Jesus said to him, “If you believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Forgive me, the sinner. God forgives, and I forgive.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Then one of the crowd answered and said, ‘Teacher, I have brought you my son, who has a mute spirit. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. … [Jesus] asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!’ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: ‘Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!’” (Mark 9: 17-18a, 21-25).
Who, brethren, is the afflicted child of this helpless father? Who is the anxious father of this tortured child? In today’s Gospel Reading we see a reflection of the interior life of every Christian believer. First, who is the afflicted child? It is our souls, troubled by demonic passions. And who is the worried father? It is our whole person—you and I—in need of God’s saving grace, of divine intervention. The petition of the father is each one of our petitions: “[O Lord,] have compassion on us, and help us” (v. 22). The confession of the father is each one of our confessions: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (v. 24).
How many of us have faith, brethren? How many of us have perfect faith, a finished faith, which drives out demons, which heals the infirm, is strong and immovable in the face of temptations, perfectly genteel and compassionate in the face of cruel mockery? Do you have such faith? Do I have such faith? If we are honest with ourselves, the answer is “No.” Otherwise, we would not sin as we do. But St. John says in his First Epistle,
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [But] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8-10).
Likewise, the Apostle writes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23; italics mine). Sin is unbelief. Sin is that momentary lapse of belief—a selfish suspension of belief. We believe that God is the Creator of the world, that the Holy Spirit of God is “everywhere present and filling all things.” But do we? Or, do we always? We believe that the Holy Spirit is with us—always. And we believe that the angels of God surround us, that they are “ministering spirits sent forth to serve those who will inherit salvation,” as the Apostle says (Heb 1:14). And yet, we gossip in their presence; we curse, we mutter terrible, unholy things under our breath, we are drunkards, we are addicts, we are adulterers and thieves. But we are Christians, yes?
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water” (Jas 3:9-12).
Our spiritual lives are contradictory. Therefore, our regular, insistent prayer before God must be, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
This prayer is so fitting for such a Sunday as this—the Sunday of St. John Climacus. As we study the icon of the Ladder of Divine Ascent, it would be too easy—wrong, actually—to caricature and to juxtapose the faithful on the Ladder with those faithless falling off the Ladder. Said another way: to juxtapose the saints on the Ladder with the sinners falling off the Ladder, for that is not what we see. Returning to the quote from St. John the Theologian: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8; italics mine). What does it take to scale the Ladder of Divine Ascent? Sinlessness? Perfection in holiness?
Early on, in St. John’s Ladder, we encounter the 5th rung (of 30 rungs): πένθος: Περὶ μετανοίας, that is, “Penitence: On true repentance.” He writes,
“Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort... Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair... Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent, trans. Archimandrite Lazarus Moore).
The ascent into Paradise for the Orthodox Christian, our initial movement from a life of faithless sin to a life of faithful obedience begins with repentance. It would be a discouraging thing if St. John the Theologian were only to say, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But what does he go on to say? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Man is sinful. Man is faithless. But the hope of men is the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus, our Lord (cf. Eph 1:7). Once we have repented, then we can begin the ascent towards Paradise and communion with the Living God. Sinlessness is not a prerequisite for Christian discipleship, but repentance of sins is.
Now, what we do see in the icon of the Ladder of Divine Ascent are two species of sinners saved by grace: (1) [we see] those who have taken their eyes off Christ; those who in pride, or haughtiness, or vanity, or in selfishness have thought, “Hey, I am really doing it! I am really faithful.” The object of their hope has shifted from Christ onto themselves. They have forgotten who they are without Christ. They have forgotten the prayer, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” And so, they have been ensnared by the demons and pulled off the Ladder. Are they done for? Are they condemned? Of course not. Only, they will need to begin again in humility and in repentance. They will need to acknowledge their sin and unbelief. “[But] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Thank God.
Then, [we see] (2) those who have their eyes fixed on Christ; those who are not concerning themselves with the demons who flit around them. They are not unaware of passions and temptations. But they are not focusing on the passions. They are focusing on Christ. They are not watching their feet. They have the holy angels to do that for them, as the Psalmist says,
“For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Ps 91:11-12).
These saints are not obsessed with each new rung of the Ladder. They are performing askesis, self-discipline. But askesis is not the end. Christ is the end to their journey—the fulfillment of their longing. With eyes fixed firmly on Christ, in humility of mind, in repentance of heart, in faith and in charity, they move ever towards their Savior.
Are the saints who surmount the Ladder sinless? No, for “all have sinned…” (Rom 3:23). Are these blessed ones perfect in righteousness? No, for “there is no one good—but God alone” (Mark 10:8). Are these saints faithful? “To what?” we should ask. Faith alone does not save (cf. Jas 2:24). Belief alone does not save. Only faithfulness to the Faithful One saves. When we orient ourselves to Christ, yes, it is a confession of faith. But it is also an acknowledgment: that we cannot save ourselves. We orient ourselves to the holy, sinless One, who died, was buried, and resurrected for our salvation, knowing that we are unable to be faithful enough. Rather, we put our faith in Christ who is the only Faithful One (cf. Gal 2:16).
Therefore, … let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Heb 12:1-2a).
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord, Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!