HIS SPEECH IMPEDIMENT WAS REMOVED

Is 35,4-7a; Ps 145; Jm 2,1-5; Mk 7,31-37
9 SEPTEMBER
Every miracle attests and reveals the truth of the person and of the mission of Jesus. What the Lord promised by prophecy – even if every word of God must always be read and interpreted not according to the letter, but always in wisdom, intelligence and truth of the Holy Spirit – everything is accomplished through Christ Jesus. The mute man that speaks, the deaf that hears, the crippled man that walks, the blind man that sees on Jesus’ command, show that he truly is the promised and expected Messiah. If he is the Messiah, he comes to restore the fallen David’s hut. God sent him to rebuild his kingdom on earth. If He is the King and the Prophet, he must be heard in every Word of his. Because he is a prophet, his Word is the Word of God. Because he is the Messiah, his every command is God’s command. He must say and do only the will of the Lord in whose name He comes. The obedience of the Messiah to his Lord is the work of works, the mother work of every other work.

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water; The abode where jackals lurk will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus. A highway will be there, called the holy way; No one unclean may pass over it, nor fools go astray on it. No lion will be there, nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it. It is for those with a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk. Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee (Is 35,1-10).

Jesus loosens the tongue of the mute. The confession that everyone does is the same as the sacred author’s in describing the days of creation: “God saw that it was good. God saw that it was very good.” In the Genesis it is the Lord the one that sees. With Jesus it is the people who see and attest. