crisis such as he had never experienced before and which his faith was not prepared to face.
And, dear friends, that’s when most of us confront our faith, when crisis hits. When everything is going well and as usual, we hardly think of the quality of our faith. But when crisis comes – in sickness, death, divorce, financial collapse – our faith is challenged to the core. Then we can very well cry out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! Help me see with new eyes. Help me move beyond childhood faith into adult faith so I can manage this crisis.” And in that moment we are all alone before God; before Christ – just as the man today. The apostles were useless, they were unable to do anything. Only Jesus could. The man faced Jesus, and Jesus alone.
Right before this incident, Jesus was on the mountain with Peter, James and John. Moses and Elijah appeared. He was transfigured (Mark 9:2-8). Then Moses and Elijah disappeared and only Jesus remained. Only Jesus remained on the mountain. Only Jesus remained below the mountain when the man’s faith was jolted. Only Jesus remains in our own lives. Make a habit of going to him. Prayer and observance of his commandments are the way. And remember, inasmuch as you do it to the least of his brothers and sisters you do to him. He is the Light in your life.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross has been quoted as saying: People are like stained glass windows; they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a Light within.
May the Light be strong in every one of you. Go ahead and shine in the darkness; in those dark moments that shatter the faith of some. In those dark moments that bring out the Light even more boldly in those who know Christ and who stand face-to-face with Christ.
