20220211 SPIRITUAL DEAFNESS OF THE RICH AND THE INTELLIGENT
11 February, 2022, Friday, Week 5 in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Kings 11:29-32,12:19 © |
Solomon is unfaithful; the Lord moderates his wrath
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 80(81):10-15 © |
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.
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.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Ac16:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 7:31-37 © |
'He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak'
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.’
SPIRITUAL DEAFNESS OF THE RICH AND THE INTELLIGENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Kgs 11:29-32,12:19; Ps 81:10-15; Mk 7:31-37]
It is an irony that some intelligent and successful people do their work very well, or are skilled in their profession, but when it comes to living their life, they are a mess. Indeed, we read of great politicians and even religious leaders who can manage people and things but they cannot manage their personal relationships and family life. Some of these people include counsellors and psychologists. They can tell people what to do and provide them the right solutions but in their own life, they are suffering burn out. They lack the wisdom to do the right thing.
This was the case of King Solomon. In spite of his wisdom and skilful administration of the country, he lived the life of a fool. Instead of worshipping Yahweh, he followed other gods and built temples for them in high places. He knew who God was, but did not worship Him only. He could not see that his attachment to the nations and their princesses would make it difficult for him to remain faithful to the covenant. He should have known better. But he did not. Instead he sought the support of the Sidonians and the Ammonites as they contributed to Israel’s security and wealth. Such alliances weakened his faith and loyalty to God. The author of Kings ascribed the division of his kingdom and the eventual destruction of the Northern Kingdom, followed by the collapse of the Davidic Dynasty in Judah to his infidelity to God and failure to observe the commands of the Lord, especially in taking foreign wives and bringing idolatry to the land. The consequences of Solomon’s sins would soon take effect upon his death. The prophet Ahijah told Jeroboam that God was tearing the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and leaving him with one tribe, and the rest would go to him. “And Israel has been separated from the House of David until the present day.”
It is tragic when so-called professional and intelligent people are blind to their own failures and lose perspective in managing their own life, especially when they seem wise in leading others. This happens because of their failure to focus on the ultimate value from which everything depends. In truth, we are no better than Solomon. We can tell our children and our workers and those under us what to do with their life but we cannot manage our own. We do not make God the centre of our life even in Church and in ministry. We end up being ambitious, wanting to be better than others when glorifying God. Like Solomon, when God is displaced, everything else loses perspective.
Even though Solomon had been idealized as the wise and wealthy king, he was a foolish man. Jesus spoke of the glory of Solomon dressed in splendour and how the queen of the south came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, yet he could not be compared to our Lord. He was a wise and great king but also foolish and weak towards women. He allowed his wealth and his lust to overcome him and erode his power and fidelity to God. He was unable to see what truly mattered. He was unable to hear the Word of God any longer. This was in contrast to David. For all his failures, he was considered a faithful servant of Yahweh. He was open to correction and the judgment of God. He sought forgiveness when he was reprimanded. He tried to be faithful to Him and he would sing praises and thanksgiving to Him by composing the psalms. David was not deaf to the Word of God, although he was weak at times.
In the gospel, the emphasis is on spiritual deafness. Many of us are also unable to hear the voice of God today. The healing of the deaf man with an impediment in his speech is but the imagery of the situation in the world today. Not just the world but even God’s people. We may be Catholics but we do not always open our ears to God. We are drowned by the noises of the world, the entertainment offered to us. This is why our speech today is also worldly, salacious, sensual, and always about money, beauty, dressing and food of course. Our conversation is often not life-giving. When we gather, we gossip, talk about fun and adventure, we laugh but we do not share life struggles, find direction and inspire. That is why most conversations are shallow and not inspiring or meaningful. And worse still, as St Paul would say, we say words that are unhelpful or hurting, grieving the Holy Spirit instead of building up a person. (cf Eph 4:29-32)
This was why the Lord sighed and said to the man, “‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.'” We need to open our ears to the Lord and listen to Him attentively. Making time to be quiet before the Lord every day, or go for a retreat or recollection is necessary to listen to the voice of God attentively. The hustle and bustle of modern life distracts us from giving quality time to the Lord as there are so many activities taking up our time. Yet, without the discipline of making time for the Lord, we may not be able to hear God’s word speaking to us afresh. And if we have not listened, how can we speak the Word of God, life-giving words to others?
But some of us are not quite ready to listen to the Word of God because of pride, fear of embarrassment and scepticism. There are some people who want to attend church services or get baptized but because they are high profile public figures – public servants, celebrities or big-time businessmen, they are afraid that they might be marginalized or ridiculed for their faith. Jesus was aware that some were seeking to find God in Him but were afraid of being seen with Him, such as Nicodemus. He took people where they were and did not insist on His own terms, as in the case of the Centurion. To this deaf man with an impediment in his speech, we are told that Jesus immediately “took him aside in private, away from the crowd.” He wanted to give this embarrassed man some privacy, since he might be too intimidated to open his mouth to utter anything in public for fear that people would laugh at the unintelligible sounds he made.
Secondly, communication of the Good News is done in a personal manner. We must learn how to communicate the Word of God to our listeners using the right means of communication, which includes not just tools, and platforms but also personal touch. Ironically, the only language that people can appreciate and understand is the language of love expressed concretely in signs and actions. Truly, we must never forget that before languages were introduced, the most primitive way to communicate was through sign language, which is to act out what we want to say. Regardless how we choose to communicate, as communicators of the Good News, we need to connect with the hearts of people, not just their heads. Just as in the gospel, Jesus gave His personal touch to the deaf man by putting his fingers into the man’s ears, letting him know that He was going to open his ears, and then to heal his speech impediment by touching his tongue with spittle. Letting the man know that He was praying to the God of Heaven and Earth, Jesus looked up to heaven and sighed before He said to him, “Ephphatha!” In all these actions, Jesus conveyed His love and healing power.
Finally, when we reach out to those who have difficulty hearing the Word of God, not only do we respect the listener’s privacy, but we are called to focus entirely on the person’s needs and fears. Our motives must be sincere and genuine. Jesus did not heal the man in order to make a show of Himself or gain Himself some publicity and glory. His intention was sincere. It was for the healing of the deaf man. He was no faith healer like what we see today, when healing miracles are held publicly to gain attention and make money from their audience. The patients are made use of by the faith healer to gain publicity for themselves. But Jesus did not. On the contrary, “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.'” We too must be mediums of God’s Word to all. We need to bear witness to Him, especially in a world where the rich, the powerful, the intelligent and the proud often think highly of themselves and mislead those that they influence.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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