23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isa 35:4-7
Jas 2:1-5
Mk 7:31-37
“Ephphatha!”, that is, “Be opened!””
Normally, the first reading and the Gospel are linked — it is especially clear this week, as Isaiah talks about the blind, deaf, lame and mute being healed and streams bursting forth in the desert. He precedes this prophecy of healing with the need to be strong and courageous.
Providentially, the second reading seems to back up this point by telling us to be impartial when we deal with people — fellow pilgrims. St James asks a very valid question, and it is a question addressed to each and every one of us. Do we pick and choose who we choose to show mercy, love and compassion to? Or do we see Jesus in the lowest, the lost, the lonely and the marginalized? Isaiah is telling us that the Lord will come to heal all in the same way St James is telling us to treat all with equal dignity, care and compassion.
The Gospels make it very clear that Jesus did not pick and choose. In fact, Jesus chooses the lowest and those most in need. We see and hear this quote very often, “It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick.” The church is a hospital for sinners. This is easy to say, but do we really live it out? Are we seeking out those who are really in need, those who are the furthest away from God? They need him the most!
Today’s Gospel is also very interesting in the way that Jesus answers the people who bring the deaf and speech impaired man to him, and beg him to lay his hand on him. Jesus takes him away, heals him and, not for the first time, orders those around him not to tell anyone; which, of course does not work.
Why then, did Jesus say not to tell anyone? Some scholars write that the Jews were expecting the Messiah to overthrow the Roman rulers and therefore, knowing this, Jesus did not want too much attention drawn to himself. Some others write that, and I prefer this explanation, it was due to Jesus not wanting people to focus on the miracles or come to believe in him due to miracles, but to focus on faith and repentance, which he was also preaching. So, are we miracle chasers in some way too?
In that way, do we not seek out the ordinary, but only the extraordinary? Can we find God in the simple people, simple practices and in coming back to the theme for today of a holistic faith — our simple faith?
“Be opened!” When our Lord says this, was he merely commanding that ears be opened and tongues be loosened? Or is he really speaking to each of us, asking us to be open — to God’s mercy, God’s love, God’s forgiveness. Being open is the prerequisite to receiving God’s healing, and also enables us to open our hearts to the people that need God’s love and presence the most.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Daryl De Payva)
Prayer: Open my heart Lord, to more of you, to be open to your miracles, and also to be open to those around me who need a touch of love and compassion the most.
Thanksgiving: Praise be to you Lord, for availing graces to me which I have not even opened myself to receive!
OXYGEN 
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