Mark 7:31-37

Isaiah 35:4-7a

Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10

James 2:1-5

Mark 7:31-37

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have done all things well. I want to be merciful as you are merciful. I want to be holy as you are holy. I want to be perfect as you are perfect. Open my ears to hear your Word. Open my eyes to see things from your wisdom.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Opened Ears: The healing in today’s Gospel takes place in Gentile territory, in a region called the Decapolis. By traveling into non-Jewish territory, Jesus is extending the blessings of the Kingdom of God to the Gentiles. Throughout the Bread Section in Mark’s Gospel (Mark 6:34-8:21) there has been a continuous theme of the disciples not seeing, meaning they do not understand, and not hearing, meaning they do not believe. Jesus will cure a blind man (Mark 8:22-26). In today’s Gospel, he cures a deaf man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:31-37). Jesus wants his disciples to see with eyes of faith and hear with ears of faith. Jesus will warn his disciples not to be like the Pharisees, who refuse to believe, continue to demand heavenly signs, and constantly test Jesus. Jesus will urge his disciples to be on guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and will ask his disciples: “Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?” (Mark 8:18).

2. Isaiah: The Gospel is the fulfillment of the First Reading, a prophecy in Isaiah 35. Isaiah prophesied that when the Lord God appears and saves his people, there will be accompanying signs. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will leap. The mute will sing. Rivers of water will spring forth in the desert. Jesus’ mighty works – his healings, his exorcisms, his displays of power over nature – are all signs that God has visited his people and saved them. Salvation from exile is good, but salvation from sin and death is better. This is the salvation that Jesus brings.

3. The Letter of James: In the first chapter of his letter, James outlined two paths – the wise path of truth leading to life and the foolish path of falsehood leading to death. Today, in the Second Reading, James declares that preferential treatment of the rich against the poor is incompatible with faith in Jesus Christ and the path that leads to eternal life (Anderson and Keating, James, First, Second, and Third John, 41). Jesus has visited us and transformed us. His grace enables us to reject the ways of the world, which give preference to the rich, and welcome the ways of God, who exalts the poor and the humble.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, open my eyes and ears. I want to hear with spiritual hearing and see with spiritual vision. I pray that the gift of faith purifies my mind. I pray that the gift of hope directs my life to your promises. I pray that the gift of charity unites me to you.

Living the Word of God: If I look over the past four weeks, how have I treated the rich and powerful and how have I treated the poor? How can I imitate Jesus who comes to serve the poor, the blind, the deaf, the mute, and the lame?