Gospel: Mark 9:14-29

 

Coming down from the mountain of the Transfiguration, Jesus met many people. A parent was in despair. With great detail, Mark describes the situation of the possessed boy, the anguish of the father, the incapacity of the disciples and the reaction of Jesus. 

 

Two things strike us: the confusion and the powerlessness of the people in the face of the possession, and the power of faith in Jesus before which the devil loses all his influence. From the response of the father, Jesus knows that the boy, from childhood, was affected by a serious illness which endangered his life. 

 

The answer of Jesus is the way of faith. The father answers: Lord, I believe! But help my lack of faith! The response of the father has the central place in this episode. It indicates that this should be the attitude of the disciple, that, in spite of our limitations and doubts, we want to be faithful. Faith and prayer go together.

 

Seeing that many people were coming, Jesus acted rapidly. This is a sign of the power of Jesus on evil. It is also a sign that Jesus did not want propaganda. 

 

To the Romans, St. Paul gives a list of all the possible powers which could threaten us: “I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord!”. The first words of Jesus after the Resurrection are: “Do not be afraid! Rejoice! Do not fear!”.