And people brought to him (Jesus) 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.” (Mark 7:32-37)
This Gospel story begs two questions. First, why did Jesus take the deaf man with the speech impediment away from the crowd to administer a healing? And second, why did He order them not to tell anyone? We might think Jesus would want the crowds to know that He had the power to heal.
In truth, Jesus is very interested in helping His listeners understand that He has the power to bring about healing in their lives. But He does not want those who are following Him to focus primarily on the physical healing He performs. Instead, He wants them — and us — to desire a much deeper and more lasting healing.
Frequently in the Gospel stories when Jesus does perform a healing, He encourages the recipient of the miracle not to share the news with others. He was well aware that the people He came in contact with were very focused on their worldly lives, and that they would pursue Him primarily for the material benefits they believed they could get from Him.
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’ (Luke 4:23)
This was also true when it came to the most basic needs of daily life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. (John 6:26)
Jesus is always driven by great compassion. But He also understands the risk He runs in allowing individuals to become overly focused on the temporal, the temporary and the immediate desires of their hearts. He is always trying to get His listeners — and us — to focus on the higher things, those weighty matters that have to do with eternal life.
But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:33)
If we accept the counsel of St. Paul in his Second Letter to Timothy:
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
Then we should desire to find the underlying teaching that is intended for us personally. In order to do this, we might want to ask ourselves a few questions.
What is it in our life that keeps us from hearing the Lord speak to us, not to our physical hearing, but to our deepest interior? That is the place where we are the most truly ourselves, and where we need to be able to hear the Lord’s healing voice.
In addition, what, if anything, keeps us from being able to offer the eternal Hope we should have in our relationship with Jesus Christ. In other words, are we prepared to respond to this challenge by Saint Peter?
Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope. (1 Peter 3:15)
In prayer, we should, each day, approach the Lord and plead with Him to heal us of any impediments to our ability to hear and experience His message. And then we should ask that He free our tongue to be able to bear witness to Hope that inevitably must reside within us.
Copyright © 2024, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit:"Christ Healing Deaf and Dumb Man," Anonymous, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons