THE TRUE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS THE ONE LED BY FAITH!
King David cried when he received the news of the death of his son Absalom who had tried to usurp the kingship and kill him; His action surprised those who brought the news of his death. David had faith that his son may eventually change, and did not wish him evil just as others did. The action of David challenges us on how to deal with similar situations in our lives. Praying for the enemy and wishing them well even when they don’t mean well for us, also means that we take action against this enemy. David ran away from his son for some time and was ready to defend his kingdom if need be. ACTION AND PRAYER GO TOGETHER.
THE FEARLESS FAITH: Dear child of God, in the Gospel we saw examples of uncommon, fearless faith. They already believed in the power of Jesus (Faith) to heal or make them better before they approached Jesus. Many times, in our lives we doubt the power of Jesus to heal or make us whole, and when we do approach Jesus, we do that as a last resort. This is not faith, rather this is a sin since we focus on our problems instead of believing in the promises of God for us. WE NEED THE FEARLESS FAITH OF THE WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD AND THE CENTURION (JARIUS) IN ORDER TO FEEL AND GET THE ‘TOUCH’ OF JESUS. Finally, the foundation for all the miracles of Jesus in the Gospel is the presence of faith in the recipients. Hence, miracles are not magic as we witness today in our societies performed by the ‘pastorpreneurs’. Faith is indispensable in our Christian life, when the disciples realized this singular fact, they ran to Jesus and begged him ‘Lord increase our faith’. (Lk. 17:5).
FAITH IN ACTION: The meaning of faith which was given in Hebrews 11:1 played out in the Gospel Reading of today. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. The woman with the issue of blood had confidence in what she hoped for by touching the hem of the garment of Jesus. The same can be said about the Jewish official (Jairus) who invited Jesus to his house to raise his daughter who had died. Many Christians are fond of asking how do I know I have faith? Looking at the GOSPEL scenarios, ALL THE ACTIONS AND EFFORTS OF THE WOMAN AND THE JEWISH OFFICIAL ARE ALREADY SIGNS OF FAITH. Since faith is a prerequisite for divine miracles. Unlike in our days when “fake miracles” are dispensed by false prophets and pastors without any faith in the recipient. I call on all Christians to begin to rethink their understanding of Jesus and their spiritual life, Faith is a necessary ingredient in any miracle of Jesus. This Faith is two-way traffic: YOUR EFFORTS spiritually or otherwise and the power of the Holy Spirit (Jesus) produce the needed miracle. It is not a “cash n carry” event, it does not go to the highest bidder, but the Holy Spirit decides according to God’s will. If the sought-after miracle does not occur, God has a better reason for our own good, and He will give us the strength to forge ahead. Our Lord Jesus Christ is not on holiday, He is still in the business of blessing and healing his people daily, let us, therefore, run to Him like the two people in the Gospel Reading of today, no matter what people will say or the nature of obstacles on our way.
Fr. James K. Mwangi
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