In the gospel of this XXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time, we find a sick person who must be healed; he is “a deaf man.” The healing ministry of Jesus marks the beginning of the new relationships that must exist between peoples, religions, and cultures. A person who does not enter into dialogue with others, who remains closed in his own world, and who thinks that he has nothing more to learn is a deaf person.
The deaf person in today’s Gospel represents all those people who have not opened their ears to the voice of God and refuse to profess their faith in Him. The first thing Jesus does is separate him from the crowd. Why does Jesus do this? Because when you are in the middle of the crowd, there is too much noise and too many thoughts and ideologies of the world, which prevent the person from hearing the voice of God. To hear the voice of God, it is important to get away from so much external noise and from so many ideas and views that are opposite to God’s message. That’s why, when we go on a retreat, we move away from what we normally do and where we normally live to get away from our daily agenda, enter into silence, and get out of the noise of the world and society.
When Jesus heals the deaf person, he puts his finger in the man’s ears. Let us remember that the finger of God is a symbol of the power of God. Additionally, among Jewish traditions, saliva was considered concentrated breath. The breath belongs to God. So, when Jesus touches the deaf person’s tongue with his saliva, Jesus is giving him his breath, his Spirit. The sick man is the sick humanity, which is ordered to open its ears, listen to God’s voice, and profess its faith in Him.
On the other hand, the gospel passage says that the crowd cheers: “He has done all things well.” If we remember well, in the Book of Genesis, after God created different things, similar words were used: “And God saw that it was good.” The evangelist presents us with the new humanity, the new creation of God, who are men and women, all the baptized, who hear the voice of God and preach his gospel to the world.
I invite you to take some time in prayer this week to reflect on the “noise” that prevents you from hearing the voice of God today and how that noise may be directly affecting you. Maybe today is a good day to ask the Lord to heal you so you can hear his voice and preach the Good News to others in word and deed. In other words, you may put your baptism into practice.
May the Lord give you his peace!
Fr. Lalo Jara, OFM
Pastor, Mission San Luis Rey Parish
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