Contents
Introduction
In the Gospel reading of last Sunday (Mark 7:1–23), we saw how Jesus silenced the Pharisees and the Scribes, and distanced himself from their unnecessary discrimination due to their undue obedience to human tradition. In his clarifications, Jesus explained to them that what defiles a person is not what he or she eats, but the thoughts that emanates from the heart. While they were after material or physical contamination, Jesus taught them (and us) to beware of spiritual and moral contaminations and impurities. In this Sunday reading, Jesus fights one of the factors that could obscure our worship and relationship with God – sickness in its various forms. To be noted also is that Jesus is no more in the Jewish territory. From Mark 7:24, Jesus is already found in the Gentile/Pagan territory, meaning that salvation (in its diverse forms) is for all, against the conception and monopoly of the Jews. Hence, we see in this Gospel an image of the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus even to the Gentiles. As already noted, the geographic references tell us Jesus is now journeying.….
Be opened!
Having returned from the region of Tyre, and going the way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis, “they brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him” (Mark 7:32). Jesus begins his mission of liberation from ignorance, sickness, and lack of the true knowledge of God even in the Gentile territory and among the Gentiles. The person brought to Jesus was seriously sick. He was dumb and had speech difficulty too. There was no way Jesus could have ignored this man. Not even the hostility between the Greeks and the Jews could stop him. Interesting and important are Jesus’ gestures leading to the healing of the deaf man. Mark specifically underlines that Jesus took the deaf man apart and away from the crowd (in private); put his finger in his ear; spitted; and touched his tongue. What are the significances of these gesticulations? As his tradition, Mark avoids public display of Jesus’ healings (cf. also Mark 5:37.40). Since it was not a spectacle, Jesus had to take the deaf man aside. In the then Judaism, it was a common practice to consociate therapeutic power to a person’s saliva. The finger in the ear recalls the magicians’ exclamation in Egypt: “This is the finger of God!”
Conclusion
There is an irony in the story of healing of the deaf. Jesus gives the man the gift of speech, but then tells him not to use it. Jesus asks that the news of his healing power, which is evidence of his identity as the Messiah, not be spread. This is a recurring motif in Mark’s Gospel and is often called the “Messianic Secret” (German: Das Messiasgeheimnis). For instance, Jesus silences the demons who know him (cf. Mark 1:34; 3:11–12); tells people who are healed not to tell anyone about him (cf. Mark 1:44–45; 5:43; 7:35–37; 8:26); speaks in parables so that people will not understand what he says (cf. Mark 4:11–12); and finally, his disciples do not understand who he is (cf. Mark 4:41). However, the more Jesus forbids, the more the Good News is spread (cf. Mark 1:28.45; 3:7–8; 7:36–37). For Mark, everything about Jesus is secret. What is this messianic secret?
FOR DETAILS, GET YOUR OWN COPIES OF THE BOOK “THE WORD OF LIFE: SUNDAY REFLECTIONS” (vols. I and II)!! The reflection for the 23rd Sunday of the year (B) is found in vol. II pages 389–399. Happy reading!
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