Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time [Mk 7: 31-37]
05.09.2021
Jesus
Heals a Deaf and Dumb Man
1. Theme in
brief
Our spiritual
deafness and dumbness
2. Focus
Statement:
Jesus has
the power to open our ears to listen to God’s voice, and mouths to praise him,
to speak about him to others and to speak for his cause.
3. Explanation of the text
The
healing of a deaf and mute man in today’s gospel clearly has the spiritual intention
of evoking faith in the listeners so that their ears will become more attuned
to God’s Word and knowledge of his will through it, and their
mouths will begin to sing his praises for the marvellous deeds he does through Jesus.
Since physical disabilities like deafness and muteness were considered to be
either punishment of God for one’s sins, or signs of possession by
demons in Jesus’ times, this cure projects Jesus as the one who has come to forgive sins
and liberate humans from demonic possessions. This miracle
that proclaims his power to “make the deaf to hear and the mute to speak”
(7:37) is performed in a Gentile territory called
Surely,
the healing of the ‘differently abled’ person in today’s gospel is based on the
implicit faith of the unnamed persons who
brought him to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on him (7:32). Laying one’s hands on people was a common gesture
used by the prophets to impart God’s blessings.
Those who brought him might have believed in the healing power of Jesus’
blessing. Most probably the patient was deaf by birth, and his deafness must
have caused his “impediment in speech”
(7:32). His inability to hear anything from
birth might have caused his inability to articulate words. By taking the man
aside in private (7:33), Jesus probably
wanted to perform this healing miracle not for his own glory. His glory would remain a ‘messianic secret’ (to use the term of biblical
scholars) till he would be glorified through his death and resurrection. This
messianic secret is another reason why he ordered them to tell no one about
this miracle (7:36). It is also possible that Jesus, by taking him aside,
wanted to save him from public embarrassment,
or avoid publicity for himself by sensationalizing his healing power.
Mark says that Jesus used two significant gestures for healing this person: putting his fingers into his ears and touching his tongue with his spittle (7:33). In those days, since traditional healers believed in the curative quality of spittle, Jesus must have used local beliefs and traditions to cure this patient. He must have used this method as a visible sign of conveying his healing power through a touch, or to give the message that the source of healing is his own Person. He used another gesture of looking up to heaven to praise God and indicate his trust in his help (7:34). His “sigh” or groan (7:34) might indicate either his compassion at the patient’s misery, or his pity at the sight of human afflictions. Some authors say that his sigh was a symbolic expression to hint at those who do not ‘hear’ or ‘speak’ in spite of having eyes and ears. The Aramaic word “Ephphatha,” meaning, be opened (7:34), indicates the power inherent in his word (the same as the Word of God that is effective and fruitful), or the authority with which he cures the sick. In this context, it implies: Let your ears and the lips be opened. Let the barrier or block in your ears be loosed and let the tongue be released from all impediments of speech. Just as God’s Word, Jesus’ Word had its immediate effect of an instant cure.
When people saw what Jesus had done,
they were astounded beyond measure and
exclaimed that he had done everything so well
(7:37). This could be an allusion to what God said when he completed his
creation, as we read in the Book of Genesis: God saw whatever he had made and
said it was good (Gen 1:31). Probably
Mark wanted to tell his readers that God had begun the work of re-creation through the healing ministry of his
Son. With his ministry of granting holistic health of body and salvation from
sin, Jesus had restored the original
harmony lost by human sins. According to Prophet Isaiah, when God comes to
liberate his people, the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the tongue of
the speechless will sing for joy (Is 35:5-6). By
healing this deaf and mute person, Jesus discloses his messianic identity as
foretold by Isaiah.
4. Application to life
Today’s
gospel text gives us the message that Jesus has the power to heal us from our spiritual
deafness and dumbness,
if we approach him with the humble faith of
those persons who brought the deaf and dumb man to him trusting in the power of his blessing (= by laying his hands on the
patient). In baptismal liturgy there is a rite based on today’s text called “Ephphata”
(= be opened), to indicate that by baptism Jesus opens our closed minds to
listen to his words, and go out to proclaim his love. In spite of that, quite
often, we fail to hear God’s voice and fail to speak about him and for his
cause. As Jesus says (referring to Prophet Isaiah): “This people’s heart has
grown dull, and their ears are hard of
hearing…so that they might not look with their eyes and listen with their ears” (Mt 13:15). Our spiritual
deafness may consist in the
following matters:
(1) Refusing
to listen to God or not obeying him
and doing his will: First
of all, God makes his will known to us through prayer and listening to his Word.
Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice” (Jn 10:27). One of the essential attributes of
true love is the ability to listen to the loved one. If two parties have to
grow in a love-relationship, they have not only to speak but also listen to
each other. If we really love the Lord, we have to be familiar with his voice and recognize it amidst so many contrary
voices of the world and wrong advice
of our misguiding or misleading
masters, self-seeking leaders and bad companions, or bad influence of the mass
media. In John’s gospel, Mary Magdalene is depicted as a faithful sheep (= disciple)
who is attuned to the voice of the Shepherd (Master) and recognizes it
immediately as she hears him calling her
by name (20:16). When we become attuned totally and only
to the above-mentioned contradictory voices of the world, we become ‘deaf’ to God’s voice. Therefore we need to familiarize ourselves with God’s voice coming to us through
his Word and prayerful reflections. When we sink into the deep ‘sea’ due to ‘storms’
of life, feel like running away or giving up in unbearable situations, feel
confused, carry burdens of our social and family obligations, and face challenges
and risks, his voice (Word) comforts, encourages, strengthens, guides and
supports us.
