Welcome to Whispers of Grace. As an artist and scholar of religion, I hope to bring something unique and worthwhile. These reflections, devotions, or whatever you choose to call them, are personal. These are my thoughts as I struggle to live in the same world and serve the same God as you. I pray that they bring value when you read them, as they do to me when I write them.
-Rondall Reynoso
Read more Whispers of Grace HERE.
Beyond Moving Mountains (Mark 11:24)
“So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:24 NRSVue
Reflection
This is a verse I have struggled with for years. It is often taught almost as a “power of positive thinking” verse. If you pray for it and genuinely believe it, it will happen.
But I prayed for it and it did not happen. Does that mean that I did not really believe? Then, of course, after I do not get the toy I prayed for as a child, repeatedly, I really begin to think it is not going to happen.
What does that mean for my faith? Are the people who can disassociate from reality and believe no matter what experience has taught, truly more faithful than I am?
Over the years, I have learned that often when a verse does not make sense, it is because we are looking at it incorrectly. Maybe we are taking it out of context, or maybe we just are not thinking deeply enough about it.
Admittedly, when I sat down to write and saw that this was the selected verse, my heart sank a little. While I am not doing a deep exegetical study for these reflections, I do always read their context and spend time reflecting and praying on them.
In that process, I realized that I do not think I have ever heard this verse taught properly. I am sure people have taught this passage well. I just do not ever remember hearing it.
This verse is in the middle of a longer quote by Jesus. It is part of the story about Jesus cursing a fig tree. Jesus passed by the tree in the morning, and it had no fruit, so he cursed it, saying no one would ever eat its fruit. Honestly, that part sounds like a hungry Jesus throwing a tantrum, but hold on.
After cursing the tree, Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem and overturned the tables of commerce. Later that day, Peter sees the tree and basically says, “Hey, Jesus, look, the tree you cursed is dead.”
Jesus then responds, “Have faith in God.” Then he says the verse about faith moving mountains, followed by our reflection verse. The problem is that the preacher stops preaching there, or we stop reading there. But I think the following verse is the key. Jesus concludes his quote by telling his disciples that when they pray, they must forgive others so that God will forgive them.
Jesus starts his response to Peter by encouraging him to have faith in God. He then says some wild, I would argue hyperbolic, things about moving mountains and getting whatever you want through prayer. Only to end with forgive others and God will forgive you.
Perhaps this passage is about forgiveness, not moving mountains. They had just been to the center of the Jewish faith, the temple, where Jesus had lost it and basically told the whole system it was corrupt. That can be faith-corrupting. If the priests and the religious leaders cannot get it right, how can regular folks like the disciples expect to?
Then they see the fig tree. It reminds them of who Jesus is, and he tells them to have faith, even something as impossible as forgiving others and being forgiven by God is possible; do not doubt it.
Have faith. God wants to forgive us and for us to forgive others. He loves us, as impossible as that may seem at times.
