Last Sunday, the readings are a call to hope and complete confidence in the Lord.
In a moment of darkness during the Exile, Isaiah comforts the Israelites; reminding them that God will eventually bring them back to the Promised Land. He talks of the wonders which will have complete fulfilment with the coming of the Messiah: the blind will see again, lame walk, deaf will hear and from the thirsty ground will arise springs of water.
With the coming of Christ, there came an inexhaustible spring of grace and pagan nations have been converted and souls transformed.
St James in the second reading today reminds us that all forms of discrimination (eg, whether due to race, colour, social condition, language or religion) are incompatible with God’s design. This is because every person is endowed with an immortal soul and has been created in God’s image and redeemed by Christ. All enjoy the same divine calling and destiny. As Christians we should desire that all come to know Christ, the source of happiness and eternal life. However, due to our free will, we make the choices.
In last Sunday’s Gospel Jesus cures the deaf mute. This took place in the Decapolis which was a federation of ten pagan cities within the area of Israel. It was two kilometres East of the Sea of Galilee. Everything about those cities was Greek. Alexander the Great had conquered and taken over the Near East, three centuries before Christ and the people had adopted the Greek culture he brought. This is where Jesus had cured the demoniac and cast a legion of demons into a herd of pigs, which charged down the cliff and perished in the lake. At the time the people were more concerned about the material loss of the pigs, than the cure of the demoniac.
However, now they are beginning to believe in Jesus. They bring to the Lord the deaf mute and ask Jesus to heal him. Jesus takes the man away from the crowd, then puts His fingers into the man’s ears and touches his tongue with spittle and looking up to Heaven says: Ephphatha, which is an Aramaic word meaning: Be Opened. Immediately the man is able to hear and the ligament of his tongue loosened, and he speaks clearly. The crowd are in awe and say:
He has done all things well….he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.
In this healing Jesus used visible signs. This miracle thus has a distinctive correlation to the sacraments, for a sacrament is a sacred sign that signifies, contains and communicates the grace of Christ. For example, in Baptism, water signifies the washing away of Original Sin. The sacred oils signify spiritual strengthening that takes place. The white garment signifies that the baptised has now been clothed with Christ. The Baptismal candle signifies the light of Christ as the newly Baptised begin their journey of Faith. In addition, in Baptism there is the option of blessing the ears which are the doorway for the Word of God and the lips to proclaim the Word of God. These blessings are in imitation of the miracle in today’s Gospel. Later the Baptised are fully initiated into the Church through the sacrament of Confirmation, which makes one a witness and soldier of Christ.
Later this month we celebrate the feast of a great witness in the early Church, St Januarius. He as martyred in Campania, Naples in 302. He was a holy Bishop who risked his life to visit and encourage fellow Christians who were imprisoned for their Faith. But on one of these visits, he was recognized, arrested and sentenced with others to be torn to pieces by wild beasts. But on the day of execution, the beasts were not interested in the free meal, despite prodding from the guards and eventually St Januarius and companions were beheaded. Christians who took his body for burial managed to keep some of his blood in a reliquary. On this Feast Day each year the blood miraculously liquefies. I personally saw this miracle in 2007 in the Cathedral of Naples, where the reliquary is kept. This is ongoing miracle which reminds us of the supreme witness of St Januarius, who shed his blood for Christ.
We all need to be witnesses to Jesus, so a strong Catholic identity is necessary. For example, every Catholic home should be recognizable as such by the Crucifix near the front door and image of Our Lady. One family, keep a Bible near the door and each time they leave home, they kiss the Bible. We should also wear blessed medals. Today is also the Birthday of Our Heavenly Mother. This feast was the beginning of Redemption for us and throughout Her whole life, Our Lady never did her own will, but only and always the Divine Will. Her example should inspire us to do likewise and strive to live only on Divine Will. Ave Maria!