Mk 7: 31-37
Dear Friends,
I like to point out that there were thousands of deaf mutes in the time of Jesus. Only a few were cured. This is because Jesus was not a miracle maker or wonder worker. All of his healings and signs were an invitation into a deeper reality. They were an opening to Jesus’ main message, the Kingdom of God. All of Jesus’ healings are an invitation into a new world. Isaiah speaks of this new day in the first reading, “Here is your God. …he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing.” (Is 35: 5)
Jesus was not into being a performer of wonders or eliminating doctors. He was revealing God’s loving presence as the gracious foundation of all reality. He was calling us through these special healings into an awareness of a new day when all will be transformed, a day of no more evil, no more sickness, no more hatred and violence, no more death.
We are called to begin our entry into the new world of God’s Kingdom by accepting Jesus’ call to “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk 1: 15)
When a person is deaf and dumb, they are isolated into a confusing and bewildering world often dominated by fear and ignorance. The deaf mutes need very special attention to enter into an accepting and loving community.
The same is true of all of us when it comes to entering into a Christian community. Here the values of Christ need to slowly penetrate our reality. We always need to see ourselves in the person who receives Jesus loving ministry. We need to let Jesus touch our tongue and ears. This is the Christian journey of the transforming walk with Jesus.
There is a striking ritual that is part of the infant Baptism ceremony that expresses this beautifully. As the priest makes the sign of the cross over the infant’s ears and mouth he says, “The Lord Jesus made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. May he soon teach your ears to receive his word and your mouth to proclaim his faith.”
I recently witnessed a healing like today’s Gospel story where Jesus freed the deaf and dumb parent to proclaim the saving power of God in his family.
In this case, a father was consumed by anger and hostility toward a young adult son. This had been carried on for at least three years. Then a miracle happened. All of a sudden the father could hear the son’s story, as if for the first time. The son grasped that the father had a point also. There was a reconciliation. Ignorance gave way to truth. Hostility gave way to forgiveness and love. Jesus’ plan for the Kingdom took flesh as a family discovered what was there all along, the possibility of new life. It happens when we hear and embrace God’s word. The result was peace and understanding. This is the healing that is the constant invitation of Jesus. This is what it means to walk with Jesus with ears to hear the word of God, a mouth to proclaim the word of God, and a heart to embrace it and live it.
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