The miracle performed by Jesus in the Gospel reading last Sunday is quite different from all the rest of his healing miracles. The sick man was brought to him by other people who begged him to heal the deaf man with speech disabilities. Another thing unusual is because Jesus takes the deaf man aside, away from the crowd, and heals him privately, personally, and intimately. We know that he can cure anyone so easily. But I really wonder why he had to take the deaf and mute man away from the crowd, put his finger into the man’s ears, and touched his tongue with his saliva. After that miraculous healing, he ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.
I intend to put emphasis on the actions that were done in this miraculous event. First, the sick man was brought to Jesus. People around him, probably his neighbors, helped him get cured and they believed that Jesus is the exact person for the job. We do not know how much these people sacrificed just to bring the man close to Jesus. There were no ambulances or any modern vehicles during that time. Maybe they found it hard already just to convince the sick man to come with them to Jesus. But the important thing is that they were able to bring the sick man to Jesus in order to be cured.
People like this man in the gospel are persons, too! They have their innate and basic rights just like the normal people. So, I really admire those people who took their time to bring to Jesus this man who needs help. Likewise, I appreciate the sick man because he decided to get well and listened to his good neighbors. How I wish that there are still people like these men in our modern world. Most of the time, people in this generation would rather make fun of those people with some defects in them and humiliate them in front of everyone.
Second, Jesus took the sick man away from the crowd to cure him. For me, it means that our personal encounter with the Lord is very much important. He took them man away from the crowd, or from the world, because we find it difficult to hear the word of God in our world today. I can no longer understand the language of this generation because the important principles have been blown away into the vacuum of our morality. Our personal encounter with Christ is the only way for us to go back into the sheepfold and turn our backs away from the world.
Third, it is rare for Jesus to use things in his healing ministry. In the Gospel story, Jesus takes the deaf man with speech disabilities aside and does all kinds of things. He puts his finger in his ears, touches his tongue, spits, looks up to heaven, groans, and issues an extraordinarily strong and unusual command “Be opened!” And the deaf and mute man’s ears and mouth were opened and he was healed. When we seek God’s intercession for our problems, it must always be done according to his will. We must always be open to God’s ways of healing us. The miracle performed by Jesus on the deaf man in the Gospel was an issue of spiritual deafness and only God can cure this kind of deafness. Jesus is doing the same thing today among us and in the world.
Lastly, I like the obstinate desire of the people to disclose what Jesus told them not to tell anyone. I do not see anything sinful, except for their disobedience, in that kind of reaction. For me, it is our mission as Christians. It is our duty to proclaim the goodness and the love of God to the entire world. But what are we proclaiming every day? Social media is filled with negative events and things that must be kept secret: failed relationships, addictions, abuses, immoral acts, and all other evils that are becoming popular in our time.
Our ears are closed, refusing to listen to God and Jesus and one another. Our mouths are closed, refusing to speak the good news of love to one another, or worse, gossiping and putting one another down and telling lies about each other and the world, rather than speaking words of affirmation. Our minds are closed, refusing to believe and trust in God, refusing to do God’s will or putting Christ in mind, refusing to accept the wisdom of the Gospel. Our hands are closed and clenched and have become fists, instead of reaching out in loving service to those who need us. To all the ways we are closed to love and serve one another. Jesus is telling us “Be opened!”