Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catechism Links [1]
CCC 1503-1505: Christ the Physician
CCC 1151-1152: signs used by Christ; sacramental signs
CCC 270-271: the mercy of God

“Jesus Heals the Deaf Man”
by Alexandre Bida, 1850’s

 
Readings for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary:[4]
 
Reading 1: Isaiah 35:4-7a
 
Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts 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.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
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Commentary on Is 35:4-7a
 
This joyous outburst from the prophet looks forward to the restoration of those exiled (similar in tone to Isaiah40:1-11). The oracle sees the time of salvation marked by events traditionally associated with the predicted arrival of the Messiah. The passage is quoted or paraphrased in both St. Matthew’s Gospel at Matthew 11:5ff and in St. Mark’s Gospel at Mark 7:37, in both cases seeing in the oracle proof of messianic fulfillment in Jesus.
 
“This passage points to a great mystery, namely that Christ was to come in the flesh.  Not just anybody, not an angel, not an ambassador, but “He” will come to save you. Who is showing this humility? One who is highly exalted. How exalted? Make no search on earth but rise above the stars, beyond the heavenly company of angels, even beyond all creation, and by faith arrive at the Creator (St. Augustine, Sermons 293, 5).” [5]
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
 
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
 
The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains, 
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
 
In this hymn of praise, we find the historical view of God’s attributes as envisioned by the Hebrew people. The psalmist catalogs the mercy of God’s salvation (gives sight to the blind, raises those who were bowed down [the oppressed]) using imagery borrowed by the prophets (cf. Isaiah 35:5-6) and imagery used much later by Gospel authors as well (cf. Matthew 11:5ff).
 
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Reading II: James 2:1-5
 
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please, ”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there, ” or “Sit at my feet, ”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?
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?
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Commentary on Jas 2:1-5
 
"Apparently some of the Christians to whom this letter was addressed were guilty of discriminating against people on the grounds of social standing -- a clear instance of inconsistency between faith and actions, a key theme which James has already touched on (cf. James 1:19-27) and will develop later (cf. James 2:14-26). He may well be taking an example from something that actually happened (verses 1-4) to make the very vigorous point that discrimination is opposed to the Gospel (verses 5-7) as indeed to the law (verses 8-11); and he makes it plain that this type of behavior will be severely punished by God when He comes to judge (verses 12-13)." [6]
 
In these verses the author warns the Christian community not to discriminate or to show favoritism based upon social status. This kind of behavior, we are told, violates God’s law and is an affront to all the values for which Lord Jesus stands. The apostle also reminds the community that the poor and marginalized receive great rewards in God’s kingdom.
 
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Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
 
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.”
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Commentary on Mk 7:31-37
 
Returning from his encounter with the Syrophoenician woman, the Lord now heals the deaf mute. This action, especially the wording of the final quote: “He has done all things well, he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak,” which is a paraphrase from Isaiah 35:5-6, demonstrates the fulfillment of prophecy.
 
The Lord’s actions are sacramental in nature, that is, they accomplish what they signify. As the Lord takes the man aside, he puts his fingers into the man’s mouth and ears. He then sighs or groans ("he sighed: A sign either of his deep emotion over the man's pitiful condition, or, as Lohmeyer believes, of Jesus' transcendence, which is contained by human limits foreign to it." [7]), looking heavenward, demonstrating his intimate relationship to the father, and says, “ephphatha!,” or “be opened."
 
This passage has two unusual characteristics. First, the Lord takes the man aside, in private, implying something private was offered by the Messiah. Next, after his cure was affected, he tells the man not to tell anyone.  However, not only does the man continue to do so, but proclaims it. We are given the sense that the event taking place is significant in that it is pointedly revelatory, citing a new creation (cf Genesis 1:31).
 
CCC: Mk 7:32-36 1504; Mk 7:33-35 1151
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Reflection:
 
When I was seven or eight years old, my family moved from Gaylord, Michigan to Three Rivers, Michigan. Taking advantage of the benefits that come with being part of a larger town, I embarked upon my short and un-illustrious career in baseball.  You see, Three Rivers had a “Little League” baseball program.  I was small for my age and in spite of my father’s best efforts, I was always afraid of being hit by a pitched ball.  As a consequence, my batting stance was hunched over, making the “strike zone” as small as possible and, once the ball was in the air, my eyes were generally closed, as if in prayer (which may have been somewhat prophetic).  Oh, once in a while I would take a flailing attempt at hitting the ball, more out of self-defense than any athletic exercise.  I may have even connected once in a while, surprising everyone, myself included. 
 
