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2012

Archbishop Harris’ Gospel Reflection September 9 – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

by Archbishop Joseph Harris
by Archbishop Joseph Harris

Gospel Mk. 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.”

Homily

This gospel passage is one which resonates with me very much because  as you all know I have a speech impediment. after a spiritual experience which is too long to explain here, my speech impediment began to recede. This cure was rather curious because it manifested itself and continues to manifest itself much more when I preaching than in other occasions.
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“He ordered them not to tell anyone.But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. The word the author of this gospel used is proclaimed which carries with it the notion of a public announcement.  What did the once deaf man announce. The deaf man proclaimed the good news of his healing. The result of  his healing was his announcing of good news. To announce the good news, to proclaim the mighty works of God, one must first of all hear and then proclaim.
All of us baptized and confirmed have the vocation to proclaim the good news, the mighty works of God. This vocation demands then of all the baptized and confirmed that our ears be opened and our tongue loosed if we are to fulfill the vocation which we have accepted through baptism and confirmation.
The fact is that often in life we are unable to fulfill the vocation of proclaiming the mighty works of God and we are unable to fulfill this vocation because our ears are blocked because of the cacophony of sounds and voices in the modern world, sounds and voices which block the voice of God, sounds and voices which, if we let them, distract us from being aware of the mighty works of God being realized under our very noses; voices and sounds which call us to live lives totally different to what God s asking of us.When this happens it is impossible for us to proclaim anything;  our tongues are indeed impeded. Our minds transmit nothing to our tongues and our lives do not allow us to speak with authenticity about God. Our tongues are only loosed when we are aware of God’s mighty works and our lives are in accord with God’s desires.
This how the saints lived however. Mother Teresa of Calcutta could proclaim the mighty works of God because her life was in accord with God’s plan and she paid no attention to the discordant voices and cacophony in the world. He tongue was loosed. This too was the life of  Mons. Romero of El Salvador. This too was the life of the great saints like Benedict and Dominic and Francis and this too must be our life. In  the measure  that our life is in accord with God’s plan. In the measure that our lives reflect the Gospel our tongues are loosed and we begin to proclaim the mighty works of God.

Prayer

All powerful and ever-loving God, we thank you for having for the persons who touched our ears and loosed out tongues. They have enabled us to proclaim your mighty works and to bless and thank you. Help us Father to never let the voices of the world overwhelm us so that they cloud our hearing and impede our speech, so that proclaiming your mighty works in this life we may praise and glorify you forever in heaven. Amen

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