August 11, 2018

Gospel: Mt 17:14-20
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus, knelt before him and said, “Sir, have pity on my son, who is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He has often fallen into the fire, and at other times into the water. I brought him to your disciples but they could not heal him.” Jesus replied, “O you people, faithless and misled! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed. Later, the disciples approached Jesus and asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive out the spirit?” Jesus said to them, “Because you have little faith. I say to you: if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible for you.

Reflections
You have little faith
Faith is our response to God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. It is not belief in the magical powers of a certain novena or devotion. It is not belief that if I pass on a certain prayer to others I will avoid tragedy or will receive a vast fortune miraculously. Since God reveals himself in Jesus Christ, faith is the response and commitment of our entire personhood to the person of Jesus, which involves our heart, mind, will and way of life. Faith then is manifested in our commitment to and obedience to God and imitation of Jesus.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018