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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.
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This miracle is unique in the Gospels for several reasons.
First, only Mark records it.
Secondly, it’s profoundly physical.
Often, Jesus speaks and a person is healed. However, today he takes this deaf man by the hand, pulls him away from the crowds, and performs seven different steps – including spitting on his own finger and inserting it into the man’s ear – before the man is healed.
Third, Mark never translates the word Jesus uses to heal this deaf man; he writes it in the original Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke:
Ephphatha.
Be opened.
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The Church still uses this word in the Rite of Baptism. It was used in your baptism.
After a child is baptized, the priest or deacon traces the sign of the cross over the newly baptized person’s ears and mouth, saying, “Ephphatha,” be opened.
Be open to the Word of God, be open to understanding it, and be open to proclaiming it with your life.
What has my Christian journey been like since my baptism? How often do I proclaim my faith? How much time do I spend “pulled aside” being formed by the Lord, as this deaf man was?
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May the Lord help us all respond to the call of our baptism by hearing the Word of God and proclaiming it with our lives.
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Image credits: (1) St. Mary Magdalene, Enfield (2) Diocese of Allentown (3) Unsplash
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