September 5th 2021. Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL Mark 7:31-37

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL Mark 7:31-37  

Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. ‘He has done all things well,’ they said, ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

1. THE HEALING OF OUR SENSES. The context of this Gospel passage is the pagan territory on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. In this region, Jesus performs the healing of the deaf-mute. This account would have been very relevant for the baptismal liturgy of the earliest Christian community. In fact, still today, the priest touches the mouth and ears of the child to be baptised and says the same words as Jesus, “Be opened!” Through this action, the child is to hear the word of God and profess the faith. This text speaks of something essential if we are to make the necessary leap from the life of the flesh to the life of the Spirit: the healing of our senses. This is spoken of little in preaching, but if we are to enter into the Christian way of life, we need our senses to be redeemed. Our interior life is mediated to us by the senses. As St Paul asks, how can anyone believe if no-one preaches the Good News to them?

2. THE STORY OF THE DEAF-MUTE IS EMBLEMATIC. When our senses are redeemed, we have new eyes, new ways of perceiving, new ways of touching. How often we are confronted by grace and we do not see it! We call salvation that which is disgraceful and disgraceful that which is salvation. How often we have expended all of our energies pursuing vainglorious and worthless things! How can we have eyes to see and ears to hear? The story of this deaf-mute is emblematic for us. In the first place, the man is taken to Jesus by people who already know the Lord. We need people to lead us to Jesus so that he can visit us and heal us. No-one can come to Christ by himself. Secondly, Jesus takes the man to one side. We too need to be taken into an exclusive encounter with the Lord, away from the world, away from the mentality that surrounds us. Thirdly, Jesus places his finger in the man’s ears and touches his tongue with saliva. Such acts would be considered invasive by us, but they are highly symbolic. The hands of Jesus are the hands of God. If our ears are to be opened, then we need to open our hearts to the works of God. Similarly, the saliva of Christ represents his word, which is the word of God. It is essential that our mouths learn to speak with the words of God. Much of our prayer – the Psalms for example – is composed of the word of God. When God’s word becomes our word, then we learn gradually to speak in an authentic way.

3. THE HEALING OF OUR SENSES IS GOD’S WORK, NOT OURS. When my ears are filled with the works of God and my mouth with his word, then I begin to be healed! Jesus looks towards heaven and sighs, which is a sign of the coming of the Spirit. The he pronounces; “Be opened!” The senses are opened by Christ, not by us using rational means, by the Holy Spirit, not by our good will. This passage shows us how to be healed, how I can listen and perceive the works of God speaking to me, how I can speak with the words of God.

Alternative homily . . . The deaf mute in the Gospel represents each one of us. We are all is a state of isolation, in a state of being unable to enter into communion with those around us. How does Jesus heal him? There are four stages. Firstly, he takes the man away from the crowd. We too must be taken away from the crowd, from worldly things, from empty things, if we are to be healed of our sicknesses. Secondly, he places his hands in the man’s ears. The hands of Jesus are the hands that created the heavens! We need to have the hands of Jesus in our ears! In other words, we need the grace to comprehend how the hand of God is working in everyday things around us. We need to be attuned to this action of God. Thirdly, Jesus puts saliva on the man’s tongue. This represents the word of God on our tongue. If we are to be healed of our loneliness and isolation, we need to have the word of God on our mouths. Fourthly, Jesus looks towards heaven and says, “Be opened!” In looking towards heaven, Jesus is looking to his heavenly Father. This relationship is the basis of everything that Jesus does. We too, if we are to be healed of our loneliness, must look to the heavens. We must look away from ourselves and enter into relationship with Jesus and the Father.