23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

1st Reading             Isaiah 35: 4-7a

Psalm                        146: 6c-7. 8-9bc -10ab (R. 1b)

R:// "Come, Lord, and save us"

2nd Reading           James 2: 1-5

Gospel                      Mark 7: 31-37

THE LORD RESTORES US IN BOTH EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR FASHIONS

Beloved, today is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). The Lord has been gracious in bringing us thus far to the 2nd Sunday in September 2024. We underscore that we are 11 weeks away from the end of the liturgical year. What it means is that we have come very far. We need to recognize that in this journey, we may have gone astray and would need the Lord's healing to bring us back to the fold. This Sunday, we shall focus on the Lord's healing and restoration as we reflect on the Word of God. 

Let us have a brief background to the first reading from Isaiah 35: 4-7. The first reading forms part of the first part of the book of Isaiah (Chaps. 1-39). The author is known to have lived around 740 - 700 BC. Politically, lived during the Assyrian domination (ca. 750 - 630 BC). The Kingdom of Israel fell under the blows of Assyria, leading to destruction and deportation. Some prisoners were mutilated and the country was devastated. The language adopted by the author is akin to the event of the Exodus from Egypt. Such words as "wilderness" and phrases like "water will burst forth" are encountered. Because there was an Assyrian deportation, what is expected is a return to their LAND. 

The one who effects this return is God himself. He will "save" the people. The word translated as "Save" is Yâsha' (ישׁע). The word relates to the man named Joshua. They both have the same root words. Joshua, after the death of Moses, leads the Israelites into the Promised Land. Today, we have a text finding its context within a new Exodus and mentions God as the one who "saves", who does the duty of Joshua, leading the people to freedom. 

There are two dimensions to this salvation — external and internal. 

The external dimension is what Isaiah says, thus: "The eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy" (Isaiah 35: 5-6a). In the Ancient Near East, disability was seen as the ultimate life-denying circumstance, impairing individuals to such an extent that they could not fend for themselves. Additionally, these are outward marks of defeat. What the Lord promises is the removal of these marks of defeat. There will be external healing. Everyone will see it. 

The second dimension of this salvation is internal healing. The Word of God says, "Waters will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the Arabah" (Isaiah 35: 6b). The Hebrew for "Wilderness" is  MIDBÂR (מִדְבָּר). What comes to mind upon hearing "wilderness" or "desert" is usually the issue of "dryness". Metaphorically, the desert could be connected to the dryness of the heart or spiritual desolation. This is spiritual aridity. Psalm 63: 1 clearly describes this dry inner state: "O God, you are my God, it is you I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my SOUL thirsts; In a land parched, lifeless, and without water". The Psalmist describes his internal/spiritual or inner state with the conditions prevalent in a desert. The Soul is a spiritual or internal aspect. Water, a symbol of life, will burst forth in spiritually desolate hearts; in hearts that seem to be lifeless and without hope of gaining any life.

There are two dimensions to the Lord's saving help. There is an external or exterior dimension which all will see. Yet, there will be interior healing which will be experienced by the individual. 

The Gospel passage from Mark 7: 31-37 narrates Jesus' healing of a man who is Deaf and Mute. Know that the man healed in the Gospel is not only DEAF (κωφὸς - kōphos) but also MUTE. This man cannot HEAR and cannot SPEAK properly. It will be good to see Isaiah's prophecy making sense and coming to fruition in what Jesus is going to do to this man. Jesus performs a rite and says "Ephphata" (be opened). Mark's Gospel is not interested in the cause of the deafness and dumbness, like Luke's Gospel may be.

Realize that one who cannot hear and cannot speak is not only facing great difficulty with hearing the Word of God but may not be a good disciple. A disciple is first instructed and then goes to proclaim. He learns by LISTENING and seeing. 

Also, the man faces the challenge of hearing what is external through the ear. He also cannot let out what is interior by the use of his mouth.  He needs to be restored externally and internally. 

A careful introspection will inform us that we are also deaf and have impediments in speech and hearing just like the man in the Gospel. We therefore have to be open to God's Word in heart. 

The sense organs do not only bring out something, they also take in. We have to be prepared to listen carefully to God's word. It is when we listen that we can announce with our tongues. We cannot speak properly if we do not listen and if we are deaf. We carry no message on our tongues if we are deaf. We cannot be good disciples if we do not listen carefully to Christ as he instructs us daily in his Word. 

We who can hear and speak have a great task of witnessing and making known God's message of salvation. 

St. Paul tells us that "faith comes by HEARING, and HEARING by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). It only makes it that faith is acquired when we hear or listen to the Word of God. This faith is to be announced. In this endeavour, we must try to treat all men on the same scale. Do not discriminate and make distinctions. 

We all need internal and external healing to dispose us towards the Word of God as to become faithful witnesses. 

Pax et Bonum 🙏❤️🕊