Meditation for 18 November 2009

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Matthew 17:14-20

 

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, ¹⁵and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ ¹⁷Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ ²⁰He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’

 

What Exasperates Jesus

 

Maybe Jesus was tired and was having a bad day.  “You perverse and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you?  How much longer must I put up with you?”  One thing was clear.  He was annoyed, frustrated, exasperated, vexed and maybe some other words you can think of that end in “ed”.  Probably you and I will never have a faith that approaches the level of Jesus’ faith in God.  But what seems to regularly cause Jesus exasperation is how little faith we have in God, and how we get caught up in worrying about the silliest things, like what to eat, what to drink, and what to wear (see Matthew 6:25-34).  What exasperates Jesus is that on some days we put more faith in money or wealth than we do in God.  (see Matthew 6:24; Matthew 19:23-24)  What vexed Jesus was that, even though the people saw him heal all sorts of people, and feed thousands with a boy’s lunch, many people still asked him to show them a sign from heaven.  (see Matthew 16:1-4)

 

What are the opportunities for faithfulness that come up in our lives, where we are found wanting?  When do you and I cause Jesus exasperation, because a little faith would go a long way (maybe even move a mountain), and we instead get caught complaining or blaming someone else or acting like powerless victims? (“This can’t be done!  It’s impossible!”, said with a whiny voice.)  When do we have a chance to demonstrate faith, and instead we see only obstacles, and do nothing?

 

Perhaps it’s when we say, “There’s no way we can do that.  There’s no money.”

 

Perhaps it’s when we think it is all up to ourselves, and we isolate ourselves, instead of inviting others to join us, not realizing that we can do more when we gather together and collaborate and share our different gifts and bolster each other’s faith.

 

Perhaps it’s when we allow our fears to stop us dead in our tracks, instead of acknowledging our fears to God, asking for God’s help, and moving ahead – despite our fears.

 

Perhaps it’s when we fail to remember that God has helped us work through all sorts of challenges in the past, and suddenly we think that God – for some weird reason – will not show up this time!

 

Perhaps it’s when we feel small and inadequate, forgetting that we have been given the Holy Spirit, who empowers us and enables us to do the things that God wants us to do.

 

Perhaps it’s when we are too lazy to pray, too lazy to stop and call on God and say, “Lord, I know you are calling me to act here.  Show me the way.  I put my trust in you, and I know that with you, all things are possible.”

 

Sometimes you and I are exactly like the disciples, exactly like the scribes and the Pharisees.  We demonstrate no more faith than someone who is a non-believer.  And Jesus takes a deep breath, and wants to pull his hair out, and says, in effect, “Ahhhhh!  You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I put up with you?  Do you still have such little faith, after all this time?  Get over your fears!  Get past your excuses!  Do you still doubt that God is with you, that God is for you, that it is God who works through you?  You are more powerful than your realize, and I need you to get to work!  Now, please!”

 

May we all seize our opportunities to be faithful today – for the good of others, for the sake of our own transformation, for the building up of the kingdom… and so Jesus doesn’t have to be quite so exasperated.