Then one day, I think I was about ten or eleven, came the day when I opened my eyes while I was in the batter’s box and realized I could see the ball coming and actually swing at it with accuracy.  It was remarkable; I literally could not believe my eyes.  I had the most prodigious day of my young life, hitting two doubles and a triple.  I still believe my father does not think I really did that.  He would come to all of the games I played in but this one was during working hours, so he was not there.  Also, it was the last game I ever played.  We moved shortly after to Adrian, Michigan and I never played organized baseball again.  But that one game is burned into my memory. 
 
I can still see, in my mind’s eye, that ball coming toward me, like it was frozen in time.  And whenever I read the passage we just heard from Gospel from St. Mark, I remember that day.  For me it was “Ephphatha!”
 
Although we will probably not remember it, the first time the word “Ephphatha” was used in our hearing was at our own baptism.  There is a wonderful little prayer said by the celebrant toward the end of the baptismal rite.  While touching the ears and lips of the one being baptized, he prays:
 
“May the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf to hear and mute to speak, grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears and profess the faith with your lips, to the glory and praise of God the Father.”
 
It is a gift, the Ephphatha, a profound change in character resulting from the infusion of the Holy Spirit which takes place in the baptismal bath.
 
Since I mention this gift and since I already told one little anecdote from my childhood, I’ll tell one more.  When I was in middle school, my grandmother, whom I loved dearly, gave me a sweater for Christmas one year (in spite of the fact that she had two sons of her own and should have known better.) I promptly put it in a drawer and forgot about it until the next winter when I needed a sweater for sledding and, since it would be covered up by my coat anyway, I didn’t need to worry about my friends making fun of the reindeer that pranced around the waist.  To my amazement, the sweater no longer fit, and it had holes in it (moths – for the younger set it was made of wool, a natural fabric made from the hair of sheep and moth larvae eat it) and was useless.  Gifts can be like that.  If they are not used, they can end up like an ill-fitting, holey sweater.
 
Unfortunately, for many of us, the life of faith is like my early career in “Little League.”  We go through our daily lives with our eyes closed because we fear that if we open them, we might see the danger we are in rather than opening our eyes and using the gift of light God gave us.  Even worse, it is like texting while driving; there is a good chance we will not look up until it’s too late.
 
That is what the gift of the Lord really is; it means literally: “Be open.”  It is the gift of sight, not in the sense of physical vision, but rather the ability to see things in the way God wants them to be.  It is the ability to understand, with the light of God’s wisdom, how we must act if we are to enjoy and be at peace with the life with which he endowed us.
 
He commands us: Be Open! – see that forgiveness leads to peace and holding on to injury or hatred only leads to more pain.
 
He commands us: Be Open! – see that thinking only of our own comfort and well-being will not bring us happiness and that sharing our gifts with those who are less fortunate will bring us joy.
 
He commands us: Be Open! – see clearly the wisdom of God’s natural law and the folly and selfishness denying life to others at all stages of the life God gives them.
 
Part of the gift of the Ephphatha is that in opening our lips to God’s glory (not our own) we pass on the gift that was given to us.  Our openness with God’s truth, in words and actions, lets others glimpse the light as well.  Revealing the Lord’s truth opens the eyes of others and has the power to transform the world.
 
In the Ephphatha we open our eyes and ears to see with Christ’s own eyes what we may offer the world and how to enjoy the peace offered by our heavenly Father. Knowing the mind of Christ in Sacred Scripture will allow us to feel the true meaning of how the Lord was seen after he cured the deaf mute, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet.  Those who saw him exclaimed: “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” May we be graced to hear those words from others to the greater glory of our Heavenly Father.
 
Pax
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Jesus Heals the Deaf Man” by Alexandre Bida, 1850’s.
[3] S.S Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Isaiah, © 2019, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 65.
[6] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 286.
[7] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 42:45, p. 38.