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Gospel Reading for February 13, 2026 – Mark 7: 31-37
LISTEN
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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Jesus says “Ephphatha!”—“Be opened!”—to us whenever we hear the Word of God but fail to truly listen. For unless we follow the Word and put into practice what it teaches, we cannot honestly claim that we have truly listened.
How blessed we are when we are wise enough to LISTEN attentively to the Word of God: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
We need not look elsewhere for guidance on how to live, for the Word of God is our ultimate standard and final authority.
Open our ears, Lord, and help us not only to hear your Word, but to live it faithfully each day!
