Coffee With God

 

Reflection: Mark 7:31-37

Prophet Jeremiah calls Israel a “stupid and senseless people, who have eyes and do not see, who have ears and do not hear” (Jer 5:21)! Deafness, in the Bible, is the image of the rejection of God’s word. It shows the condition of a person seduced by misleading voices. It is a severe disease, but the Lord has promised to heal it. The place where the miraculous healing of the deaf and mute person is set in Decapolis, a pagan territory. Chapter 5 of the Gospel according to Mark speaks of Jesus in this same region driving out a legion of demons from a possessed man. In today’s gospel, the sick to be healed is “a deaf and mute man.” The healing work of Jesus marks the beginning of new relationships between peoples, religions, and cultures. Anyone who does not dialogue with others, who remain close in his world, who thinks he has nothing more to learn, is a deaf and dumb person. The deaf and dumb in today’s Gospel represents all those who have not opened their ears to the voice of God and refuse to profess their faith in Him. Jesus takes him away from the crowd. When in the midst of the crowd, there are too many noises – ideologies of the world – which prevent him from listening to the voice of God. To listen to the voice of God, it is important to come away from the opposing ideologies and noises of the outside world. Jesus puts his finger into the man’s ears” (v. 33). The finger of God is a symbol of the power of God. In Luke 11:20, Jesus tells that he “drives out demons by the finger of God.” In the sacrament of baptism, this act is repeated with a prayer: “Lord Jesus who made the deaf hear and the mute speak, grant us the privilege of listening soon to your Word and to profess faith in you.” Among the Jewish traditions, saliva was considered a concentrated breath. Breath belongs to God. Touching the tongue of the deaf-mute with his saliva, Jesus gives him his breath, his Spirit. The sick man – the sick humanity is commanded Ephphatha – be opened – to listen to the voice of God and to profess their faith in Him. “He has done all things well,” the crowd cries out. Similar words were used in the Book of Genesis after completing each creation – “God saw that it was good. Luke presents to us the new man – the new creation of God – who listens to God’s voice and speaks his gospel to the world. What are the noises and ideologies that prevent us from listening to God’s voice today?