Moving Mountains

When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.’ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell 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; and nothing will be impossible for you.’ Matthew 17:14-21

Faith is easy, when everything is going your way. Faith is much harder when obstacles, big and small, get in the way. Whether it's health issues, financial challenges or great loss, we often find it hard to hold on and have faith when we are overwhelmed and afraid. The challenge put before the disciples was to heal epilepsy, long before there were medicines and treatments available. A terrifying situation for both parent and child. Jesus tells us we can move mountains with a small amount of faith, and we also know we have prayed faithfully and things didn't change. We can feel like failures as the disciples did. And yet, Jesus reminds us today to use the little faith we have, and despite all the trials and failures, mountains are moving whether we witness the movement or not. Our faithfulness, compassion and love can change the world, even today. No AI will ever replace loving faithfulness.

Wondrous Creator, you made us in your image

giving us the power to love and to change lives

even when we feel powerless and without strength.

We use the tools the modern world has created

hoping the computer and AI can change lives

and we are bitter when there is no loving response.

Help us faithfully live so others may thrive

fill us with your love, strength and healing

so we might share them and change the world today. Amen.