Mark 9 tells the story of a family torn apart by a terrible seizure disorder that would often attack the parent’s young son. While the Bible identifies the source of the seizures as being the work of a demon, the reason wasn’t nearly as important to the worried parents as the possible outcome.
When the seizures struck, the boy would convulse, grind his teeth and his young defenseless body become as stiff as a board. At times the child’s body would come dangerously close to writhing into the fire, or the nearby sea. Both would mean certain death.
The father is the one who does the speaking in the story, but mom in probably very close by. We aren’t told in Mark if the parents were religious, but indications are that they had performed all the sacrifices needed for healing and were faithful Hebrews. The very fact that they sought out the new Holy Man in the area must mean something.
They finally came upon a crowd that had gathered at the foot of a mountain. The Holy Man (Jesus of Nazareth) had gone into the hills with a few of His closest friends. The crowd anxiously awaited his return. The plight of the family finally reached the ears of Jesus’ disciples. The man came to them begging them to heal his son.
Similar passages in the New Testament indicate that very likely, these same disciples had just returned from a successful missions trip in which they were empowered to cast out demons, heal the sick and give sight to the blind. One can imagine the suspense as the parents look on, the crowd watches in anxious anticipation and the disciples prepare to heal the young man.
Something went terribly wrong in the process however. There seemed to be nothing that the disciples could do to rescue the boy from the terrible seizures. The crowd scoffed. The parents hung thier heads. This, thier last chance had met with failure as well. There was no hope.
Then, as they turned to leave, Jesus returns. He questions the parents, and asks them if they believe! What a question. While they may have believed at one time, It’s not surprising that the father professes his belief in a God that can do all things, while at the same time admitting that his faith was weak and dwindling.
Jesus spoke. The demon left the boy as a corpse. Then Jesus raised him up and gave the healthy young man back to his parents.
That’s grace! We serve a God that at times can seem agonizingly silent, or distant. His actions are not as we’d like. But, like the distraught parents we can come to him when we doubt and know He will listen and reach out His hands towards us.
The Carol tells the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge. A man long ago hardened by a God he no longer believed in. Yet, on that mysterious Christmas Eve, Scrooge was awakened to the reality that God does exist and reaches out to all who are in need, whether that be the physical need of the street urchins, or the spiritual void of the rich.
As Tiny Tim would say…”God Bless us, Everyone.”
