Word to the Wise
Friday, February 14, 2020 - Friday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19 and Mark 7:31-37,405]He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. [Mark]
FEBRUARY 14 STS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS
Although the Prophet Isaiah speaks of the day of the Lord as a time when the blind will see and the mute will speak (Is. 35:6), the people of the Decapolis iTn today's gospel passage seem only to focus on Jesus as a wonder-worker instead of being the Lord! This is why Jesus asks them not to talk about what he does for the mute man. Jesus' identity is not to be tied to his miracles but to his Lordship which will not be completely understood without the cross and resurrection. In another place, he shows his frustration by saying, "Unless you people see signs and wonders you will not believe." [John 4:48]
This way of thinking about God - miracles as the price of belief - is always , around somewhere. God, in this way of thinking, is not to be found in ordinary circumstances, involved in our everyday life. We can turn Jesus' own words against him, "By their fruits you will know them." [Matt 7:15-20] In doing this, we deny ourselves the daily bread of God's presence. The real miracle is that we live and breathe and do our own best to spread the word about the daily bread of God's gracious presence in our lives. The miraculous is not the daily thing. AMEN