I am always a little suspect of street corner preachers. I am suspect of their certainty, of their black and white approach to life, while life is more a never-ending grey with questions that are not easily answered. Life is not all chocolates and roses nor is it all pain and loss. Life has its ups and downs, good times and bad – it is a journey. Faith, trust, belief are not destinations but cobble stones on life’s journey.

The father brings his fragile son to Jesus. He kneels before Jesus with great humility and a trust that is born from a parents’ love and desperation. He pleads, his eyes beg, and his compassionate heart aches, not for himself, but rather for the suffering of his child. The Gospel writer, Matthew, intimately links the cure with faith. If only we could believe, if only we could have faith the size of a mustard seed. The father trusts in the goodness of his son, the father trusts in his love for his son and most importantly he trusts in the aching heart that longs for his son to find peace.

In the midst of all this human confusion of feelings he somehow trusts in the goodness of Jesus. He senses that Jesus is a good man and that his goodness will somehow touch his son and bring peace. Our journeys are ordinary and yet extraordinary. Our journeys are a one step at a time pilgrimage into a growing, trusting heart and to this heart, our God will respond!

By Dr Damien Price cfc