Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 8, 2024 - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Isa 35:4-7a; Jas 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37]Say to those who are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. 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. [Isaiah] And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him....And immediately the man's ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly....They were exceedingly astonished and they said, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." [Mark]
"Messianic hope" was part of the Jewish culture in which Jesus lived and died. This hope, however, was of different kinds. Some hoped for a military leader who would defeat the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel as in days of old. Others had more apocalyptic hopes about a deliverance at the end of time. Still others looked for someone like Isaiah envisions in today's first reading. There would be a broad knowledge of Isaiah's prophecy, even in an oral culture where the majority of people could neither read nor write. The evangelist Mark would have been aware of this in composing his portrait of Jesus to be used in the preaching of the early Christian missionaries.
In today's gospel account of Jesus' healing a man with a speech and hearing problem, we hear an echo of Isaiah in the reaction of the people. "He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." [I wonder how my friends in speech pathology and audiology are reacting!] Like many of those who encountered Jesus, we could focus on the healing miracles that were so much a part of his ministry and miss the message that Isaiah preached. In some places, the people wanted to keep him from leaving so that he could be a constant medical resource! But the healing ministry had (and has) a meaning beyond the physical miracle that, in the Gospel According to Mark, would only be completely understood in the light of Jesus' death and resurrection. The "deliverance" of the afflicted man is the deliverance of all of us from whatever is impeding our relationship with God.
We should also note the line at the beginning of the passage as well: And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment.... Who are these "people" who bring the afflicted man to Jesus if they are not all of us who are baptized and called to be, in Pope Francis' words, "missionary disciples. The Gospel According to Mark is not just a "manual" for early Christian missionaries. It is for us to preach as well. AMEN