(2) Refusing
to listen to God’s voice coming through our own consciences: As Abdul Kalam (former President of India) says,
our conscience “raises its voice in protest
whenever anything is thought of or done which is contrary to righteousness….If conscience stings once, it is an abomination; if twice, it is a condemnation….Why have we
become deaf to the voice of our conscience; insensitive to its pricks; and callous to its criticism?” Once our conscience becomes corrupt and stops pricking us when we do something wrong,
then no Word of God or prayer and religious observances will work.
(3)
Refusing to listen to the good advice/ guidance/
counsel of our parents, good
friends and spiritual guides: The voice of the Lord can be recognized also in
loving relationships with those who are close to us. The Lord speaks to us not
only through his Word but also through the guidance (good advice) given by our
parents, good friends, teachers, Spiritual Guides, etc. If we stubbornly refuse
to listen to their voice, especially when they do it purely out of love for us,
indirectly it is our failure to listen to the voice of God. Many of us do not
want to ask/ consult a good guide or friend about any of our problems or
matters of our conscience. They keep it inside themselves; face it alone and fall away alone.
(4)
Refusing to listen to one another in family: Nowadays we observe that communication in our families is becoming
more and more superficial
and members inside it becoming individualistic. The mentality which increasingly gains ground is: “You mind your
business; I mind my business.” Interestingly, even children have their own
‘appointments’ to keep on Sundays and holidays. Where is time to listen to any
guidance and imbibe Christian values?
(5)
Becoming deaf to the cries of
the needy and the suffering around us and in the world: When we attentively listen to God’s Word in
faith, it moves us or stirs us up to listen to the voice of the voiceless and
the marginalized in our society. It motivates us to lend a helping hand to
alleviate their miseries at least in a small way or by a small gesture of
kindness, if not in a big way. It also gives us the courage to speak for them
or on their behalf.
Secondly,
when our faith is strong enough and our contact with Christ is intimate, Jesus gives
us the power to open our mouths to praise him, to speak about him to others and to speak
for
his cause.
Our spiritual
dumbness consists in the
following matters: (1) not opening our mouths to praise God or to pray
spontaneously outside memorized prayers; (2) not sharing or speaking about our
faith with others, especially when opportunity comes; (3) not speaking about
God, Jesus and spiritual matters to our own children; (shying away?); (4) not
cultivating the habit of sharing one’s feelings, beliefs, hope, expectations,
opinions with one’s own family members (becoming non-communicative or
superficial in relationships); (5) not speaking for God and his values such as
justice and truth; (6) not speaking on behalf of the voiceless; (7) not
speaking words of comfort, consolation and encouragement to the affiliated;
etc.
According
to today’s message, Jesus gives us ears to listen to the cries of the poor and
tongues to speak on their behalf. Suppose we have no opinion at all or just
keep quiet or remain indifferent and say nothing/ do nothing when injustice is
done under our nose, human rights and dignity are violated; we see suffering and poverty
in the world but remain insensitive to it; or we see highly corrupt
or immoral practices around us but always shut our mouths, we become simply ‘dumb’.
This last issue of corruption troubles those Christians who do jobs more than
others, where corruption is accepted as a way of life and speaking against it
amounts to losing one’s job or facing constant harassment and victimization in
workplaces. They need enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to stick to
at least a less-risky principle such as, not actively cooperating, joining,
involving in corrupt practices whenever possible; disapproving it in private
circles of friends; etc. Because it is risky and not possible in our
workplaces, it does not mean we should approve of or cooperate with corrupt /
immoral/ unjust ways of the world in all situations at all times and make it
our way of life.
As we reflect on this message, today we need to thank God in a special way for giving us the ears to listen to his Word and the faculty of speech to sing his praises. But it is important for us to ask why he has given us these senses? Woe to us, in spite of having them, if we do not use them to listen to his voice and proclaim his love to others. To strengthen our Christian commitment, we rely on three powers: (1) the Spirit of the Lord who removes all internal impediments of the mind and melts the hardness of our hearts; (2) the Word of God by opening our minds to receive it with a humble and obedient faith; and (3) the sacraments which are external and visible signs through which the living God touches our hearts and minds, just as Jesus touched the differently-abled person (the deaf-mute) by touching his ears with fingers and tongue with spittle.
5. Response to God's Word
Today Jesus comes to heal us from our spiritual deafness and dumbness. Are we deaf to God’s Word and afraid to respond to it through confession of faith? The Psalmist says: “O that today you would listen to his voice; do not harden your hearts….as on that day….when your ancestors tested me” (Ps 95:7-9). We express our regret today for hardening our hearts by not listening to God’s voice coming to us through his Word, our own consciences and the counsel of good-willed people. We regret for the times we made the contradictory voices of the world as our guiding/ driving force like our ancestors. We bow our heads in sorrow for our sins of disobedience to God and our failure to speak about him and for him. We examine whether we shy away from our responsibility to transmit our faith in God and his Son Jesus Christ to our children; and whether our conscience has stopped pricking us whenever we do something wrong.
6. A prayer
Lord Jesus, with firm faith in your healing power, we beg you to heal us from our spiritual deafness and dumbness. Open our closed minds to listen to your words so that we may go out to proclaim your love. We are sorry for the times we hardened our heart by disobeying your Word and failed to pay enough attention to it. We ask your pardon for failing to take our role as faith-educators of our children seriously and speak to them about your values. Grant that we may form our conscience so that we remain alert to its pricks and be always attuned to our inner voice. O Spirit of the Living God, come and remove all internal impediments of the mind and melt the hardness of our hearts. Amen.
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