GOSPEL POWER | FEBRUARY 12, 2021

FRIDAY | 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: MK 7:31-37

Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

REFLECTION

To empower the deaf-mute man not only to communicate, but to do so correctly (Greek orthōs), Jesus leads him off by himself away from the crowd. Authentic communication is born in solitude. It needs space and time so that a person can quietly connect with the depths of one’s being, for it is from the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Jesus creates the necessary space and time for the deaf-mute man by taking him away from the noisy chatter of neighbors and friends. Through intimate gestures and a single word, he unblocks the man’s ears and sets his tongue loose. This manner of healing the man has an important message to convey to us, who belong to the socalled era and culture of communication. It is not the superabundance of words that constitutes true communication, nor can it arise from a mere compulsion to say something to fill up an uncomfortable silence. In fact, silence, which allows a person to listen to oneself and to others, is the birthplace of any authentic communication.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, help our noisy generation to appreciate silence and seek solitude, that we may learn to say the right words at the right time. Amen.