Word to the Wise
Friday, February 9, 2024 - Friday in the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19 and Mark 7:31-37]And people brought to [Jesus] a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him 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!") [Mark]
In reading the gospels, one may be content with the simple human situation of Jesus healing someone. But there is more because we have the benefit of 2,000 + years of reflection. In the Gospel According to Mark, this scene also carried the theme of Jesus' growing popularity plus the "messianic secret," i.e. that his real identity as Son of God will only be known at his death and resurrection. So, in the story, he asks the people not to talk about his healings, which was an almost futile request. Mark also may be referring to the prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6 in regard to the Day of the Lord: Then the eyes of the blind shall see, and the ears of the deaf be opened. At the end of today's passage, the crowd seems to acknowledge this by saying, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!" But their focus is on the healing and not on the identity of Jesus. In good story-telling, this is all part of building the dramatic tension!
We are warned in the Gospel According to Mark that we cannot truly know Jesus until we accept his death on the cross, no matter how many miracles he worked or parables he preached. The early Church had to face this in preaching. How could the Savior of all be someone who was executed like a common criminal? Can we be like the pagan centurion at the foot of the cross and say, "Truly this man was the Son of God?" Can we bring it forward and proclaim, "Truly this man IS the Son of God!?" AMEN