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Sept. 16, 2018 The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Imagine
if you were the father in today’s Gospel. Since childhood, his son has been
plagued by an unclean spirit that makes him mute and throws him down, doing
bodily harm. The dad brings his son to Jesus’ disciples, and they are of no
help. The father comes before Jesus and asks him to help … if He can. Jesus
responds, “If you can! All things are possible
for one who believes.” To which the father cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23–24) This father, who is at the end of his rope,
cries out with faith mixed with desperation. Thankfully, his worthiness, and
our worthiness, does not depend on the greatness or smallness of faith.
Instead, it depends on Jesus, the object of our faith. When we face desperate
times, we, too, cry out in prayer and faith, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Isaiah 50:4-10 James 3:1-12 st Mark 9:14-29
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