Luke 9:37-43a
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43a And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
40… I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
The world is on edge right now. Our nation is anxious and unsettled right now. Our spirits are weary right now. It seems like every time I check the news the stories are more disturbing than they were the time before. It feels like we’ve lost our compass and we’re spiraling out of control.
That must be how the father of the demon possessed boy felt as he tried desperately to get help. The part of this story that speaks to me today is when the father tells Jesus that the disciples were unable to cast it out.
When we feel the most powerless, when it seems as though nothing we do makes any difference, when the world is falling apart around us, we have hope. That hope never disappoints because it is the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection – the assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
This may sound like the last-ditch effort of someone who doesn’t know what to do, but it’s just the opposite. Our job, as people of faith, is to refuse to give in to despair – to begin with prayer, every time – to do everything in our power to proclaim the Gospel in words and deeds in every situation – to engage in radical love for all people in Jesus Name – to live in hope.
Prayer: Lord Jesus: In you is life in all its fullness and in your light we can see true light. AMEN