Mustard Seed Faith

A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, "Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him." 

Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" 

He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:14-20)

“Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him.”  I’m reminded of a recent episode of The Chosen with Jesus’ disciples healing in the same and very graphic way.  Therefore, I wonder why in this Gospel reading we read: “Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"  What follows is Matthew 10:1-15.

(begin) Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness…Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. (end)

I guess I must read more of the Gospel because The Chosen scenes of many miraculous cures by the twelve shortly after they were sent by Jesus seem to conflict with the later Matthew 17 reference: Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not drive it [demon] out?" (my emphasis). Jesus said they had little faith so healings were impossible.  

The Chosen doesn’t seem to be consistent with the Gospel in this important instance.  Artistic license I suppose. Nevertheless, this episode reminds us of what eventually is claimed to have happened as described in the Acts of the Apostles.  After Jesus was crucified and ascended, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and things happened.  For example: Now Peter and John were going up to the temple area for the three o’clock hour of prayer. And a man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate” every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us. He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk.” Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10)

Many of us have faith the size of a mustard seed, but we should take heart. According to Jesus even with faith the size of a mustard seed, we can say to any mountain, “Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for us. I take this to mean Jesus can help us move mountains of obstacles and despair away from us when we ask him for help, even when we are not entirely sure he is there for us.  Just a little faith is all we need – faith capable of growing into a large tree providing us with shade and comfort in times of distress.

Deacon David Pierce