In the first scene of our gospel reading the man of the epileptic boy says to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” The statement makes no sense at all… and yet, it gets at a truth that we all know well: We believe. We want to believe. But there are still doubts. We need to believe more strongly. We want proofs for affirmation.
In the case of the epileptic boy the father has just said previously to Jesus, “…if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus says to him, “If you are able! – All things can be done for the one who believes.” To which the man says his statement of belief but wanting help with his unbelief.
In this case the setting of belief is based on the need to perform a healing miracle. I think we all wish we could perform miracles. We’d solve a lot of the world’s problems – or at least we’d try! And yet, this idea of “believing” but wanting help with “unbelief” has a big effect on everyday life; not just the miraculous. After all, most of Jesus’ teachings about faith and belief are not aimed at making people capable of doing miraculous things.
“Belief” in everyday life centers around the idea of trusting God’s love for you. At the Ash Wednesday service I preached that whether we like it or not, we are completely and forever entirely dependent upon God for existence. John’s gospel tells us that all things came into being through God. And without God not one thing came into being. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or not, and it doesn’t matter whether you love God or even hate God, you are still dependent upon God for existence. The entire universe exists only because God created it and sustains every-last inch of it; and for as long as God wants it to.
We talk about relying on God while we are alive. But what about after death? Do you ever realize that even then we depend upon God. There will never be a time when we will exist on our own as ourselves.
That offends many people. Those who want to be their own creators (and sustainers) are never going to be okay with being eternally dependent upon God’s goodness for existence. Yet that is true. We have nothing that we can give to God that God cannot get otherwise. You can’t make deals with God. Any deal means that you have offered something of value to the other and you are leveraging that value for getting something for yourself in return. But, anything that we can do God can do better. Also, God is not a narcissist sitting on a throne and wanting the adoration of his creatures. God has simply created the universe, and life, and humans, out of God’s own sense of creativity and delight.
That is all easy to believe… in theory. It is harder to believe in the scrapes and bangs of day-to-day life. Where wealth and luck and popularity and limited resources all come into play in very tangible ways. We too cry out, “We believe. But God, if you really want us to live by this, help our unbelief!”
When we cNtruly and fully believe that God made us, and that God loves us, it shows in all our life’s priorities. And when we do not believe that, the ways of the world take over.
Let’s look at the rest of the gospel reading with that in mind.
The scene after the curing of the epileptic boy is the scene where Jesus and the disciples return to Capernaum. Jesus asks them what they were arguing about along the way. It turns out they were arguing about who was the greatest.
If you know deep in your heart that your value and your existence are forever entirely secure in God, then do you care about earthly greatness? Does earthly rank matter at all? No. But… the dynamics of status and rank impact every aspect of life.
We believe. Help our unbelief!
Then the disciple John tells Jesus about others casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John says he tried to stop them. It is as if someone else is benefitting from the ‘Jesus brand’ and they haven’t bought the licensing rights. Or, they are using the name without full understanding. Doesn’t Jesus want to keep an eye on those who act in his name? What if they use it wrongly? Jesus says no, let them do it. No one who does a deed of power in Jesus’ name will soon after be able to speak evil of Jesus.
This strikes close to home. I am often bothered by a lot of what people do in Jesus’ name in our country today. I see conservative evangelicals using language about Jesus that is embarrassing and insulting to anyone with intelligence. Plus, Jesus’ name is used for endorsing political ideas. On the other side I see liberals using the name of Jesus to support their own brands; the concepts and teachings of Jesus being used to endorse all sorts of critiques. And it is used to build ivory towers of superiority from which liberals can throw stones at those they vilify.
I suppose I have my own ideas of what the Jesus brand is and is not. Maybe mine are more accurate. But maybe they are not. Ultimately we have to realize that we use the name of Jesus with humility, and know it represents something beyond ourselves, even as we don’t understand or control it. And so we say we believe, but help our unbelief!
Jesus then goes on to teach about having millstones hung around your neck, and hands cut off, and feet cut off, and eyes gouged out if they cause you to “stumble.” Stumble meaning a scandal to faith – either your faith or the faith of others.
Of course Jesus is using highly exaggerated language here. Don’t take this literally! We can get his point. Earthly ways, earthly priorities, earthly limitations seem completely absolute to us. But they are not. It is so easy to get hung up on them. They drive our lives! We believe that who we are is measured by what we can do. That belief is reinforced for us all the time.
The Super Bowl puts the world’s ways on full display. The Super Bowl is a test of the best of the best. It is a combination of a team’s talent on the field, the skill of coaches, and the thinking of strategists. It is a mix of strength and skill and cunning. Who has put together the best combination? Those who do win. Everyone else loses. That is the way of the world.
But let’s not pick on sports. The Super Bowl is ultimately a stage for entertainment. It gets far more serious.
Put yourself in a dry wilderness. You live in a village. If the village well dries up you have to find water. If the well in the neighboring village still works, and if they let you get water from it, all well and good. But what if they don’t? What about when the competition is about food and water; not a Super Bowl ring? What about when it is about who will get the life-saving resources and who will die?
If you are in a village where the water runs dry, and a neighboring village has water, but won’t let you have any… and your children are going to die, and you have a gun and the neighboring village has none, what are you going to do?
God, we believe. Help our unbelief!
Further into our gospel reading Jesus is asked about divorce. He doesn’t get into the technicalities of the situation. He roots it in God’s creative intentions; and the breakdown thereof. He doesn’t give an easy way out. His followers are not to be changing relationships based on whims, new desires, or by finding technical loopholes. The practical effect of Jesus’ teaching is to create families where children grow up in safety and security, and so that people feel stable in their lives.
And yet many people do say you only live once, so get as much out of life as you can get away with. But that is not Jesus’ teaching.
A person who knows that fulfillment and happiness rest in knowing they are loved by God, is not frustrated when relationships and families are troubled.
Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.
Our gospel reading wraps up with children being brought to Jesus. These days children are given far higher priority in society than then. Then a child had no status, other than their potential to grow up. Nothing was to be gained by paying attention to children. Nothing was to be gained by giving them priority over adults. If an important person like Jesus was around then the important adults should get access. Children could learn from their parents from there.
But in God’s kingdom where all recognize that their existence is forever and securely held by God, no adult is above another and no child is lesser. Children become the example Jesus uses. Though they have no present practical value, they are valued by God.
They are an example of faith because they are needy and they know it. They know they depend upon their family for everything they need. Their very existence depends upon their family.
Similarly, our existence depends upon God. We know that. We believe that. But it is so hard when the limits of life hit us. God seems far away. The world seems so absolute.
We believe. God, help our unbelief.
I suspect we will never reach a point in life when we are truly beyond feeling our hearts tugged by the ways of the world. But we are still in God’s care. We pray for more faith. And we live in the hope of God’s promises of full unity with him, when all our doubts are forever gone.
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