My brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Gospel we hear about Jesus performing a miracle with a deaf man. We don’t know much about this deaf man whom Jesus cured. We do know that his infirmity had placed him in a position of isolation. Not only was he cut off from the sounds of the world and the voices of his fellow men, but he was also unable to communicate with them. To this victim’s infirmities Jesus declares, “Ephphata!” which means “Be opened!” And, as stated in Mark 7:34, “At once the man’s ears were opened; he was freed from the impediment and began to speak plainly.”
Jesus says, “You have the commandment, You shall love your countryman but hate your enemy. My command to you is, Love your enemies, pray for your persecutors.”
We hear the words, but are we listening?
Jesus says, “You have heard the commandment, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But what I say to you is, offer no resistance to injury. When a person strikes you on the right cheek, turn and offer him the other.”
We hear the words, but are we listening?
“Love one another as I have loved you.” “If a man wished to come after Me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and begin to follow in My footsteps.” “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”
We hear all these words, but are we listening?
Our ears may be wide open to hear God’s Word, but unless our hearts are open to receive the message and act upon it, we are not listening: we are deaf spiritually. In today’s Gospel story, Jesus cured the man’s deafness and speech impediment. So it is with our spiritual deafness, but when we become true listeners of God, we also become doers of the Word of God.
“And in the naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening.” These words come from Sounds of Silence, my favorite song by Simon and Garfunkel. They truly truly reflect what Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel: people’s failure to communicate honestly with one another, people’s failure to hear without truly listening to the needs of our fellow man.
Listen to Jesus’ words! But, be prepared. The more you listen to Jesus, the closer you get to Him. The more you listen to Jesus, the closer you will get to one another. And that, my brothers and sisters in Christ, that is the real miracle!