Benny Nalkara, CMI

The importance of faith in discipleship was often stressed by Jesus and the inefficiency of the “little faith” was constantly cautioned by him during his public ministry. He always wanted to underline that growth in faith is the mandatory requirement in following him and the fruitfulness of discipleship depends on rootedness in faith. Many of his exhortations related to the miracles vouch for this. His clarion call to have “mustard seed” like faith that can move the mountains stands as an emphatic declaration than an enigmatic statement.

In the Gospel of Matthew 17:14-21, Jesus, seeing their failure in casting out the demons, exhorts the disciples about having faith. It was the occasion when the father of a boy who was epileptic and pleaded for mercy and also narrated his experience of taking the boy to the disciple of Jesus for cure but in futile. In the Gospels, often we find Jesus tests and appreciate the faith of the beneficiaries of his miraculous deeds and healing works. But, here he is just testing the faith of the healers, the disciples. The episode brings the memories of 2 Kings Chapter 4 where Gehasi, the disciple of Elisha who fails to restore back to life the son of the Shunammite.

When Jesus found that this confidence is missing in the lives of the disciples he exhorts them “to have faith the size of a mustard seed that can move the mountains”. In Jesus’ day, the mustard seed was used proverbially to represent the smallest of things. And with a diameter of 1 to 2 millimetres, it’s a fitting illustration! mountains being uprooted and moved was a common illustration to describe “the most improbable occurrence: (Isaiah 54:10; 1 Cor 13:2).

The stark contrast between the smallest of seeds and the immensity of a mountain range is a powerful one. Faith the size of a mustard seed means the smallest measure of faith and the moving mountains refers to the “winning over the difficulties” in the Jewish world. It was a phrase which the Jews knew well. A great teacher, who could really expound and interpret scripture and who could explain and resolve difficulties, was regularly known as an up rooter, or even a pulveriser, of mountains. To tear up, to uproot, to pulverize mountains were all regular phrases for removing difficulties. Jesus never meant this to be taken physically and literally. What he meant was: “If you have faith enough, all difficulties can be solved, and even the hardest task can be accomplished.”

According to the great Roman scholar Pliny, mustard seed was the fastest growing seed. It can grow up to 10 feet in a season. So mustard seed stands for intense growth in the life of faith also. If one grows fast in his/her life, it can make possible the impossible. Jesus here gives a serious lesson on the relationship between faith and the miracle than the efficacy or inefficacy of faith. Faith should be an ever-growing factor in one’s life so that it would ensure a strong relationship with God in one’s own life and would enable one to win over any situation in life.

Jesus is giving this exhortation just after his transfiguration at Mount Tabor and the descending to the plains. On the mountain he had the moments of glory and now he is amidst the sorrow of the plains. What we find is a transition from the moment of God experience to the existential human realities. What Jesus wanted to communicate is that, if we want to carry out our mission what we need is to have the continuity of our faith based on the relationship with God.

Christian faith is nothing but the positive and creative response to the visions and teachings of Jesus and the self-confidence that we have been strengthened and sent out by him to proclaim the message of salvation to the fellow human beings. We, as the disciples of Jesus Christ, are often feeling this lack of self-confidence that helps us to win over the difficulties. The sorrows of the plains may make us perplexed. What we need is to have the experience of faith based on our relationship to God. The famous saying, “when faith goes to market, goes with a basket,” underlines the exhortation of Jesus “to be faithful in our faith.”