20180209
CREATIVE APPROACHES TO THE PROCLAMATION OF THE
GOOD NEWS
09 FEBRUARY, 2018, Friday, 5th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Kings 11:29-32,12:19 ©
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Solomon is unfaithful; the Lord moderates his wrath
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One day when Jeroboam had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet
Ahijah of Shiloh accosted him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak; the
two of them were in the open country by themselves. Ahijah took the new cloak
he was wearing and tore it into twelve strips, saying to Jeroboam, ‘Take ten
strips for yourself, for thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel, “I am going
to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and give ten tribes to you. He shall
keep one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem,
the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.’
And Israel
has been separated from the House of David until the present day.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 80(81):10-15 ©
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I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
Let there be no foreign god among you.
no worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you from the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
But my people did not heed my voice
and Israel would not obey,
so I left them in their stubbornness of heart
to follow their own designs.
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
O that my people would heed me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
At once I would subdue their foes,
turn my hand against their enemies.
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 7:31-37 ©
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'He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak'
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Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon
towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they
brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him
to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put
his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then
looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be
opened.’ And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened
and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the
more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was
unbounded. ‘He has done all things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and
the dumb speak.’
CREATIVE APPROACHES TO THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOOD NEWS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 KGS 11:29-32; 12:19; PS 81:10-15; MK 7:31-37
]
Being able to
praise God is a sign that one is restored to wholeness. Indeed, that was what
happened when Jesus healed the deaf and dumb man. The on-lookers, and
presumably the healed man as well, could not contain their joy and admiration
for Jesus. Hence, they publicly gave testimony to the wonderful works of
Jesus. Praise and gratitude therefore is an indication of one’s encounter
with God and His goodness. That is why when we come across people who are
happy and liberated, we know that they have been touched by the love and
goodness of God. Conversely, if we come across people who are
pessimistic and negative towards life, it is because they are unable to receive
the Good News from God. Like the deaf and dumb man, they are unable
to speak or proclaim God’s mighty works since they have not heard the Good
News. They are truly sick at heart and in the mind.
But why
were they unable to hear? This impediment to hearing is not simply a
physical impediment but an impediment of the heart, a heart that is hurt,
broken and hardened. As a result, they could not see nor feel goodness in
their lives as they were no longer open to the wonders of God around
them. This was the case with King Solomon and the son of Solomon,
Rehoboam. Solomon, we were told in yesterday’s reading, could no longer
listen to the voice of God as he was led astray by his foreign wives to worship
false gods. His son, Rehoboam too, was unable to hear his people’s cries
to the forced labour and exorbitant taxes imposed on the northern tribes of
Israel. Instead of attending to their needs, he increased the taxes all the
more. Such insensitivity necessarily resulted in a rebellion led by his
former military leader, Jeroboam, which eventually split the kingdom of David
into two.
How, then,
can we reach out to those who are unable to hear the good news? If the direct proclamation
of the Word is not possible, then we must find other ways of reaching out to
those who are physically or psychologically impeded from hearing. We must
help them to remove those obstacles, be they spiritual, emotional or
psychological. We can proclaim the Word of God by our actions instead. As
is often said, a picture is worth a thousand words. Actions certainly
speak louder than words. Hence in today’s scripture readings, we find the
use of prophetic actions to proclaim the message of God. In the first
reading, Ahijah the prophet conveyed the message of God to Jeroboam through the
prophetic ot by taking the new cloak he was wearing and
tearing it into twelve pieces and giving ten strips to Jeroboam, signifying
that the latter would be given ten tribes from the kingdom of Solomon. In
the same way too, Jesus also healed the deaf and dumb man using some physical
action, like putting His fingers into the man’s ears and touching his tongue
with His spittle. If Jesus had chosen such a complicated way to heal the
man, it was not because Jesus needed to, but because Jesus knew that the deaf
and dumb man needed that assurance since he could not hear. The physical
contact enabled the deaf and dumb man to be open to Jesus.
What, then, are
the implications for us in our ministry? Firstly, if we are to
proclaim the Good News, we must proclaim it in such a way that the listeners
can hear the message. We must make use of all possible means to reach
out to others in ways that they can understand and identify with us. If
they cannot hear the message we are proclaiming, we need to make use of
whatever resources that are available to us. For this to be possible, we
must first come to them on their own terms and not ours. Indeed, God
reaches out to us as we are, just as Jesus reached out to the deaf and dumb man
in his limited condition. That is why He had to employ physical actions
to heal him so that if the man could not hear, at least he could feel.
Secondly,
this healing miracle illustrates the importance of signs, sacraments and
sacramentals.
Sacramentalism cannot be ignored in our communication of the Good News.
This explains why the Catholic Church places great emphasis on the liturgy and
the use of sacramentals in the liturgy so that the Good News is not only heard
but felt in the heart as well. For this reason, the Church reintroduced
the rites of scrutiny and the praying over in order to gradually prepare
Catechumens for the sacrament of baptism. We must never under-estimate
the power of signs and symbols employed in the liturgy. Of course, the
use of signs must be extended to our daily life as well. It is through
signs of love, welcome and good works that people can feel the Good News in
person in concrete terms in their own lives.
Thirdly, in reaching
out to our listeners, we must respect their dignity and pride. Here again, Jesus was
sensitive to the deaf and dumb man and thus He took him aside, away from the
peering eyes of the crowd. He did so presumably because He did not want
to embarrass the man in case he found it too unnerving to utter the first few
words, which would probably sound distorted. We too must be sensitive to the
needs of our audience when bringing the Good News to others. For example,
in reconciliation, we need not have to hear the words, “I forgive” or “I’m
sorry” before forgiveness is effected. Some of us might be too proud to
ask for forgiveness or even to utter the words of forgiveness. But very
often, the signs of forgiveness or asking for forgiveness are already there and
we just need to notice them. Another example is helping people
financially or in kind. Even in giving we must respect the pride of the
other person and not embarrass the recipient, making him feel small by
receiving our gifts.
Yes, the gospel
tells us that Jesus had done all things well. He made “the deaf hear and
the dumb speak.” We too, if we truly want to do all things well
and be effective in our ministry, then we must be sensitive and creative like
Jesus to our potential listeners. We must reach out to them on their
own terms, with great sensitivity manifested in concrete action. Only
then will they be able to praise Him unceasingly for His great love and works
for them with their lips.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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