Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the complaints I have received about my celebration of the Mass is that I take too long. They say I am slow with my prayers and that I preach too long. There are those of you who can appreciate this and there are others who shop for the forty-minute-mass in town. Someone said to me the other day: “You want your church to fill up - how about a mass with no singing and no preaching?” I am sorry but no matter how hard I try, I cannot serve a “fast-mass” like people serve “fast-food.” People wish salvation was a forty-minute-affair, but then, salvation would taste like fast food. Salvation is a process, it is a comprehensive event.
I would like to pay special attention to the gospel reading today. If we read deeper into the passage we will realize that this is not a simple account of the healing of a deaf and mute man. First of all, this passage is a direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy in today’s first reading. “Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.” (Is 35:4) The reference to God here is a reference to Jesus. And as Isaiah continues, “Then 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 mute will sing.” (Is 35:5-6) Mark, in this way presents Jesus as the prophesied Messiah.
Second, my interest is heightened by Jesus’ actions even as the man is healed. First Jesus “took him (the deaf and mute) off by himself” (Mk 7:33), “put his finger into the man's ears” (33), “spitting, touched his tongue” (33), “looked up to heaven” (34), “groaned” (34), “and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (34). I would like to focus on three acts of Jesus within this event: a) Jesus took the man by himself; b) put his finger in his ears and touched his tongue and c) Jesus groaned. By doing this I am proposing that we cannot talk about this healing as a “single isolated act” of Jesus. Nor is this healing like “fast food.” This event showcases the entire process of healing and salvation of the deaf and mute man. In other words, what is happening in this event shows us the steps involved in the salvation and restoration of all of humanity. Here are the three acts of Jesus and the practical implications for us:
a) Jesus took the deaf and mute by himself. I find this action of Jesus intriguing. If this was indeed going to be a dramatic miracle, it would be in Jesus’ interest to work this miracle in public. But Jesus does the opposite. Jesus action is symbolic of God drawing all of humanity toward God’s own self. This is indeed the case throughout the Bible. After the exodus from Egypt, for example, God took the people into the secluded desert. In the desert Israel would know its God; in the desert Israel would know God’s will; alone with God they will learn the lessons of salvation; closely dependent on God they will learn to obey God; alone in the desert with God they will fall in love with their God. Even more revealing is the book of Hosea where God says to a sin struck Israel, “1I, the LORD, will lure you into the desert and speak gently to you.” (Hos 2:14). In the New Testament, Jesus spent forty days in the desert alone with God. It is in the desert, when he is alone with God, that he learns to resist the power of evil and succumb to the power of God. Now Jesus takes the make aside not merely to heal him but also to bring him close to God.
Practical implication: Today, God would like to take us aside. Find some time each day this week to be alone with God. Let us allow God to speak tenderly to us. Let us become aware of the potential for sin in our lives even as we become aware of the power of God in us.
b) The second act of Jesus is that he put his finger in the man’s ears and spitting, touched his tongue. God does not just draw us close but draws us into intimacy. Human life began in intimacy with God when God breathed into the nostrils the breath of life. At the annunciation the Holy Spirit came into Mary inner most being – her womb. The “WORD” became “FLESH.” During his life time, Jesus physically touched the sick, the sinners and the lonely. At the Last Supper Jesus gave us his body to eat. In other words, healing and salvation are acts of intimacy.
Practical Implication: This week reflection on the many ways in which God becomes intimate with us. Think about the sacraments as points of getting in touch with God. Salvation is not just about believing in God, having faith in God, or even being close to God. Salvation comes from our intimacy with God.
c) The third act is that Jesus, looking up toward heaven, groans. We may recall that in a similar way Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb and then looked up toward heaven. Also, on the cross Jesus looked up to heaven and cried out in a loud voice before he gave up his spirit. Why does Jesus weep, groan and cry out as he looked toward heaven? I think he did so because he could see both heaven and earth at the same time. On the one hand Jesus knew the real destiny of every human person. On the other hand, in the deaf and mute man, in the death of Lazarus, and in his own crucifixion, Jesus confronted the terrible effects of sin. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus because he was saddened by the effect of sin. Jesus groaned because he could see God’s eternal plan for humanity but he also saw sin robbing humanity of their destiny. He groaned because he knew he would have to endure pain, suffering and death to redeem humanity from the effect of sin. He cried out from the cross because he endured in his mind, body, and soul the total impact of sin. He cried out from the cross that his own suffering and death might become in God’s eyes, the price of human redemption.
Practical Implication: Often we too groan under the pain of illness, pain, and death and we long for God to heal us and restore us. For complete healing, restoration and salvation, though, we too, like Jesus, must groan against sin and the effects of sin. Salvation and total healing, in the final analysis, is freedom from sin.
In conclusion, let me focus on the fourth action of Jesus. He said, “Be opened.” Jesus takes us aside today in this Eucharist; he speaks to us in the Scriptures and in intimacy gives us his body and blood. Let us desire to not merely be healed but let us desire the entire process of salvation to be played out in us. May we allow God to “open” our lives to God’s saving power.
Amen
