TO HEAR AND GIVE PRAISE Mark 7: 31ff

After five weeks of Jesus and the Bread of Life we are now back to the everyday ‘working Jesus,’ curing the sick, the deaf and handicapped. Scientifically sophisticated Western believers would prefer to debate whether or not the man “really” was deaf and tongue-tied in order to discern what Jesus actually did.

Whatever “really” happened, Jesus gave meaning, faith meaning, to this man’s life.“His ears were opened and he spoke clearly and the people’s admiration was unbounded.”Jesus told them to tell no one about it but their ears were closed to him, making them unable to proclaim who he was.“They were his fans but not his disciples; they did not recognise who he was and the meaning of what he did” -La Verdiere, 1, 204

The gospels, like the Acts, are stories of people coming to faith in Jesus, accounts of what happens when people are touched by the Spirit. When read in the manner of ‘Lectio Divina’ (slowly, prayerfully and sharing with others) one’s ears can be opened to the reality of God and Christ, and a living faith ignited.

“You called to me, you cried aloud to me; you broke through my barrier of deafness. You shone upon me, your radiance enveloped me, you put my blindness to flight. You shed your fragrance about me. I drew breath and now I gasp for you. I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you. You touched me and now I burn for your peace” – Augustine, Confessions.

Notice that Augustine used all five senses in that prayer: hearing, sight smell, taste and touch. All our senses aspire to God, everything in us reaches upwards. Our whole being is a longing for God. Christ calls us to be fully alive in faith. Cf. John 10:10 (I came that you might have life….)
After the pouring of the water at baptism, the minister touches the ears and mouth of the person being baptised, and says the following prayer:
The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.
Fr. QQ – 06/09/2024