I Do Believe, Help My Disbelief

But if you can do anything… In the Gospel passage today, we see a parent at his whit’s end, trying to find a cure for his child. Hope is running out in his heart. After seeing that Jesus’s disciples are unable to cure the child, this father’s discouraged plea of, “But if you can do anything…” sounds like the plea of every parent whose child is sick with an unknown or terminal illness. There is distrust mingled with a desire to trust completely in the expert experience of another.

If you can!

Jesus’s response is what every parent in this situation would like to hear: “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to those who have faith.” At the same time, it calls into question one’s faith. Reading this, the first questions that come to my mind are: Have I lacked faith? Was it not for a good reason? There have been no satisfactory results up to this point that would reinforce my faith? Jesus’s response could seem a bit sarcastic and proud, even perhaps a bit mocking of a lack of faith. Although I hear the Lord telling me that he can, I find myself wondering why he has not.

I do believe, help my unbelief!

The response of the father in this passage is full of a profound humility that springs from love for his child: “I do believe, help my unbelief!” It is a prayer that the Lord may supply the faith that is lacking. This is a beautiful prayer when prayed with sincerity. The humility to acknowledge that on our own we cannot reach the level of faith that is needed; that we must ask God for the grace: this is a profound and powerful prayer.

How do I get to this level of humble prayer? It implies acceptance of a mystery- I do not always think as God thinks. His good plan for me and mine may not be what I think it should be. God is not a Genie who will grant my every wish. He is the God who loves me as his creature, his child, his friend. He loves me and knows my ultimate good, and can work that good through all circumstances, even illness of any type.

[Readings: Sirach 1:1-10; Mark 9:14-29]