Homily for 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)
Based on Mk 7:31-37(Gospel), Is 35:4-7 (First Reading) and Jas 2:1-5 (Second
Reading)
From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”
EPHPHATHA!
“That is, “Be
opened!”. (Mk 7:34)
Today’s gospel reading is taken fromMk 7:31-37
Verse 31 says: Returning
form the district of Tyre, he went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee,
right through the Decapolis Region.
Parallel text is Mt 15:29 that says: Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of
Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Verse 32 says: And people they brought him a deaf man who
had a speech impediment; and they asked him to lay his hand on him.
Parallel texts are:
a.
Mk 6:5 - So he was not able to perform any mighty deed
there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying
his hands on them.
b.
Mk 8:23 - He took the blind man by the hand and led him
outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and
asked, “Do you see anything?”gFootnote
c. 1
Tm 4:14 - You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the
prophets spoke and the body of elders laid their hands on you;d do
not let it lie unused.Footnote d
says “Lit. ‘a spiritual gift given by
means of prophecy with imposition of hands by the body of elders’. The ‘imposition
of hands’ can be the rite for transmitting grace or a charism, Heb 6:2, or it
can be the gesture used when blessing, Mt 19:15, or curing, Mt 9:18p; 17; 28:8,
or imparting the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized, Ac 1:5+. It can also be the
rite for consecrating a person for a particular public function, Ac 6:6; 13:3,
as in this passage and 5:22+; 2 Tm 1:6. Since the day on which he received the
imposition of hands, Timothy has had a permanent charism (‘grace-gift’) that
consecrates him to his ministry. For the part played by the ‘prophets’, cf. 1Tm
1:18.”
Verses 33, 34
and 35 say: He took him aside in
private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched
his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed; and he said to
him, “Ephphatha!”, that is, “Be opened!”. And his ears were opened, and the
ligament of his tongue was loosened, and he spoke clearly.
Parallel text is Mt 8:3 that says: Jesus
stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be
cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at
once.aFootnote asays“By his miracle Jesus his power over nature
(8:23-27; 14:22-33p), especially over
sickness (8:1-4,5-13, 14-15; 9:1-8, 20-22, 27-31; 14:14,36; 15:30; 20:29-34 and
p; Mk. 7:32-37; 8:22-26; Lk. 14:1-6; 17:11-19; Jn. 5:1-16; 9:1-41), over death
( Mt 9:23-26p ;Lk 7:11:19; Jn 11: 1-44), over devils (Mt 8:29+). Christ
miracles are not elaborate: in this they differ from the fantastic prodigies
reported of the Hellenistic world of from those attributed to the Jewish
rabbis, but they are most notably different by reason of the spiritual and
symbolic significance that Jesus attaches to them. They declare the judgments
of the messianic age (21:18-22p) as also privileges it brings (11:5+;14:13-21;15:32 -39p; Lk
5:4-11; Jn 2:1-11 ; 21:4-14); they are the first signs of the triumph of the
spirits over Satan’s empire (8:29+) and over all the powers of evil whether sin passion (20:34; Mk 1:41; Lk 7:13)
butt they are directed principally to
the Strengthening of faith (8:10+; Jn 2;11+). This it is only with great
deliberation that Jesus works any miracles at all, demanding secrecy for any he
does agree to work (Mk 1:34+), and leaving it for force decision (12:39-40).
When he sent his apostles to preach the kingdom he gave his own healing power
(10:1,8p) and for this reason Matthew recounts before the missionary Discourse
(ch. 10) a series of ten miracles (ch. 8-9 as sign accrediting the missionary
(Mk 16:17f; Ac 2:22;cf. 1-8+).”
Verse 36 says: And Jesus ordered them to tell no
one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it.
Parallel text
is Mk 1:34 that says: And he cured many who were suffering from
diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not
allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.i Footnote i
says “Jesus forbids the news that he is
the Messiah to be spread by the devils, 1:25,34; 3:12, by those he cured, 1:44;
5:43; 7:36; 8:26, even by the apostles, 8:30; 9:9. The silence is not to be
broken till after his death, Mt. 10:27+. Since the prevailing idea of the
Messiah was nationalistic and warlike, in sharp contrast with his own ideal,
Jesus had to be very careful, at least on Israelite soil, cf. 5:19, to avoid
giving a false and dangerous impression of his mission, cf. Jn. 6:15; Mt.
13:13+. This policy of silence (‘the messianic secret’) is not an invention of
Mk’s, as some have claimed, but is in fact Christ’s own, though Mark has given
it a special emphasis. With the exception of Mt. 9:30, Mt. and Lk. record the
injunction to silence only in passages which are parallel with Mk, frequently
omitting it even in these cases.”
Verse 37 says: Their admiration was unbounded. “He has
done all things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’
a.
Mk 9:25 -Jesus, on
seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him
again!”
b.
