!"Mark 7: 31-37
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090824.cfm
O God, by whom we are redeemed
and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved
sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom
and an everlasting inheritance.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in
the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
t
I think the climate these days is rich with examples
of people not listening to one another. Between politicians, news broadcasters,
some medical experts, and perhaps legal experts as well especially on social
media platforms. Today what makes the most immediate impression are what is
called optics. It’s what you see that makes all the difference; in fact, may
well be the determiner of truth. So, it’s not only what we hear but maybe more
of what we see that forms our opinions and choices.
Politicians are experts at this skill. Cover
up and overwhelm with another message often enough that people begin to believe
it as true. I don’t mean to be overly critical here, but we all know this
happens. What appears or sounds to be true must be true. Hmmm, really? Only
through careful listening can we discern the best direction and the best
choice. Not only listening respectfully to one another, even in disagreement,
but even more so, listening to God.
We may be so caught up in other distractions
that we miss the basic point. To listen
carefully and to hear the right voice is both an art and an important spiritual
skill to develop. Today's readings all point to the power of God in Christ as
the Divine physician. He gives hearing to the deaf and speech to the mute. Yet,
it is not only what Jesus does it is the result of his action that matters.
Our tender Gospel story in which Jesus
restores the sense of hearing and speech to a man who was deaf and mute is a
further example of his compassion for all.
The scene is not within Jewish territory. Rather he is on the other side of the Sea of
Galilee, among the Gentile villages. So, most likely this man was not a Jew. It
appeared to be Jesus’ second visit among this population, having worked an
exorcism in their region in the past (Lk 8: 26-39).
As always, Jesus responds to the suffering of
this man and restores joy to him and welcome back to public worship and society
as a whole. Likewise, the man now can speak clearly. No talking over. No confusion.
No misunderstanding about who Jesus is and what he did for the man. As always, our Lord is a “man of his word.”
He utters the divine command and what he says happens. God's word always brings
about a result most especially in Christ. His Aramaic word, the language of
Jesus, “Ephphatha” (Be opened) as preserved in the Gospel text as spoken and
the man’s hearing is restored. He speaks plainly as if he was never deaf. He
appears to be as whole as anyone else but it is the source of his miraculous
healing that counts.
Mark notes how our Lord takes command of the
situation. Again, not being able to hear Jesus’ emphasis or tone of voice, I
think it safe to say he spoke that word with force and authority. Mark states that Jesus “groaned.” From the depth of his gut as it were, he
commanded the power of this physical disability to release itself. It is no wonder that people were astonished.
Often such a disability was acquainted with a sinful life and a sign of demon
possession. Jesus commands the “demon”
to leave and so it does.
Although Jesus ordered him to keep this
quiet, filled with joy the man was unable to contain himself and proclaimed
what God had done for him. The story fulfills what Isaiah the prophet writes in
our first reading about the signs of the Messiah: “Then will the eyes of the
blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; . . .” (Is 35 4-7). Here Jesus intends to deliberately fulfill
that prophecy from many centuries earlier and further confirm his identity as
the Messiah.
So, what can we learn from this about our own
deafness? We are invited to see ourselves in the miracle stories of Jesus and
make important applications to our lives. Imagine that you are the deaf man and
that you have never heard human speech thereby unable to learn its sound and
patterns.
There is more to hear and more to speak. Yet, we know that our Church today seems in a
groaning time. No doubt the beauty and truth of the faith needs to be more
widespread. People will often tell me
that they were confronted at work or caught in a critical conversation of the
Catholic Church and remained silent since they didn’t know how to defend what
was criticized. They lacked knowledge of Church teaching. Yet, that body of truth has been articulated,
adult faith formation opportunities are easy to find, etc but have you taken
advantage of them? You heard the call, did you respond?
We could be lost in the details, as often the crowds did, and be deaf to the central purpose of what Jesus did for this man and for many others. He brought them to faith. A miracle is not an end. As wonderful as his healings were, the lives of those Jesus touched were forever changed. They could not contain their gratitude, they became Jesus’ followers, or they changed their life to a better path. But we are always given the choice.
Haven’t we too been touched by God? Our faith
did not come to us in a vacuum but was passed on by others. Think of the many
today who simply are unaware of the power of the scriptures to change our
lives. Those who never attend Mass for
whatever reason: personal hurt, challenging problems, loss of interest, a
stagnant prayer life, caught up in the secular non-religious culture of
immediate gratification, poorly catechized?
Rather than cast blame for the reasons why,
it might be time for us to check our own example to them and to share the joy
and beauty of our Catholic faith. Aren’t we too invited to “hear” his Word both
in the scriptures and in the events around us? Yet, how deaf we can be at
times.
But in the end, what do we hear? St. James in our second reading reminds us
that the lives of Christians cannot have two standards: one for the rich and
another for the poor. James reminds us to have no “partiality” and to not make
“distinctions among yourselves” that create a separation and that would isolate
one community from another.
As Jesus reached across the social lines of
his time, and responded with the higher value of human compassion, we too have
to constantly remind ourselves that God is not partial to people and neither
can we be such.
Are we able to hear and be conscious of the
many needs around us? To feed the
hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked is not an optional choice
or something we do because it soothes a guilty conscience or makes me feel
good. We see and hear of the problems –
but do we . . .? Our purpose as Christians, rooted in our baptism, is to carry
on the same mission which Jesus brought.
James makes that clear in our second reading
when he speaks of behavior which responds to another person’s clothing and
social status, to merely external appearance.
The moral value which drives everything is love for our neighbor. So
it’s always our task to create a society and a community of faith where this
equality can be clearly seen. The
Among the many values of parish life is that
of welcome and hospitality. Do we hear
the cry of those who may feel estranged, lonely, judged, hungry or in any human
need? What sort of programs and
priorities do we see in our parish bulletins?
And the best place to begin is right at home where we can find Christ
where we are at and to serve him there.
There is no more diverse gathering than our
weekend liturgies. Jesus commanded the
disability to release its’ hold on the man when he stated: “Be opened.” We must open ourselves to hear God’s Word
proclaimed, take the time to let it touch us in our need for conversion, and
then open ourselves to Jesus’ presence in his Body and Blood. We are sent forth to hear, to speak and to
see the signs of God’s presence in our world and in the needs of others calling
for our attention.
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