TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
9 SEPTEMBER 2018
Saint
Mark tells us that Jesus has been traveling from the district of Tyre and
passes by Sidon to the Sea of Galilee into the district of the Decapolis. In other words, Jesus is moving out of the
comfort zone of his Jewish roots and is proclaiming his message about the
Kingdom of God to pagans. Saint Mark is
signaling to us that the Gospel is intended for everyone, and not just the
descendants of Abraham and Moses.
It is in
this area that people bring to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment. Trusting that Jesus has healing powers, they
ask him to lay his hands on him. Jesus
takes the man away from the crowd and becomes very physical with him. He puts his hands into his ears. Like many healers of his day who regarded
spit as a healing substance, he spits and touches his tongue. He looks up to heaven, because he wants
people to know that his healing power comes from the Father. Using the Aramaic word, Ephphatha, he
commands that the deaf man’s ears be opened.
Immediately, the man can hear and is able to speak.
Saint Mark
records this story to help us to believe that the Lord’s healing power is in
our midst. We gather for Mass, because
we believe in the Paschal Mystery. We
believe that Jesus died to destroy the power of sin and death. We believe that he rose from the dead and
ascended to the right hand of the Father.
We believe that he has sent his Holy Spirit to continue his saving work
in our midst. For us, this is not a
story of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago to help a deaf mute. What Jesus did for that man, he does for us
today.
Truth be
told, we have trouble hearing. There are
many loud and competing voices shouting at us today. Posts on social media encourage us to lash
out in anger at those who seem to offend us.
Advertisers try to convince us that their products can save us and bring
ultimate happiness. With the current
crisis in the Church, some argue that the Church is completely corrupt and not
deserving of trust. The Lord takes us
aside from all that noise into this church, as he took the deaf mute aside, and
speaks his Word to us. He continues to
use signs that appeal to our senses. We
hear the words from Scripture. He gives
himself to us in a very real way through ordinary bread and wine. We also hear the words from the Diocese
giving us correct information about what is happening with Bishop Rhoades. I will offer a question and answer session a
week from Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Parish Life Center. Just as the Liturgy has us say “Ephphatha” at
the baptism of both adults and children, the Lord invites us to open our ears
to hear him.
That is why
Jesus tells the crowd not to tell anyone what he had just done. He did not want to draw attention to himself
as some kind of wonder worker. Only
after he had died and rose from the dead could people understand the full
impact of what he was doing. Opening
that man’s ears and allowing him to speak was only a sign of what he is doing
with us today. He invites us to believe
that he does all things well today.
Once our
ears have been opened, and once we hear what the Lord says to us, then we too
can continue to listen through reading the Bible, through reflective prayer,
and through adult education series that speak to us. As we come to hear clearly, then we too can
speak, as the deaf man began to speak.
We can speak the message of Saint James that God loves everyone, and
that we cannot discriminate based on what people wear or what race they belong
to. We can speak the truth about the
special responsibility we have to the poor and the vulnerable. We can also speak of the Lord’s presence in
our difficult situation. It is the Lord
who saves us, because he has already conquered the power of sin and death. It is the Lord who purifies our Church and
keeps his promise to Peter that he will remain with us to the end of time, no
matter what.
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