Posted on 09/08/2024 7:14:45 AM PDT by fidelis
He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”—that is, “Be opened!”—And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. Mark 7:33–35
One interesting point in this story is that the people who brought this deaf and mute man to Jesus begged Him to “lay his hand on him” so as to heal him. But what did Jesus do? Instead, He took the man away from the crowd, put His divine finger into the man’s ears, touched the man’s tongue with His own sacred saliva and the man was cured. At first, the act of putting your finger into someone else’s ear and touching their tongue with your own saliva may seem repulsive. Normally it would be. To understand these two actions, we must understand the symbolism.
The image of a finger is used a number of times in the Scriptures to refer to God’s power. In the Book of Exodus after the plague of the gnats, Pharaoh's magicians said that this was clearly done “by the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). On the mountain when Moses received the Ten Commandments we know that it was also God’s finger that wrote them (Exodus 31:18). In the book of Daniel, a finger appeared and wrote a prophetic message on a wall (Daniel 5:5). In the New Testament, Jesus cast out a demon “by the finger of God” (Luke 11:20) and in today’s Gospel He healed this man’s hearing with His finger. The “finger of God” is understood as the power of God and an action of the Holy Spirit. Thus, by using His sacred finger to heal, Jesus was symbolically revealing that He fully exercised the power of God and acted in perfect union with the Holy Spirit and the Father.
The image of saliva is also interesting. Perhaps you have noticed that when an animal has a wound it often licks that wound. This is a natural instinct but also one that makes sense. Saliva has a certain medicinal power of healing. It contains antibacterial agents. Therefore, since normal saliva can help heal a wound, Jesus’s saliva is able to heal in a supernatural way. Recall, also, that Jesus healed a blind man by spitting on the ground and then smearing the mud on his eyes (John 9:6).
Did Jesus need to use His finger and His saliva to heal this man? Certainly not. He could have done it with a mere thought. But He chose to use His body as an instrument of His healing power. Doing so reveals to us that Jesus’ humanity became the source of unity between God and man. Even His finger and His saliva unite us to God. Everything about the Son of God in His human form dispensed grace, healing and mercy. Even that which may, at first, seem most repulsive.
Though there is much we can take from this passage, one thing that should not be missed is that if Jesus chose to use His finger and even his saliva to dispense His power, so, also, He desires to continue using the members of His Body to distribute His grace. By Baptism, you are a member of Christ’s Body, the Church...
Reflect, today, upon the image of Jesus healing this deaf and mute man. If you ever feel as though God cannot use you, call to mind the way in which our Lord worked this miracle. If God can use His finger and His saliva, He certainly can use you, no matter how unworthy or sinful you may be. This miracle shows us that God can use all things for His glory for the simple reason that He is God. Humble yourself and offer yourself to God to use you as He wills. Doing so will give God the opportunity to manifest His almighty power through you.
My healing Lord, when You took on human form, You united divinity with humanity. Through Your sacred humanity, You poured forth Your grace and mercy and continue to do so today. Please use me, dear Lord, as an instrument of Your grace. May I always humbly see myself as Your unworthy instrument, whom You choose to use despite my unworthiness. Jesus, I trust in You.
Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you.
"Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” ”
(Luke 2:34-35)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Isaiah 35:1-7a
Promise of Redemption
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[1] The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus [2] it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.
[3] Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. [4] Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” [5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; [6] then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; [7a] the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water…
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Commentary:
35:1-10 The focus now changes with this hymn celebrating Zion, the holy city. It presents a picture of the restored Jerusalem in language reminiscent of that of chapters 11 and 12. God who manifested his presence and protection during the exodus, when Israel came up out of Egypt, will do so again in wonderful ways as the redeemed flock back home to Zion. He will show them the route and give them a highway and be with them in a sort of solemn procession to where he dwells (v. 8). Just as in Babylon there was a “Holy Way” lined with statues of lions and dragons that led to the temple of Marduk, the redeemed will have a truly “Holy Way” to take them to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. The joy of the returnees is compounded by the instant cure of the blind, deaf and lame (cf. 29:18-19), which is an anticipation of what will happen in the messianic era.
The miracles worked by Jesus demonstrate that the moment of true redemption foreseen indistinctly by the prophets has come to pass (cf. Mt 11:2-6). St Justin, showing the Jew Tryphon that this prophecy found fulfillment in Christ, points out: “Christ is the stream of living water that flows from God; he sprang up in the desert wastes of ignorance of God; that is, in the parched earth of all the nations. He, who was born among your people, cured those who were blind from birth, and the deaf and the lame: by his word alone, they leapt and heard and saw once more. He raised the dead and gave them new life, and by all his good works prompted men to see Him for who he is. [...] He did all these things to convince those who were to believe in him, whatever bodily defects they might have, that if they obeyed the teachings that he gave them, he would raise them up again at his Second Coming and make them whole and perfect and immortal as He is” ("Dialogus Cum Tryphone", 69,6).
The Church uses this passage from Isaiah in the Advent liturgy (3rd Sunday, Cycle A) to encourage the faithful in joyous hope that God will come and bring salvation.
Second Reading:
From: James 2:1-7
Respect for the Poor
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[1] My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. [2] For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, [3] and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "Have a seat here, please," while you say to the poor man, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," [4] have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? [5] Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him? [6] But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court? [7] Is it not they who blaspheme that honorable name by which you are called?
