Nothing Will Be Impossible for You (8/1/10)

10th Sunday of Matthew

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as 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.

There are a few things in life that appear to be hopeless. Peace in the Middle East comes to mind as one such hopeless cause. The terrorist bombings in Afganistan, Iraq, Pakistan and the endless situations in Israel and Palestine give little occasion for hope. Closer to home is the issue of sexual abstinence for teenagers. How many of us think that this is a lost cause, that "boys will be boys," or that nature is unstoppable? One of my dreams is that all the Orthodox Churches in the USA be united into one jurisdiction or administration, but the endless turf battles involved in making this happen seem insurmountable. Many of us face our own personal struggles, such as I do, with gluttony, or anger, or who-knows-what. And often we think, there is no way to change the situation that I face or to change myself.

The Lord's Prayer, in its original Greek form, contains the words, "rusai hmaV apo tou ponhrou," "Deliver us from the evil one.," We Orthodox Christians believe in the existence of the devil. And how does the devil operate in our lives? I suspect that he operates primarily in our thoughts, and especially in the thought that some things are impossible, e.g. it is impossible to overcome anger or hatred or uncontrolled urges. It is not impossible, "nothing will be impossible for you," as the Lord says. He did not say that it wouldn't be difficult. In today's gospel reading after the words, "nothing will be impossible for you," the Lord states, "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." In other words, the malady that you faced today is not easily conquered; it is difficult, but not impossible.

If you ask me today, will there ever be peace in the Middle East, my inclination is to say, "Impossible!" But if you had asked me in 1988 if the Soviet Union would collapse from within, I would have said the same thing, "Impossible!" If you had asked me if the Berlin Wall would be knocked down in my lifetime, I would have said the same thing. A hundred years ago people were told that it was impossible for a human to run a mile in less than four minutes. Many things that were once considered impossible have happened.

Christianity is a religion founded upon hope. Our ultimate hope is that just as Jesus conquered death through His death on the Cross and Resurrection, so, too, we shall one day personally share in His victory over death. There is no hope greater than this. But even in this life there are no impossible challenges-- difficult, yes- unlikely, yes- impossible, no. And so we pray and we fast and we do whatever we can to improve the only thing in the world that we control, which is our own conduct.

It seems to me that at this time the most important thing we can do is to pray…. often. We can pray for peace in the world, peace in our families, peace in our own hearts. We can pray for our church and its well-being. We can pray for the health of our family members and for the health of others. We can pray for nothing at all, just to stand in the presence of our Lord.

The story is told of Winston Churchill that he was called to give an address at a prominent school. It was wartime and all ears were on the Prime Minister and what he had to say to encourage the youth of Britain in its impossible struggle against Germany. He arose and walked to the podium and said, "Never, ever, ever give up. Never, ever, ever give up." And then he sat down. I do not know what kind of Christian Winston Churchill was, but his message is a message for Christians of all ages: Never, ever, ever give up. We are patient in our struggles, but we never give up our dreams.

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Text:

And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up" (Matthew 17:14-23).