Do You Believe That I Am Able?

Posted On January 30, 2024

(Note: Again, this is a homily from bygone days; it is the last one delivered at St. Stephen before my retirement, July 26, 2020. I have made a few revisions for this post.)

Matthew 9:27-31

In this Gospel passage, St. Matthew tells of an incident that took place in the region of Galilee, near His hometown of Capernaum. Two blind men followed Him, obviously in distress and began to cry out, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”. There is no indication that Jesus made any response but must have somehow signaled for them to follow Him into His house. Once inside, away from the crowd noise and to prevent them any embarrassment, Jesus had them come near Him. Whether or not there was any conversation, we do not know. They might well have begged for healing, or they may have just remained silent.

Then Jesus asked a question, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?’. It appears their reply was practically instantaneous, “Yes, Lord”. He reached out and touched them while quietly and lovingly saying those words He used so many times, “According to your faith, let it be to you”. And their eyes were opened. Glory to God!

I would ask you today to think with me on that question from our Lord to those men – blind, rejected, hopeless, dejected – “Do you believe that Jesus is able to do this?”.

Let our thoughts first focus for a moment on “this”. For them, “this” had to do primarily with their blindness.For us, “this” may be some physical affliction, a bad habit, pride, vain-glory, self-love, lust, gluttony, addiction, fear, anger, sloth, envy, idle talk, a bad relationship, or some other hurtful condition causing turbulence in our life. Whatever your “this” is, the question must be asked, “Do you believe that Jesus is able to heal, restore, forgive, resolve, reconcile…?”.

Our Lord took those two men aside long ago and posed that question to them. Perhaps some of us may need to sit with Him now and hear that as well.

A pause here to look at the word, “able”. The original Greek word is “dunamai”. It has the meaning of “power/ strength/ ability”. It is the word from which we, in English, derive our words, dynamite, dynamo, dynamic.  Hence, we are asking whether Jesus Christ has the power to make things right in my life, and whether we believe that.

Let us pose another question. “Why should/ could anyone believe that?” Well, thanks be to God, many, many people who have gone before us have indeed believed that He is able, and their lives have been changed for the good.

St. Paul certainly believed that as he wrote:

“(Abraham) was fully convinced that what (God) had promised, He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:21)    

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us ….” (Ephesians 3:20)

“I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that Day.” (II Timothy 1:12)

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy …” (Jude 24)

So, may I repeat, “Why should/ could someone believe that Jesus Christ is able to meet our needs?”. I offer five reasons among what could be many more.

• Who He is. According to the time-tested Nicene Creed, “I believe … in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have no end.” This is the summary affirmation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, which clearly and truthfully tells us who He is.

• What He has done. As we read in the Gospels, Jesus confirmed His power and ability by many mighty works as He said, “… believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (John14:11). Yes, we all remember that the blind saw, the deaf heard, the lame walked, the sick were healed, the dead were raised, demoniacs delivered, sinners forgiven, brokenhearted comforted, captives freed, storms were stilled, seas were calmed. Those works did not cease when He returned; rather they have continued until even now. We can believe because of what He has done.

• Witnesses who followed Him. We can read of that innumerable host, both those who were with Him and those of later generations, who took His yoke, learned from Him, found rest for their souls, gave all to follow in His steps, chose death rather than deny Him. We are blessed with the testimonies of the Apostles, Fathers, and Saints throughout the ages who witnessed His power and ability to give fullness of life.

• Work of His Church. For 2000 years, the Church has been the city set on a hill to give light to the world. Using St. Paul’s words, the Church has been “hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed …. always carrying about the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in her” (II Corinthians 4:9,10). It has been the Church who set the example and raised the banner of truth, justice, morality, compassion, healing, and caring, particularly for widows, orphans, captives, sick, elderly, infants, and the unborn. It has been the Church who encouraged education, knowledge, wisdom, and training in promoting schools, institutions, teachers, and books – reaching to the farthermost parts of the earth to carry the Gospel and the grace of God. It has been the Church who fostered the enrichment of art and music to bring beauty, joy, and peace to the lives of people throughout the world. The work of the Church discloses our Lord’s power and ability to better the lives of all people.

• Wonder of St. Stephen. I hesitated to include this portion in the present post, but I feel compelled to do so. So, please forgive this personal reference.

I believe that Jesus Christ is able “to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” because of the existence of this parish and the worship, the work, the witness, the love, the compassion that have been manifest on this holy ground for the past 33 years. We have stood amazed and seen it in the lives of the people who have found faith, hope and love within these walls and on these beautiful grounds. We have beheld it through the hard times and through the happy times. For Kh. Dannie and me, our children, and grandchildren, along with so many others, we will never forget what God has done in the wonder of St. Stephen and will never cease to thank Him for it. Jesus demonstrated His power and ability in our midst!

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Yes, Lord; yes, Lord; yes, Lord, we do!

 Fr. Andrew