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Commentary:
1-13. Apparently some of the Christians to whom this letter was addressed were guilty of discriminating against people on the grounds of social standing--a clear instance of inconsistency between faith and actions, a key theme which James has already touched on (cf. 1:19-27) and will develop later (cf. 2:14-26). He may well be taking an example from something that actually happened (verses 1-4) to make the very vigorous point that discrimination is opposed to the Gospel (verses 5-7) as indeed to the Law (verses 8-11); and he makes it plain that this type of behavior will be severely punished by God when He comes to judge (verses 12-13).
1-4. God "is not partial and takes no bribe" (Deuteronomy 10:17). Discrimination among people is often condemned in the Old Testament—in the Law as well as in the Prophets and the Wisdom books (cf., e.g. Leviticus 19:15; Isaiah 5:23; Micah 3:9-11; Psalm 82:2-4). In the Gospel even our Lord's enemies admit that He is impartial and does not make unfair distinctions (cf. Matthew 22:16).
In line with this teaching, the Church takes issue with every form of discrimination. "All men are endowed with a rational soul and are created in God's image; they have the same nature and origin and, being redeemed by Christ, they enjoy the same divine calling and destiny; there is here a basic equality between men and it must be given ever greater recognition. Undoubtedly not all men are alike as regards physical capacity and intellectual and moral powers. But forms of social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language or religion, must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 29).
1. "The faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory": literally "the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory." This phrase can be interpreted in slightly different ways depending on how one understands "of glory". The most likely interpretation is that this is an instance of a Semitic genitive used in place of the adjective "glorious" or "glorified"; in which case St. James is referring to Jesus Christ who, after His ascension and resurrection, enjoys, also in His capacity as man, the highest honor and glory.
The RSV takes up the idea found in 1 Corinthians 2:8 where St. Paul calls Christ "the Lord of glory": since in the Old Testament "glory" was the splendor of the majesty of Yahweh (cf. Exodus 24:16), by applying this divine attribute to Christ His divinity is being explicitly asserted. If this is the correct translation, it may be a form of words taken from early Christian liturgy.
Some translate it in another way which puts even greater stress on Christ's divinity: "The faith of the glory (that is, the divinity) of our Lord Jesus Christ."
All these translations are compatible with one another and complementary to one another.
5-7. Many of the people to whom the letter was written must have been quite poor (cf. note on 1:2-4; 1 Corinthians 1:26-29). St. James reminds them that God wants to make them rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus in fact had given as a sign of His messiahship the fact that the Gospel is proclaimed to the poor (cf. Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22) and He also taught that "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:3). "Christ was sent by the Father 'to preach good news to the poor...to heal the contrite of heart' (Luke 4:18), 'to seek and to save the lost' (Luke 19:10). Similarly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human misery and she recognizes in those who are poor and who suffer, the image of her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve Christ" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 8).
Of the rich on the other hand, the Apostle speaks with unusual harshness. As elsewhere in Sacred Scripture, those who deserve such severe condemnation are people who are bent on building up their possession as if ownership were the only purpose in life, not minding what means they used, and oppressing and ill-treating the poor (cf. note on Luke 6:24).
Behavior of this type is so serious that it amounts to "blaspheming that honorable name by which you are called" (verse 7) --blasphemy by scandalous action rather than by words. This "name" can mean both the name "Jesus"--called down on them at Baptism--and that of "Christian", a name already being given to those first followers of the Master (cf. Acts 11:26).
What St. James says here can in no sense be used to justify the "class struggle" which some materialistic doctrines propose. The Magisterium of the Church has often pointed out that the application of Christian principles should make for harmony and concord between the various groups in society (cf. Leo XIII, "Rerum Novarum", 14). James' words certainly do urge everyone to make a real effort to promote the human dignity of all: "The evil inequities and oppression of every kind which afflict millions of men and women today openly contradict Christ's Gospel and cannot leave the conscience of any Christian indifferent" (SCDF, "Libertatis Conscientia", 57).
Gospel Reading:
From: Mark 7:31-37
The Curing of a Deaf Man
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[31] Then He (Jesus) returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. [32] And they brought Him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought Him to lay His hand upon him. [33] And taking him aside from the multitude privately, He put His fingers into his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue; [34] and looking up to Heaven, He sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." [35] And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. [36] And He charged them to tell no one; but the more He charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. [37] And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; He even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."
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Commentary:
32-33. Sacred Scripture quite often shows the laying on of hands as a gesture indicating the transfer of power or blessing (cf. Genesis 48:14ff; 2 Kings 5:11; Luke 13:13). Everyone knows that saliva can help heal minor cuts. In the language of Revelation fingers symbolized powerful Divine action (cf. Exodus 8:19; Psalm 8:4; Luke 11:20). So Jesus uses signs which suit in some way the effect He wants to achieve, though we can see from the text that the effect--the instantaneous cure of the deaf and dumb man--far exceeds the sign used.
In the miracle of the deaf and dumb man we can see a symbol of the way God acts on souls: for us to believe, God must first open our heart so we can listen to His word. Then, like the Apostles, we too can proclaim the "magnalia Dei", the mighty works of God (cf. Acts 2:11). In the Church's liturgy (cf. the hymn "Veni Creator") the Holy Spirit is compared to the finger of the right hand of God the Father ("Digitus paternae dexterae"). The Consoler produces in our souls, in the supernatural order, effects comparable to those which Christ produces in the body of the deaf and dumb man.
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