“Ephphatha!” “Be Opened!”

Listening to the Spirit

The Lord hears the cry of the poor

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.

Listening to the Word

Mark 7:31-37

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.

Reflection

“Father, please include in your prayers my mother who is sick. Father, we are in a strict quarantine because one of our family got covid-19. Father, my husband just died of covid, please pray for his eternal rest and for us.” These are just some messages I received from our parishioners. They are asking for prayers for their loved ones who are sick and dying.

In the healing process of the deaf man in the gospel, we see the effort of the people around him. The community brought the man to Jesus. These people not only brought the man, but they also asked Jesus to lay His hand on a deaf man who had a speech impediment. Here we witness not only human effort but also their faith in Jesus. “The man was healed because the people brought him to Jesus. We have to go to Jesus with our problems, we cannot stay where we are, we have to go to Jesus for our problems to be resolved and healed. Jesus is always there for us. When we are alone, Jesus is our friend waiting for us to approach him. When we are in darkness, Jesus is our light waiting to enlighten us. When we are in despair Jesus is the truth waiting to give us hope. When we are suffering, Jesus is our divine physician waiting to heal us and raise us up.”

It is interesting as well to see the way Jesus performs the healing process. “He took him aside in private, away from the crowd…,” What a grace for the deaf man! He felt the hands of Jesus who cares, loves, and heals. He listens to Jesus who prays for him. The deaf man feels special because Jesus spends time with him and prays. And the man was healed. His ears were opened. His speech impediment was removed.

“That time alone with Jesus was the most precious time in that man’s whole life; everything before this moment was leading to this special moment, and the rest of his life was transformed after this moment. These moments alone with Jesus were the most important moments of his life, they defined the rest of his life, and surely the rest of the lives of those who knew him and lived with him. Likewise, our moments with Jesus every day are the most important moments of our day and define the rest of our day. It is during these moments alone with Jesus when Jesus our friend enlightens our darkness, changes our despair to hope, heals us to raise us up, “touches our ears to receive his word, and touches our mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God.”

Reflection Questions

Do I become a channel of grace for others in the community where I live?

In this time of the pandemic, do I spend time to pray for the people who suffer and for the world?

God “touches our ears to receive his word, and touches our mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God.” What is the message for me here?