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Gospel Reading for September 8, 2024 – Mark 7: 31-37
THE WORST OF THE WORST
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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Unlike the old myth that those who are deaf are mute, only a few of the deaf are really mute because their vocal chords are not affected by their deafness, but the deaf man in today’s gospel was not only deaf but had a speech impediment. The man must have been a good person or had very compassionate people around him, because they begged Jesus to lay his hand on him. His deafness was more or less, biological, but the worst kind of deafness is that which makes us unable to listen to the Word of God; to hear the cries of those suffering from all kinds of injustices and poverty, and all other kinds of suffering that hinder human beings to remain in God’s image and likeness. And, THE WORST OF THE WORST, is when we ourselves are deaf to their cries because we are the ones who cause them to suffer.
More and more families are becoming DYSFUNCTIONAL in this day and age due to economic issues – parents do not have enough quality time with their children because most of their time are spent in their jobs; the increase in development of gadgets, programs and applications have effectively replaced communication between parents and children; then, there is the nonchalant attitude of citizens to vote for leaders without considering the good of the country. These and so many more are not just blindness but DEAFNESS TO THE WORD OF GOD!
“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.” (Psalm 103: 2-4)
