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, the ligament of his tongue was loosened, 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 story is one which is very close to me because I have a speech impediment which for many years kept me from communicating in the way that I wanted to. It was not that I could not communicate, but the fear of being ridiculed very often kept me silent. As you can well imagine, a priest who cannot communicate cannot be true to his vocation because priesthood is about communicating. In a very true sense I did not communicate because of things within myself, my fear of being laughed at, my shyness, my own inferiority complex.
I suppose I was sent to the missions because the authorities did not know what to do with me. I could not teach – a stammering teacher in a secondary school is a recipe for trouble. Fortunately for me God’s ways are not the ways of human beings; the love of the people to whom I was sent restored my self-confidence and the ligament of my tongue was loosened and I began to speak. I began to communicate. The important thing was that my inability to speak and later my ability to speak came about because of things internal to myself. I could not speak because of my own insecurities. However it was not speech therapy that cured me. It was the realization that I was loved and that I am lovable. That realization worked the miracle in me.
Unfortunately we live in a world of a great deal of noise but in which people communicate less and less. Many people experience the frustrating fact that they have not been heard. We have become so impersonal that more and more we now only communicate through secretaries who have learnt replies to questions and who produce these answers without really hearing what is being said. Nations and political parties shout at each other but no one communicates, because communication demands two things: the ability to hear and to listen, and the ability to express what one really feels. It is so easy to express what we feel but so difficult to listen to others to hear what they feel. It is so easy to treat the concerns of others as if these concerns are unimportant. Laws which do not take into account individual circumstances become more important than persons. When this happens we have lost the ability to be human.
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That is why the symbolism of the Gospel is so powerful, Jesus puts his finger in the man’s ears and put spittle on his tongue and we are told — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, the ligament of his tongue was loosened , and he spoke plainly. Jesus, we can say communicated something of himself, something intimate which gave to the man the ability to communicate. Because of this, he could now hear, he could speak.
The people of Paraguay gave me something of themselves, they loved me for me, they opened my ears to what they were saying and they gave me the confidence that I needed to speak my own truth.
Today this Gospel calls me to thank God for the people of Paraguay who helped to open my ears and who helped to loosen the ligament of my tongue. If I can communicate today it is because of them. There are however many cases similar to mine. My case is not unique and so we thank God for so many, who in their quiet way, through their love, give to others the ability to communicate. I think of teachers working with children challenged in so many ways, of parish priests who have time for their people, of parents who have trained their children to truly listen and to express their own truth.
In a world which is so divided because people are so concerned about themselves, their own power, their own wellbeing that they have lost the power to hear, to speak and to communicate, this gospel challenges us to be people, who do all things well, who make the deaf hear and the mute speak.” In so doing, we will help to create a world in which people can listen, speak and communicate once again. This is the first step towards building the civilization of love which we all desire.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, your son Jesus, did all things well. He made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. He came to gather all who are scattered, to ensure that we speak to each other once again. Give us generous hearts so that we can hear the other, especially the cry of the poor. Give us the ability to speak to others, to assure them of their dignity. Help us to communicate our truth in ways which do not cause hurt or division but rather help to bring about the harmony which you desire for the world. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and your Son Jesus. Amen
