Readings: Is. 35:4-7; Jas. 2:1-5; Mk. 7:31-37
The Lord is Doing Something New, Can You See it?
1. In the first reading Isaiah addressed the children of Israel during their captivity in Babylon: “Be strong, fear not! Here is your God he comes to save you.” For they felt abandoned by God. They knew that they brought this disaster upon themselves by turning their backs against God. They were not faithful to their covenant with God. Therefore, Isaiah assured them that God will revisit them and bring them out of captivity, for God can never be absent from his people. God’s salvation is expressed in terms of healing the blind and the deaf, the lame and the mute. “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe.”
2. The gospel took up the theme of the presence of God in a broken world. He opened the ears of the man who had a speech impediment. “He took him off by himself away from the crowd.” Christ was compassionate and sensitive to the plight of the man. He did not want him to be embarrassed by his defect. Christ did not just restore his physical deafness; he restored his spiritual deafness as well. According to Eugene H. Maly in ‘The Word Alive’ “The physical defects are the result of sin, of alienation from God. The restoration of wholeness, then means not only the physical cure; it also symbolizes the destruction of evil, the renewed presence of the saving God.”
3. By opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, Christ has opened not just his eyes but his mind and heart as well. The deaf can hear, not only human words, but also the Word of God. The lame can walk, but also, he can follow in the way of the Lord. A wholeness of the body without a wholeness of the spirit is broken wholeness. “The evil that the Lord overcomes is not just the evil of broken limbs, but also of broken hearts. Hence Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins as he cured his sickness.” (Mk. 2:2-12). This is the new thing that God is doing in our world. “Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Is. 43:19).
4. Our baptism is a call to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. Though Christ told those who witnessed the opening of the deaf man’s ears to tell no one, they did not obey him. Why? The answer lies in the word “proclaim.” We are told, “But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.” Christ did not want the people to misunderstand the reason for healing the sick and restoring defects. He did not work wonders for applause, neither was he a political leader. They, on the contrary, especially the deaf and dumb man, were announcing the good news (proclaim). Their ears were opened to hear God’s word and their tongues were loosened to proclaim it. Something more had happened than just a physical healing. God’s presence was to be felt in and around them.
5. Therefore, to fully participate in the life of Jesus and experience his goodness, we must open our ears and eyes to the plight of our brothers and sisters in the world. The plight of the deaf and dumb is our plight too, their incapacities is ours as well. If they are disabled it will affect us in one way or the other. Many of us are deaf and dumb – not physically, but spiritually. Do we open our ears to hear the stories of wounds, sin, division, racism and hurts around us and in our world? What have we done about it? Do we dismiss the inequalities and injustices and poverty that is crying for attention around us? We must know that what affect one person affects all of us. We cannot isolate ourselves from the problems around us. It may not happen to us today, but if we close our eyes and pretend that it does not concern us, we may be in for a rude awakening. When it is our turn there may be no one to help us. Do we spend some time in prayer or are we too lazy to even try? Do we hear Christ calling us to pay attention to the needs of the people around us? How blind are we to their needs? St. James tells us to show no partiality as we adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. We must not prefer the rich to the poor. Both should be treated equally.
6. Let us go to Jesus with our deafness, and he will take us aside, touch us and remove our deafness, and loosen our tongue to proclaim his praises. We can spend quality time in prayer during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Sundays from 9:00 am before our 10:00 am Mass. He will also open our eyes to the needs of people around us and his mercy will direct us to help them. Since the healing of the deaf and dumb demonstrates the compassion of Christ, may it also touch our hearts and help us to be compassionate. We pray that we may be more attentive to the word of God that was planted in our tongue, and on our ears on the day of baptism so that we too may hear the word of God and proclaim it in praise of God for blessings received. We have listened to the gospel reading and heard the word of God at this Mass, may our spirit be lifted so that we too can proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. May our eyes be opened to see the needs of our brothers and sisters around us and our ears be opened to hear his word and put it into practice now and always. Amen.
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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