Mt 9:33 - and when the
demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
c. Mt
15:31 - The crowds were
astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again,j the
lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.Footnote
j says “Om. ‘the cripples whole again’”.
The First Reading for this Sunday isIs 35:4-7
Verse 4 says: Say
to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, he comes
with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.
Parallel text
is Is 40:10 that says: Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by
his strong arm; Here is his reward with
him, his recompense before him.
Verse 5says: Then the eyes of the blind shall see, and the ears
of the deaf be opened;
Parallel texts are:
a.
Mt 11:5 - …the blind
regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.dFootnote
d says “The allusion to the oracle of Is assures
John that the messianic era is being inaugurated, even though Jesus confines
himself to beneficent and saving miracles, without resorting to violence and
retribution. CfLk 4:17-21.”
b.
Lk 7:22 - And he said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you have
seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news
proclaimed to them.
Verses 6 and 7 say: Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing
for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the
Arabah.The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty
ground, springs of water; the abode where jackals crouch will be a marsh for
the reed and papyrus.
Parallel texts of verse 6 are:
a.
Ac 3:8 - ..he jumped up, stood, and began to walk, and he went with them into
the Temple, walking and jumping and praising God.
b.
Is 41:18 -I will open up rivers on the
bare heights,and fountains in the broad valleys;I will turn the wilderness into
a marshland,and the dry ground into springs of water.
c.
Is 43:20 -Wild beasts honor me,jackals and ostriches,For I put water in
the wildernessand rivers in the wastelandfor my chosen people to drink,
d.
Is 48:21 - They did not thirstwhen he led them through dry lands;Water from
the rock he set flowing for them;he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”
e.
Jn 4:1 - Now when Jesus
learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing
more disciples than John.
The Second Reading for this Sunday isJas 2:1-5
Verse 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 say: My brothers, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our
glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man
with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly,
and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the
one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the
poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions
among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? Listen, my beloved
brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor* in the world to be rich in
faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
Parallel texts of verse 5 say:
a.
1 Co 1:26-29 - Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of
you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of
noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the
wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,and God chose
the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to
nothing those who are something, so that no
human being might boast before God.
b.
Zp 2:3 - Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who have observed his law;
Seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
c.
Rv 2:9 - I know your tribulation and poverty, but
you are rich. I know the slander of those who claim to be
Jews and are not, but rather are members of the assembly of Satan.
d.
Jas 1:12 - Blessed
is the man who perseveres in temptation, for
when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to
those who love him.
e.
Mt 4:17 - From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heavendis
at hand.”Footnote d says “The sovereignty of God over the chosen people, and trough them over the
world, is at the heart of Christ’s preaching as it was the theocratic ideal of
the OT. It implies a kingdom of ‘saints’ where God will be truly King because
they will acknowledge his royal rights by knowing and loving him. This
sovereignty, jeopardized by rebellious sin, is to be reasserted by an act of
supreme intervention on the part of God and his Messiah (Dn 2:28+). This is the
intervention which Jesus, following John the Baptist (3:2), declares imminent
(4:17-23; Lk 4:43). It is to take the form not, as was commonly expected, of a
successful nationalist rising (Mk 11:10; LK 19:11; Ac 1:6) but of a purely
spiritual movement (Mk 1:34+; Jn 18:36). The redemptive work of Jesus as ‘Son
of Man’ (Mt 8:20+) and as ‘servant’ (Mt 8:17+; 20:28+; 26:28+) sets man free
from Satan’s rule which opposes God’s (4:8; 8:29+; 12:25-26). Before it
achieves its final eschatological realization when the elect will be with the
Father in the joy of the heavenly banquet (8:11+; 13:43; 26:29) the kingdom
makes an impressive entrance (13:31-33). Its modest beginning is mysterious
(13:11) and arouses opposition (13:24-30), it has come unnoticed (12:28; Lk
17:20-21); the development of the kingdom on earth is slow (Mk 4:26-29) and is
effected by the Church (Mt 16:18+). By the judgment of God that falls on
Jerusalem it is established with power as the kingdom of Christ (Mt 16:28; Lk
21:31) and is preached throughout the world by apostolic missionaries (Mt 10:7;
24:14; Ac 1:3+). When the times comes for the final judgment (13:37-43, 47-50;
25:31-46), the return of Christ in glory (16:27; 25:31) will be the final act
that establishes the kingdom which Christ will present to the Father(1 Co
15:24). Until that time the kingdom appears as a free gift of God (20:1-16;
22:9-10; Lk 12:32), accepted by the humble (Mt 5:3; 18:3-4; 19:14,23-24) and
the generous (13:44-46; 19:12; Mk 9:47; Lk 9:62; 18:29f), refused by the proud
and selfish (21:31-32,43; 22:2-8; 23:13). There is no entering it without the
wedding garment which is the new life
(22:11-13; Jn 3:3,5) and not all men are admitted (Mt 8:12; 1 Co 6:9-10; Ga
5:21). One has to be awake so as to be ready when it comes unexpectedly (Mt
25:1-13). On Matthew’s treatment as a guiding idea of his arrangement, see
Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels.”
f.
