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| "Saint Clare" by Simone Martini, 1317. |
Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Habakkuk 1:12—2:4
Commentary on Hb 1:12—2:4
The Prophet Habakkuk, in his oracle, complains against the social abuses taking place in Judah before King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldean empire came to invade the region (including Jerusalem) as an instrument of God’s punishment. The prophet is lamenting the Diaspora, the dispersal and enslavement of the Hebrews by its neighbors.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 9:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R. (11b) You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
Commentary on Ps 9:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
The psalm addresses loosely connected themes, the rescue of the helpless poor from their enemies, God's worldwide judgment and his kingship over the nations.
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Gospel: Matthew 17:14-20
Commentary on Mt 17:14-20
This story of the possessed boy is a shortened version of the story from St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 9:17-27). Here there is little background given and the focus instead is on lack of faith. Jesus' comments, directed to the disciples, indicate their faith was insufficient to drive out the demon and the speech envisions a time when they may be able to “move mountains” with stronger faith.
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Reflection:
There is an old saying “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” As we listen to Jesus and see in this passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel how he takes the disciples to task, we kind of despair. Will we ever get to the point where Jesus expects us to be? As we envision the story of the encounter between Jesus and the man with the son who is mentally ill (it sounds strange hearing the Bible call him a lunatic- not PC) we sense the frustration in the Lord. At this stage in their development it seems clear that Jesus expects his students to be able to handle such encounters with illness and possession.
When the man comes to him and explains that the disciples were unable to help him, Jesus is frustrated. He says in a surprising way; “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?” The usually patient Messiah sounds almost like a father whose child comes and asks for help with their homework after that parent has spent a long time teaching them how to do the work; or the parent of an adult child who is asked for help once too often.
When the disciples come to Jesus after he has cured the boy, he tells them that the reason they could not help the boy was they did not have faith. The point being made is clear. With faith all things are possible. That theme has been consistent throughout sacred scripture. However, we are like the person who is forced to walk across a bridge. When the bridge is wide and substantial, we can cross confidently. But when the bridge is just a narrow plank with no hand holds we become frightened and cannot cross. In reality, the plank may have been the same width as that part of the bridge we walked across, but the idea that we could fall prevented us from moving forward.
If we use that analogy and take it further we may see where scripture is taking us. Let’s ask how does one get the courage to walk across a plank suspended above a significant drop? They start with the plank on the ground walk across it and once they are confident, gradually raise it until it is high in the air. That is the way high-wire artists train. They start small and, with lots of regular practice they move it higher and higher.
For us the faith must be the same. We start small, with prayers and actions we know we can take. But we push ourselves. We pray longer and harder, we hand more and more to God so that his peace becomes part of us.
Our prayer today is that through our discipline of faith we may increase that which is so freely given and constantly seek to emulate Christ so our faith may accomplish his will among all we meet.
Pax
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