23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cathedral of Mary Our Queen Livestreaming and TV Broadcast
September 8th, 2024
Miracle Ear
You may have seen Miracle Ear advertisements on T.V. These devices, and many others like them, promise to enhance the hearing of folks like me who aren’t getting any younger. But the original “miracle ear” is found in today’s Gospel where Jesus heals a deaf man who was also unable to speak.
That is why friends and neighbors brought him to Jesus. He wasn’t able to get to Jesus on his own; he needed their help. Once he encountered Jesus, notice the attention he gave to this man. He didn’t simply say, “Be cured” – and let it go with that. No, Jesus took him aside and dealt with him personally, and see what he did. He placed his fingers in the man’s ears and touched his tongue with his spittle. He prayed to his heavenly Father, groaning as he did so, and then solemnly pronounced the word, “Ephphatah!” that is, “Be Opened!” In doing all this, Jesus performed an outward sign of inward healing, thus foreshadowing the pattern of the Church’s sacramental life: words and actions, outward signs, that bring about inward grace.
The Deaf Man’s Experience
Well, what was the result of Jesus’ miracle? First, we might well imagine the man’s amazement. It must have been like breaking out of isolation. Not only could he hear, he could speak plainly! He could hear the voices of loved ones and respond to them, perhaps his mother and father, brothers and sisters. He could hear the sounds of nature and the chatter of the crowd.… But the first voice he heard that of the Lord himself – and while the Gospel doesn’t tells us what this man said to Jesus, we can imagine that he uttered words of thanksgiving and praise, and expressed his desire to follow the One who had cured him.
Indeed, the Lord had restored to this man faculties of hearing and speech, and no doubt this wonderful miracle brought him untold joy. But in healing the man, the Lord had a deeper purpose in mind. He wanted not only to open the man’s ears but above all to open his heart to the good news of God’s love. In other words, he touched the man’s ears so as to open his heart so that he could not only hear but indeed listen to the words of “spirit and life” which he, the Word made flesh, God’s Incarnate Son, spoke like no other. So it was that this man experienced, not just physical healing, but that inward healing that comes about when our hearts are touched by the reality of God’s powerful love: a love that both creates anew and redeems, body and soul.
Baptismal Ephphatah
At our Baptism, something similar happened. After water was poured upon our heads and the Trinity was invoked, the priest or deacon touched our ears and repeated Jesus’ word in the Gospel: “Ephphatah!” – “Be Opened!” – And this was said to us no matter the condition of our physical hearing. “Ephphatah!” – “Be Opened!”
Whether we were baptized as infants or later in life, Jesus pronounces that same word upon us again today. For in the Gospel, he speaks, not only to the man he is about to cure, he also speaks to us, individually and collectively. He seeks to cure our inability and our unwillingness to listen to him and to listen to one another in the life of the Church. He seeks to open our hearts to the words of “spirit and life” that echo and re-echo in Scripture & in the teaching and worship of the Church. Let us then allow the Lord to place his hands not only on our ears but also on our hearts, so that they may be opened more widely to his truth and love, so that we may find our voice to proclaim plainly his goodness and love.
When we look into the lives of the saints, we see that something similar happened to them. At some point, they heard the Lord’s words with new clarity, and their lives were changed forever, as for example, St. Augustine. In his Confessions, he describes the conversion he underwent, and how persistent the Lord was. … As he wrote to the Lord: “You called, you shouted, you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance upon me, and now I pant for you!”
Ears to Hear, a Voice to Speak, Eyes to See
Perhaps on this Sunday in the midst of what we call “Ordinary Time”, we can join together in making an extraordinary request of the Savior: Let us ask him for ears to hear, a voice with which to speak, and eyes with which to see . . .
Ears to hear and a heart to listen to the Lord, and indeed to one another. The root of the word “obedience” is the word “to listen” – and if our wills would come into harmony with God’s will we must journey together in listening to the Lord and conversing in the Spirit. It’s up to us, not merely hear the Word, but take it to heart. Not merely hear the Word, but receive the Word eucharistically. Not merely hear the Word but act on it, making it the center of our lives.
A voice to proclaim. Once Augustine heard, he proclaimed the truth of the Gospel like few others. We may not have Augustine’s talent and scholarship, but every baptized Catholic is called to proclaim the goodness of the Lord, to bear witness to how the Lord has touched and transformed their hearts, and, like the people in the Gospel, to bring others to the Lord for healing. This is what we call “evangelization”.
Finally, eyes to see—eyes to see those in need, spiritually and physically. Even as we hear, even as we proclaim, so too must we look beyond our circle of friends, beyond our comfort zone (just as the Letter to James instructs us), and welcome into our midst the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the poor. Only then have we really heard and authentically proclaimed … Ephphatah! Lord, open our ears! Lord, open our hearts! Lord, open our lips! Lord, open our eyes!