HOMILY FOR 5TH FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR B

HOMILY FOR 5TH FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B

THEME: HE DOES ALL THINGS WELL.

FR. KARABARI PAUL

‘He has done all things well; he even makes the dead hear and the mute speak.’

Some studies have found that men speak an average of 7,000 words a day. Those same studies say that women speak on average 20,000 words a day. There you go! Nearly three times as much as men (smiling). It would be hard to overestimate the importance of communication, and we must not forget that it is the very nature of God to communicate, as John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word…” So whatever takes away anyone’s ability to communicate is really bad. Our world is made up of sounds, but for the deaf, it is a silent world.

The Gospel (Mark 7:31-37), presents the case of a man who was not only deaf but also had speaking impediment. He had a speech difficulty and could not communicate properly. He could not hear, and he could hardly talk. Now, right away, we understand that this man’s conditions made it impossible for him to have heard about Jesus or to ask him for healing had he learned about him. Others must have intervened on his behalf. This man was totally dependent on others for the help that he needed.

There is no mention that this man had any faith. It seems that he did not even know why he was being brought to Jesus. What could he have heard about Jesus? Nothing. He was deaf. What did he know? The word of God says in Romans 10:17, ‘Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.’

This man was brought to Jesus. We must bring to Jesus those who can not bring themselves (remember the paralysed man and his friends?). Second, in their limited ability, they turned to Jesus. While they could do nothing to heal this man, they believed that Jesus could do something for their deaf friend. They had a certain level of faith in Jesus. They had seen or heard of what Jesus could do. Perhaps they had heard of other miracles that Jesus had done in Galilee.

We frequently come to the end of our resources. We are stopped by our limitations. We come to an end of ourselves and must turn to God. Perhaps we may be concerned for our own children, but we realize that while we may have done our best, our best was not good enough. Our best cannot bring about the best results. And so we must turn to Jesus and ask him to do what we can not do. We beg him to lay his hand on their lives, to change their hearts, to do what he alone can do.

Jesus led the man away from the crowd so that they could be alone. Why does Jesus do that? Wouldn’t he want everyone to see what he was going to do? Well, imagine this man as he grew up. He has always been a spectacle. Just imagine the way people made fun of him all his life. Jesus knew this and refused to make a spectacle of him now. He was identifying with him emotionally. This healing was different because this man’s needs were different. This man was deaf. This deaf man had been shut out of the world of sound. He had certainly not heard anything about Jesus with his ears. He might not have even known why the people had brought him to Jesus. Jesus can not speak to him as he would speak to someone else, so he identified with the man by entering his world of silence and speaking to him in a language that the deaf man could understand. Jesus spoke to him in a kind of sign language.

Jesus placed his fingers in the man’s ears and removed them. He was telling the man, “I am going to remove the blockage in your hearing.” He spat and touched the man’s tongue. He was telling him, “I am going to remove the blockage in your mouth.” He looked up toward heaven to tell the man, “It is God alone who is able to do this for you.” Jesus wanted the man to understand that it was not magic but God’s grace that healed him.

Then Jesus sighed. This could be translated that Jesus groaned. He groaned because of the pain. He identifies with us and feels our pain. This man had suffered the pain of silence, the pain of trying to communicate, yet being unable to talk. Jesus felt the pain. He felt the pain of our sin and the terrible consequences that sin has brought upon the world. Jesus knows. Jesus cares. As he looked up to heaven to let the man know that it was God alone who was doing this for him. And indeed, our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Jesus is still doing all things well. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. God bless you and your household always through Christ our Lord Amen. You remain in my prayers. Good morning

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