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February 13, 2015

In 1896, Dr. Hal Foster, an otolaryngologist in Kansas City, Missouri, called the first meeting of what would later become the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

But Jesus was already ahead of him thousands of years ago, when he cured this deaf man by putting his fingers into the ears, touching his tongue and shouting “Ephphetha” – and the man’s ears and tongue started to work perfectly. Christ was probably the first innovative EENT physician, who cured with divine power, without surgery or using MRI or any medical instrument.

It is important to emphasize how simple and yet how great this action of Christ to cure this man was. Christ looked up to heaven to his Father before healing the person.

Today Jesus can also heal us. We may not be deaf nor dumb, but we may not be using our mouth and ears as Christ would want us to do. We use our ears to listen to gossip and our tongue to speak ill, insult or destroy people. All the parts of our body have been created in order to utter the praise due to our God, but we have used them for our own motives and whims. And many times we have committed sin with our ears, eyes, mouth and tongue.

We have not evolved to develop into beings with Christian eyes, ears, mouth and tongue. For this, we need a special healing from Christ to give us new eyes, new ears, new mouth and new tongues. Ephpheta means “ be opened.” It means that when Christ cures us, we become open to do God’s will, with all the parts of our body. They cooperate in order to fulfill the mission of Christ to bring all men to Heaven. Let us deeply evaluate the state and especially the use of our ears, eyes, mouth and tongue and cry out to the Lord to heal us.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 31, Issue 2

<< Friday, February 13, 2015 >>

Genesis 3:1-8
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Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7

Mark 7:31-37
Similar Reflections

ANSWER THE FALL

"The woman answered the serpent." —Genesis 3:2

We read today's first reading and we want to shout: "Oh, Eve! Flee from the serpent! Don't give him the time of day. Oh, Adam! Don't eat it! Throw the fruit away!"

Through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, we have inherited a world polluted with sin and death (Rm 5:12). It's so tempting to want to put all the blame on Adam and Eve: "Now look what you've done. You messed up the whole world and now we have to live in your mess. It's all your fault." Yet that is exactly what Adam did: he shifted the blame from himself to Eve (Gn 3:12). Eve took her cue from Adam and shifted the blame to the serpent (Gn 3:13).

We have inherited a fallen nature from our first human parents, Adam and Eve. It's in our spiritual genes, and we can't help it. We are programmed to sin, and then to blame others for the consequences. But God is rich in mercy: He sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world to conquer sin and death. Jesus came to redeem us from our sins. Through His obedience, all of us can become just (Rm 5:19). We rejoice with the words of the Easter Vigil liturgy: "O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!"

Adam and Eve shifted the blame onto others. We have done the same. God, however, has shifted the weight of our sins onto Jesus. Give your fallen nature to Jesus, and receive His risen life.

Prayer: "I confess my faults to the Lord" (Ps 32:5). "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Lk 18:13).

Promise: "Their amazement went beyond all bounds: 'He has done everything well! He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!' " —Mk 7:37

Praise: Jesus healed Laura of a tumor in her neck.