What I learned from a deaf man.

***

Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis. 
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. 
He ordered them not to tell anyone. 
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it. 
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well. 
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Today’s Gospel passage reminds me of an experience I had recently, which wasn’t one of my finer moments.

Sitting in my office, I noticed an Amazon delivery driver pulling up the driveway to drop off a package. So, I went outside to greet him.

After a few attempts of saying, “Sir! Sir! Sir!” I became increasingly frustrated, thinking he was ignoring me. 

So, I started walking towards him angrily, but when he turned around and saw the look on my face, he apologetically signaled that he was deaf.

My heart sank. I was quick to judge. Humbled. Embarrassed.

That moment made me consider how difficult it must be to be deaf; nobody can immediately recognize your condition.

You have to interact with a deaf person – hopefully in a kinder manner than I did – before you realize they cannot hear you.

***

That moment struck a chord in me. I began to wonder, “Aren’t we all like that man who is deaf?”

Often, we, too, can conceal what burdens us most.

Nobody walks around with a t-shirt on saying: Deaf. Cancer. Difficult marriage. Addict. Frazzled. Bullied. Insecure.

Yet sometimes we are.

***

What if we allowed Jesus to pull us aside – to dig his finger into our wounds and heal us? What might he touch?

***

While we all wish our healing were as immediate as that deaf man, remember how his healing started: the community brought him to Jesus.

Then, he was healed.

Perhaps that’s where our own healing can begin – by bringing one another to the Lord in prayer. And sooner or later, the Lord will respond:

“Ephphatha! Be opened.”

***

***

Image credits: (1) The Georgetown Voice (2) Dustoffthebible.com (3) pktfuel.com