NOTES for Mat 17:14-23

In this account we encounter human suffering that human strength was unable to overcome. This often happens to us. What should we do? “Bring him to Me,” says the Savior. The Lord shows us the way in a situation where it seems that we have exhausted every means and that nothing more can help. The disciples ask why they themselves could not cast out the demons. “Because of your little faith,” or “because you have no faith,” as some manuscripts read. This answer makes us reflect on what faith is and how we can measure our own faith—whether it is small or great. Often, recalling the Savior’s subsequent words, “I tell you, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, and if you said to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ it would move,” and seeing that nothing moves at our words, we are inclined to belittle our faith. Yet we must not forget the distinctive character of Jesus’ language, filled with symbols, hyperbole, and vivid poetic images. In rabbinic literature, teachers capable of interpreting the most difficult passages of Scripture were called “movers of mountains.” When we say that faith works miracles, we must understand “miracles” in keeping with the spirit of the Gospel, not with the spirit of our sinful desires.