Gospel Reflection Sept 8 – Deacon Paul Zemanek
Sunday, September 8
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 7: 31-37
Gospel:
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Gospel Reflection:
“Ephphatha” is a small but very important word, and a bit complicated to spell. Probably would be a good spelling bee word. At baptisms, the word and the gesture of “Ephphatha” are included in the Rite of Baptism as one of the signs that explain its meaning…“to be opened.” For when the priest or deacon touches the mouth and the ears of the newly baptized, making the sign of the cross, we say “Ephphatha,” praying that they may soon hear the Word of God and Profess the Faith. In other words, through our Baptisms, we begin, so to speak, to “breathe” the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus had invoked from the Father with that deep breath, to heal the deaf and dumb man.
Friends, can you imagine for a moment that you have no cell phone to call someone or to text them? How would you communicate? You have no paper or pen because they are too expensive and you are poor. Add to that an inability to talk, and on top of that, you can’t hear anything because you are completely deaf. If you have any thoughts at all, they are locked up in your mind and you have no way of communicating them except through some gestures and signs.
You can probably just imagine how the unnamed man in our gospel today must have felt. He was cut off from the rest of the world. Until he met Jesus that is!! Of all the things this man could not hear, the most important was not being able to hear who Jesus was and what Jesus was preaching. But it was in His compassion and love that Jesus took the initiative and completely cured the man.
Friends, what is your impediment? What is it in your life that you wish to have healed? What do you believe would make you “whole” again? Do you believe that Jesus is healing you…even if you don’t experience it? Today, let us remember this simple but most important word “Ephphatha”…and Be Opened! Let us hear the Word of God and let us profess our faith to others around us.
Deacon Paul Zemanek