He has often fallen into the fire and at other times into the water. I brought him to your
disciples but they could not heal him.”

Jesus replied, “You, faithless and evil people! How long must I be with you? How long
must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to
leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed.

The disciples then gathered around Jesus and asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we
drive out the spirit?” Jesus said to them, “Because you have little faith. I say to you:
if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move
from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible to you.

Reflect

Today’s first reading begins with the most fundamental prayer of the Jewish faith. It is called the
Shema, after its first word in Hebrew: Listen. All faith begins with listening. We listen for God’s
call to us. For God always act first, reaching out to bring us to himself. Having heard God’s call,
we then respond by obeying God’s commands. But even that is tied to listening. The word
“obey” comes from a Latin root, meaning “to listen to.” So, by listening to God, we turn our
hearts to him so that we can live in accord with his will. In our world, so full of noise and
distraction, it is difficult to listen for the Lord. So many other voices want to drown out
his voice. The voices of the world tell us to seek wealth, influence, and pleasure. But the
Lord’s voice calls us to follow, to serve, and to love, without counting the cost.

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