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Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
Again 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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There’s an old saying, “No one is so deaf as the one who does not want to hear.”
For example, children can hear the faintest sound of a candy wrapper, but when told to clean their room or to put down their phones, they can become suddenly deaf!
Like all of us, children can have selective hearing, listening to what they want to hear and blocking out what they don’t.
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Just as school started this week for many children, so today we celebrate Catechetical Sunday, kicking off another year of faith formation.
Now is not only the time for us to teach our children about Jesus, inspiring them to listen to his voice, but also to recommit ourselves to our faith journey, which began at our baptism.
Appropriately, today’s Gospel serves as a guide on how we should proceed. It begins with the community bringing a deaf and mute man to Jesus, just as we present our children and catechists to the Lord today.
But after Jesus receives this man, he pulls him aside, away from the crowds, into a separate place. This moment of precious intimacy between God and his creation evokes the Garden of Eden, when God was first alone with Adam.
There in the garden, God created Adam out of nothing; he took him under his wing; spoke to him; and taught him his commands.
Similarly, Jesus forms this man into a new creation, not only giving him the physical gifts of hearing and speech, but also the grace to listen to his voice. We see the effect this moment had on the man as he leaves, telling everyone what God has done for him.
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What makes this miracle unique is the fact that Jesus’ words were never translated. Whereas ninety-nine percent of the Gospels were written in Greek, a few words were preserved in their original Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.
Today’s Gospel contains one of those words: Ephphatha!
“Be opened!”
This word – and Gospel scene – was so precious to the early Christian community that, when a person was baptized, the sign of the cross would be traced over their ears and mouth as the word, Ephphatha, was prayed.
The community hoped that the newly baptized person would hear the Word of God and proclaim it with their lives.
One of the few other examples where Christ’s words were preserved in their original Aramaic was at the cross, when he cries out: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani!
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
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Why would Christ’s words from these two Gospel scenes never be translated?
Because both of them depict intense suffering.
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Jesus felt this man’s pain. It struck a deep chord in his soul. Whereas he healed many with the simple sound of his voice, this man was different.
After digging his finger into the deaf man’s ears, and spitting on his tongue, Jesus, “looked up to heaven and groaned,” crying out, Ephphatha!
Be opened!
It’s as if the Lord could feel in his innards the depths of this man’s pain – years of living in silence; the weight of his isolation; the agony of watching others communicate, while he struggled to form simple sounds.
But above all, Jesus sensed this man’s feeling of being separated from his Creator, much like Adam after the Fall in Eden.
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In the Old Testament, disease and disability were seen as divine punishment. If a person were blind, deaf, mute, possessed, or covered in leprosy, then somehow, they deserved it.
We know today this isn’t true. But imagine how crushed this man’s spirit must’ve been – and how his own view of God must’ve been tarnished – by being born deaf and mute.
So, the Lord heals him – both physically and spiritually – causing this man to praise the Lord with full voice.
That’s the mission of this parish, not only on Catechetical Sunday, but every day: to inspire “all generations” to praise the Lord.
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As the old saying goes, “No one is so deaf as the one who does not want to hear.”
While we can be selective in our hearing, like picking up the faintest sound of a candy wrapper, our mission is to develop an ear for the sweetest thing of all:
The voice of Jesus Christ.
So, how is the Lord inviting you to participate in this mission of making disciples here, today?
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Image credits: (1) The Intersection (2) Christ Healing a Deaf and Mute Man, Domenico Maggiotto (3) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, YouTube