And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
Aren't we the man who is deaf and dumb? The words of the Kingdom are spoken. The Word of God is virtually all around us with its power to transform and cut to the heart. Yet even though we have this exposure, how often are we changed? How can we hear about Jesus dying for us and fail to be moved to new and more profound acts of love? How can we hear about the gift of his flesh and blood in the Eucharist without being moved to ever greater devotion? Even when we do know some of the blessings of the Kingdom we have a hard time putting them into words. Somehow a speech impediment seems to prevent us from speaking. Others may hear us, but from the perspective of who we truly are and what matters the most to us, are we not as good as mute?
We need the healing touch of Jesus to remove these residual side effects of sin.
Then will 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.
When we come to mass and hear the Good News proclaimed and we find ourselves indifferent or we find our attention wandering let us hear Jesus say “Ephphatha!”
When we see the host elevated that we might adore the body and blood of Christ but we can't see beyond the accidents of bread and wine let us hear Jesus say, “Be opened!”
And when we are sent forth into the world and called to proclaim the Good News to others but can't find the words to speak, let us allow Jesus to open our lips. He himself gives us the power to say “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
When Jesus opens our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our tongues to speak we will find that many of the illusions common in the world begin to fade. Distinctions of judges with evil designs are revealed to have no substance. Those who can truly see are freed from such illusions. And when the illusions no longer hold sway they are free to truly love.
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
A vision test for us is whether or not we see the face of Jesus in the poor among us. The degree to which we do not is exactly the degree to which we still need his healing touch.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
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