In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God is one. Amen.

The Gospel for today from the ninth chapter of the Gospel of St Mark is about how Jesus Christ heals a boy with epilepsy. There is a beautiful conversation between the father of the boy and Jesus Christ. The father pleads with Jesus Christ to heal his son “if you can.” Jesus Christ replies: “All things are possible to him who believes.” The father’s response is to cry out, “I believe; help my unbelief.” That is an unusual response: Does he believe in Jesus Christ? Whatever we think of the father’s response, Christ accepts the father’s statement that he does believe and heals the boy. But what is this belief that is joined to unbelief?

St Augustine preached that “we find here an emerging faith, which is not yet full faith.” Furthermore, St Augustine points out that the disciples themselves said to Jesus Christ in the Gospel of St Luke, chapter 17, verse 5, “Increase our faith.” Yet these disciples had, as St Augustine notes, “left all they had … and followed the Lord … [with] great faith.” St Cyril, the fifth century Patriarch of Alexandria explains that the disciples are asking “Christ for an addition to their faith and to be strengthened in faith. Faith,” preached St Cyril, “partly depends on us and partly is the gift of the divine grace.” St Cyril continues: “The beginning of faith depends on us and our maintaining confidence and faith in God with all our power. The confirmation and strength necessary for this [deepening faith] comes from divine grace. For that reason, since all things are possible with God, the Lord says that all things are possible for [those] who believe [in Him]. The power that comes to us through faith is of God,” concludes St Cyril. So growing in faith is a partnership with the Lord. We choose to believe in God; and God then deepens our faith in Him.

I find this quite encouraging. Christ accepts whatever “emerging faith” we offer to Him. The dictionary defines “to emerge” as “to come out from hiding” and “to become known.” That is what happens as we become more and more committed to the Orthodox Christian life. Through the love of God—that is, through divine grace—our faith in Christ and His Church is deepened. We learn to trust the Lord. We learn to be patient—both with God and with ourselves—as we discover how we can best serve God and serve others. St Augustine points out that belief and faith in Christ come before prayer. He urges, “in order that we might pray, let us believe.” In other words, first we believe in God and then we pray to Him. So to believe with an “emerging faith” is to ask for our faith to be strengthened, as did the disciples. By recognising that we have an “emerging faith” we are being honest with ourselves. Then Jesus Christ accepts and welcomes that honesty, giving us the power and discernment to follow Him.

The Gospel for today is certainly appropriate for this Thanksgiving Sunday as we ask the Lord what proportion of our income we should give to St Aidan’s. Let us each live fully in our emerging faith in Christ as we thank God for His blessings to all of us.

And so, we ascribe as is justly due all might, majesty, dominion, power and praise to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, always now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.