Ga 3:29 - And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s
descendant, heirs according to the promise.
An online article “Ephphatha” (Εφφαθα), from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
“In Greek, the Aramaic is written εφφαθα. This could be from the Aramaic
'ethpthaḥ', the passive imperative of the verb 'pthaḥ', 'to open', since the 'th' could
assimilate in western Aramaic. In Aramaic, it could be אתפתח or אפתח.”
An online article “Healing
the deaf mute of Decapolis”, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: “The magic word “Ephphatha!” used in Mark
7.34 could be a sign of the historical Jesus.
It means ‘be opened’ in Aramaic which many believe Jesus spoke along
with Greek and Hebrew. Nazareth, where Jesus is said to originate from, was
primarily Aramaic-speaking. The use of the word in this miracle story is
implicit of the historical Jesus as Aramaic was a common language in the first
century AD in Israel and the surrounding areas. The New Testament contains many
examples of Aramaic (and Hebrew) additions, including Ephphatha. Some scholars
believe that the gospel writers had access to Aramaic sources which they took
from. For instance, Q was possibly a
collection of Aramaic writings. So the use of the Aramaic word and phrase may
be representative of source material as well as the historical Jesus…This phrase is also found in Romans 8.15 and
Galatians 4.6. Εφφαθα (אתפתח) could be the passive imperative of the verb
‘to open’ and is also given in Greek transliteration, similarly to these other
examples. Mark’s explanation of the word at the end of Ephphatha is indicative
of his writing for a Gentile audience which he believed required him to provide
some often highly detailed explanations.”
An
online article from http://ship-ubf.org,
“Jesus Heals A Deaf And Mute Man” (Mark 7:31-37 ): “He
looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which
means, “Be opened!”)… Finally we
learned that our spiritual deafness can be cured by coming to Jesus and hearing
his words, “Be opened!...Jesus can open our ears and
loosen our tongue. Jesus was greatly moved by their caring hearts. He accepted
their shepherd’s heart and was eager to take care of the helpless man. How did
he help the man? Look at verses 33-34. After he took him aside, away from the
crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the
man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). First, Jesus took the deaf and mute
man aside, away from the crowd (33). Jesus paid personal attention to the man.
He wanted to have a personal relationship with the man. Next, Jesus put his
fingers into the man’s ears. The man couldn’t hear, but he could feel the
compassionate touch of the Messiah. Then Jesus spit and touched the man’s
tongue. I don’t know why Jesus spit. And spitting and touching the man’s tongue
doesn’t sound a healthy thing to do. The man could have felt humiliated. But
one thing is certain. Jesus showed his affection towards the man. Jesus showed
his eager desire to help the man. What did Jesus do
next? Look at verse 34. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to
him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). He looked up to heaven and had a
deep sigh. I don’t think this was a sigh of frustration. Jesus had a deep
compassion towards this helpless man. Then he said to him, “Be opened!” At
this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak
plainly (35)…The compassionate touch
of the good shepherd and the absolute word of the Son of God brought a
wonderful miracle to the life of one man. In no time, the man was able to hear
and talk… This man’s life was turned
around because Jesus opened his ears and loosened his tongue. This is what
happens to anyone who comes to Jesus. Some people may say, “But I can hear fine
and speak very well, thank you.” We should know that there are two kinds of
deafness--physical and spiritual. There are many people who have excellent
hearing but are spiritually deaf. That’s why Jesus often said, “He who has ears
to hear, let him hear.””
An online article “Jesus Heals a Deaf Mute” (Mark 7:31–37), from https://sermons.logos.com: “When Jesus finally arrived back at Galilee, it didn’t take too long
before the people found him again. This time they brought one that was deaf,
and had an impediment in his speech. We really don’t know much about this deaf
man. Nor did Mark tell us the exact
nature of the deaf man’s affliction. Our text says that he was deaf and had a
speech impediment. He couldn’t hear at all and he had difficulty speaking
plainly. The fact that he could speak even less difficulty probably indicates
that he had not been born deaf, in which case he would not have been able to
say anything. Perhaps he had lost his hearing when he was relatively young,
i.e., before he learned to speak well. But that’s all that Mark says. The only
thing we know for certain is that this man was deaf and more or less mute when
he met the Lord. Some commentators account for this man’s condition by claiming
that he was demon-possessed. Mark 9:17 tells about a man whose son had a deaf
and dumb spirit. The assumption is that the man in our text was afflicted with
the same kind of demon. But the only reason for asserting this is the statement
in verse 35 that Jesus loosed the man’s tongue when he healed him. This, plus
the fact that not all hearing and speech difficulties can be attributed to
demonic activity, makes it almost certain that this man’s problem was nothing
more than a physical defect of some sort.”
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