Be Opened

 

  Mark 7:31-37

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

³¹ Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.³² There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

³³ After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). ³⁵ At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

³⁶ Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. ³⁷ People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Don't we all suffer from deafness and muteness? Do we hear the Gospel message, talk about it with others or  put it into practice?   Probably not, or not as much as we ought. The world and its Godless values and behaviors is disintegrating, and unless there is a return to God, it is doomed. Not to be a doomsday prophet, but only one who looks at his own life and asks, "Am I doing even the basics of  what Jesus asks?  How blind and how dumb am I in my reaction to the gun violence and disregard for the lives and property of  others that feeds our daily newscasts and papers?  When the deaf mute was cured, he spoke plainly and the onlookers were natural publicity hawks for Jesus. We each have a role to play in making the Good News and Good Works of Jesus known to others.

Br. Rene

Dear God, let me be opened by you and be your publicity agent. Amen