Homily — 23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Fr. Timothy W. Castor

"He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." The people in today's Gospel story are astonished at the wonderful miracles which Jesus works. They admire his great power and approve of the good things he does. We, too, admire the wonderful works of our Lord; and, recognizing that he is God incarnate, we add to that admiration praise and worship, acknowledging the miracles he works in every age, in every place—even in our own lives.

But we also recognize in this story, not only a great achievement to be admired, but an example for us to follow. You see, as members of the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ, each one of us, by virtue of our Baptism, are called to participate in the work of ministry. Through our words and our actions, we are called to extend Christ's loving mercy to all those around us—to our family, friends, and neighbors in their need. And this story of Jesus' opening of the ears and mouth of the deaf-mute provides us a pattern for ministering to those in need.

In the first place, we notice how considerate our Lord is for the needs of this individual. He takes the man aside, away from the crowd—away from prying eyes and rude remarks. He protects the man's privacy and personal feelings as he ministers to him. Jesus did not do this with every person he healed, but he dealt with each one as their needs required, and he was always considerate of those needs. Most importantly, he did not wish to make a show of himself nor of the deaf-mute, and neither should we.

Secondly, as Jesus touched the man's ears and tongue, the Gospel says that "he looked up to heaven." This gesture of prayer indicated the true source of healing. It is God alone who can open the ears of the deaf and loose the tongue of the mute. Of course, Jesus is God, and so he did not do this because he had need of divine intervention, but to make plain to us the true source of our power. As we seek to help others, we must never forget to look up to heaven for the help we need. If we turn our eyes from God to ourselves, any ministry we undertake on behalf of those in need will most surely fail.

The third point in our Lord's pattern of ministry is expressed in a very strange way. Saint Mark writes "he looked up to heaven and groaned." What a remarkable thing! At this moment when our Lord manifests his divine power, he groans—he sighs! This is just the sort of human detail which Saint Mark loves to record, but what did this groan mean? Why did our Lord sigh? Perhaps it indicated fatigue. We know that, in his human nature, our blessed Lord often grew tired and weak. This fact reassures us that human weakness is no obstacle to effective ministry, because when we show the love of Christ to others, it is God's power at work, not our own. As Saint Paul writes, "When I am weak, it is then that I am strong."

But there's more to it than this. A groan or a sigh often express sorrow. And certainly our Lord was saddened by the affliction of this man. It made him sigh with empathy that the man had suffered for so long without the gift of hearing and without the ability to speak clearly. We, too, must share in the sorrows of those to whom we minister—we must, in a genuine way, feel their pain; weeping with those who weep, sighing with those who sigh.

But I think there's something else which made our Lord sad. In his divine nature, Jesus saw to what use this man would put his new gifts of hearing and speech. In sorrow, he foresaw the evil things the man would hear—the gossip and slander, the lies and false doctrine which would enter this man's mind through his ears. And our Lord groaned as he thought of the sins into which this man could fall because of what he might hear. He also saw in his mind's eye the sins of the tongue which this man might commit. He could hear the hurtful words which could come from these newly opened lips, the curses born of anger and hatred, the cynical remarks and filthy jokes which help no one and harm so many souls.

Perhaps it was this knowledge which made our Lord groan. And yet he did not withhold the gift of hearing and speech from the man. In his mercy and love he gave him these precious gifts as he gives them to each one of us who can hear and speak. Because he also knew that these ears would hear the sweet sounds of his creation—birds singing, children laughing, wind blowing through the trees—to say nothing of the life-giving sound of his own voice speaking the message of salvation. And he knew that the man's loosened tongue could now burst into songs of praise, as the Prophet Isaiah wrote, and could now proclaim the wonderful works of God to others.

You see, just because a gift can be used for evil purposes, does not mean it should not be given. And so, perhaps it was more a sigh of relief than a groan of sadness when our Lord uttered that command in Aramaic, "Ephphatha!—be opened!" Because he knew the good which would come of these gifts.

But what about us? How do we use these precious and fragile gifts of hearing and speech? What kind of sounds do we allow to enter into our ears? Are they sounds of beauty, holiness, and truth? Or are they ugly and discordant sounds—voices of anger and hatred. While it is impossible to control everything that we hear, do we willingly open our ears to gossip and the account of other people's faults? Do we take delight in hearing of the evil done by or to others? And what about the use of our tongue? Saint James writes that this tiny member of the body commits some of the biggest sins of all. How many times during the course of a week—or even during a single day—do we say things that we later regret? And once the words are spoken, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to retract them. And yet this same instrument of speech can also be used for great good—to praise God and to build people up.

Our Lord Jesus certainly has done everything well, and he calls us to follow in his footsteps. We are called to imitate his pattern of life in all of our words and deeds—in our service to our brothers and sisters and in the use of the gifts he has given us. May the Lord help us in his grace to bring his love to all.

© 2003, The Rev. Timothy W. Castor