Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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One of the remarkable traits of Jesus was his ability to bring vastly different people together, uniting them under a single mission.
For example, in today’s Gospel he calls the Twelve Apostles. Some of these men would’ve never been friends without the Lord; quite the opposite.
Consider Simon and Matthew.
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Simon was a member of the Zealot party, a group of Jewish patriots who viewed the Roman Empire as an invading force that stole their freedom. They wanted independence and would do almost anything for it.
Then there’s Matthew, also a Jew, who served the Roman Empire as a tax-collector. Matthew would’ve been seen by Simon as being in cahoots with the enemy.
Somehow, Jesus brought these men together, uniting them under a single mission – the salvation of souls.
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That’s what the Holy Spirit still does today.
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The Spirit fosters harmony; inspires forgiveness; heals wounded hearts; and enables people with divergent – even conflicting – views to set aside their differences, to work together, and to build the Kingdom of God.
In what ways has the Holy Spirit made me a kinder, more inclusive, less judgmental person?
How do I work with others – including those who are different from me – to build up God’s kingdom at home, at work, in this parish, and in the broader community?
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May the same Lord, who inspired a diverse group of people to work together in the beginning, inspire us to continue doing good work together today.
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Image credits: (1) Living Bulwark (2) Commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, Domenico Ghirlandaio (3) Encourage Yourself in the Lord, WordPress
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When we consider some of the bigger challenges facing our world, like poverty, hunger, unpredictable weather, and gun violence, it’s easy to throw our hands up and say these problems are almost too big to be solved.
But that’s not what Christians are called to do.
Even if we can only make a splash, a tiny difference in the life of another person, we should do it.
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Consider the life of Father Peter Claver, a Spanish priest from the 17th century, whose feast day we celebrate today.
Distraught over the injustice of the slave trade, he moved from Spain to Cartagena, Colombia, and vowed to become, “a slave to slaves forever.”
For 33 years, Father Claver woke up every morning and went to the shipping docks, where men, women, and children were being unloaded after being separated from their communities, enduring harrowing journeys across the Atlantic, and sold into slavery.
While he couldn’t stop this horrific practice, Father Claver courageously welcomed them with food and water, while preaching the Gospel. He sought to, “save life, rather than destroy it,”as Jesus says today.
Father Claver was a flicker of light – the face of Christ – in what was an otherwise dark and scary time. By the end of his life, he baptized over 300,000 people, giving them something to hope for – a new life to come.
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While we may not resolve every challenge facing our world today, Father Claver reminds us that we can make a difference; there is always something we can do.
Bring a cup of water to the thirsty; a word of love to the lonely; a blanket to the homeless; or the Gospel to someone who’s never heard it.
As Mother Teresa once said, “We can do no great things… only small things with great love.”
What’s something small that you can do to bring comfort to your neighbor today?
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Father Peter Claver, pray for us.
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Image credits: (1) (2) Saint Peter Claver, SJ, Jesuits.org (3) The Catholic Company
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 teachour 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
