WONDERING GURU
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 8
September 2024
(Isaiah 35: 4-7a; Ps 146: 7-10; James 2: 1-5; Mark 7:
31-37)
Introduction: Hearing and speaking are a very
important part of our lives and the reason we have two ears and one mouth. It
has been said that we should see and hear more and speak less and that is why
we have only one mouth. Deafness and dumbness often go together since you
cannot learn to speak what you cannot hear. A person who cannot hear or speak
finds it very difficult to communicate with others. Unable to express their
thoughts and feelings they become isolated, cut off and shut off from society.
Far worse than being cut off from society is being cut off from God and this
happens when we are deaf to the voice of God. Hearing and speaking are
essential to receiving the gospel and praising God and the ear serves as a
direct link to our soul. What we hear with our ears goes deep down into our
hearts and into our souls. Whether they are words of love, words of joy,
laughter, music, or cries for help we are stirred up within.
Jesus takes him aside away from the
crowd--Christ has compassion on the crowd but He imparts his
touch on an individual basis (Mark 8:2–23). In the gospel reading of today we
see Jesus healing a deaf and dumb man. Anyone who at any time senses the need
of being touched by the Master needs to get alone with God. The crowd has a way of keeping us distracted
and preoccupied with various voices. God, on the other hand, has a way of
leading us to a place of solitude where He can have our undivided attention. Many
biblical characters spent lot of time in isolated settings: Moses, David, John
the Baptist, Paul, Elijah, Jonah, Daniel, Joseph, etc. It is safe to say that
we must shut out the world’s voice if we would be touched by the Master. The
most difficult thing for Christ to do during His time on earth was not to heal
people, but to get people to listen to Him!
Jesus Touches him--The
Lord who does all things right has healed and restored us. His actions are
proof that He is the Messiah because according to the prophesy of Isaiah
35:4-6, the Messiah “will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened. And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall
leap like a deer. And the tongue of the dumb sing.” Not only does Christ
restore, He becomes involved in restored lives. It is not good enough to
minister from a distance. Praying to meet the need of a person is important but
equally important is being involved in meeting that need and being involved in
the life of that person. Very often our involvement is only through the laying
on of hands. Jesus was always involved with the people He ministered to. We
cannot simply pray for someone who is cold and hungry to be warm and filled. We
have to do something about his or her condition and this is what involvement is
about. We are involved because we are Christ’s ambassadors. In a very real way we
are His hands, His mouth and His feet, ministering for Him with the same loving
concern He had for the world.
Jesus uses Saliva to heal-
Jesus spit and touched the man’s tongue with His own saliva. This is a bit
unorthodox but Christ never did anything without a reason. Jesus was
communicating with His touch. The man’s speech was unclear because of his
hearing impairment. He not only needed to hear right, he needed to talk right.
Jesus was teaching us that in order to talk right, our speech must be touched
by the Master. Sometimes our speech is too starchy filled with harsh words,
gossip, vulgarity, pessimistic speech, or unkind words.
Jesus Looks Up--Everything
that Christ does serve a purpose and each of His actions are significant. As
Christ began to minister to the deaf and dumb man, He looked up to Heaven. This
is symbolic of the relationship or communion He had with God. It was as if he
was saying to the deaf and dumb man that the source of His power came from God.
Communion refers to an intimate relationship and Jesus maintained this
communion with God through prayer.
What about us?
We're 2000 years removed from this event. What do we find here that is relevant
for us? If this is only about the compassion of Jesus in the face of physical
necessity, how many proofs do we need?
After all, how many sick people need to be healed, how many dead people
need to be raised back to life, how many deaf ears need to be opened before we
get the point? If this is only about Jesus' healing physical problems what's
special about this miracle? You and I
are also in this text. In some way we are the ‘man’ who are healed. We think of
deafness as a physical thing, and it certainly is. But what about spiritual
deafness? What about not hearing God; not understanding God? Well, that’s how
man is before he is converted. Man is deaf to God. He cannot hear God. He can't
understand God. And as a result he cannot speak of God; he cannot confess God.
Apart from Jesus man is helplessly deaf and dumb. Apart from Jesus our ears
remain closed. Apart from Jesus we have no knowledge of God from which our lips
can speak. In our text it was the fingers of Jesus and His spit which became
the instruments of a miracle. For us Jesus worked through the hands of a priest
and the water of baptism to perform His miracle. Spit certainly seems
inconsequential - so does the water which is poured over us at the baptismal
font. The fingers of a man placed into the ears of a deaf-mute must have seemed
like nothing. So, too, the human hands which cradled you and applied to you the
water of life. But in each case the result was the same. Ears that had been
closed were opened, able to hear the voice of God. A tongue which had been
bound was unloosed and able to confess.
May we learn to listen to the voice of God that we may
give him all the glory with our tongue. Amen!
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