Gospel Reflection For The 9th day of February in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Mark 7:31-37
31 And again going out of the coasts of Tyre, he came by Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring to him one deaf and dumb; and they besought him that he would lay his hand upon him. 33 And taking him from the multitude apart, he put his fingers into his ears, and spitting, he touched his tongue: 34 And looking up to heaven, he groaned, and said to him: Ephpheta, which is, Be thou opened. 35 And immediately his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke right.
36 And he charged them that they should tell no man. But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal did they publish it. 37 And so much the more did they wonder, saying: He hath done all things well; he hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
“He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” This was a sign that Jesus was the Messiah, based on Old Testament prophecy. Those who said this were proclaiming that Jesus was the Christ. In that light, it seems strange that Jesus forbade the man whom He healed to tell people. This was much as He had forbade demons to proclaim His divinity. Why would Jesus not openly proclaim that He was the one they had waited for so long and suspected Him to be? The answer is found in today’s Psalm:
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels."
So often had the Jews rejected God and turned to foreign gods and foreign powers for help, rather than trusting in God and relying on Him alone, so often had they rejected and even killed His prophets, that God would no longer show Himself to them plainly. They were being given one last chance, but God would not make it easy. Rather than coming in glory, Jesus appeared as a “sign that would be contradicted.” In order to be saved, they would have to make a determined act of will to believe in Jesus and to follow Him no matter what. They would have to abandon their Jewish traditions and identity. They would no longer be welcome in the synagogues. This was the sword that our Lord promised – to become Christian meant that the Jew would risk being rejected by parents, spouses, children and their community.
Had Jesus come in power, as many expected to be the sign of the Messiah, the Jews would have had no choice but to believe. No conversion of heart would have been necessary. By coming as He did, He gave them a choice, respecting free will. Many believed in Him. Many even among the religious officials believed He was the Messiah because of the signs He showed in fulfilling the prophecies. Yet, they still rejected Him and had Him crucified. How many who hailed Him just days before as the King of the Jews, chanted “Crucify Him” and “We have no king but Cesar.” just days later?
It can be hard for us to understand because, as I often say, we know how the story ends. But, how many Catholics in our era do the same when they refuse to accept Church teaching on abortion, marriage and homosexuality (etc.)? There are many who identify as Catholic and believe in Jesus as God, who will not accept Him as Lord of their lives. They reject His authority and that of His Church. We must wonder, if Jesus appeared today and demanded an end to such evils, how many supposed Catholics would stop their ears and shout, “Crucify Him. We have no king but liberal secularism!”?
A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass readings January-June, 2024. may be purchased as a .pdf directly from me using this link https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-daily-catholic-devotional-reflections.html or in paperback on Amazon amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q
I am also giving the .pdf as a free Thank You gift to anyone who becomes a paid subscriber to The Uncensored Catholic newsletter.
Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.