Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Gerry Paat SVD – SVD Postulancy, Divine Word Seminary Tagaytay
The movie John Q, starring Oscar winner, Denzel Washington, is a powerful portrayal of the love of a father to his son. When his young son collapsed in a baseball game, John Q and his wife learned that their only son needed a heart transplant. Without enough health insurance or money to cover the operation, it seemed that they were out of options. In the movie John Q took matters into his own hands. He was given no other option but to hostage the hospital employees just to convince them to treat his son. The movie ended happily. John Q’s son was given life again.
John Q did not only have faith, he also had love and hope. He was determined to face all odds, he for his love of his son, even to the brink of sacrificing his own life.
The man in the Gospel who approached Jesus must have been left with no options too. He already asked the help of Jesus’s disciples but they failed to give that help he badly needed for his son. And when he heard of Jesus he did waste time to approach him. “Sir, have pity on my son who is an epileptic and is in a wretched state.” What an utter of despair, but also an expression of hope, faith, and love. He must have had great faith and hope in Jesus as he took the opportunity to approach Jesus without minding the crowd. He must have been discouraged by the failure of the disciples. And yet he never doubted the healing power of Jesus. He was hopeful on him. And he must really love his son that he was willing to take all the necessary remedies.
Surprisingly, before Jesus commanded the evil spirits to leave the boy, he first reprimanded the disciples for their lack of faith and taught them that if only they have faith even the size of a mustard seed then nothing would be impossible for them. Faith, indeed, can work miracles.
More than the challenge of Jesus to his disciples about their lack of faith is the admirable faith, hope, and love of the man. The man, I believe, received the healing he needed for his son not only because he had faith but because he had hope in Jesus and love for his son.
With these three virtues—faith, hope, and love—in us, nothing is impossible.
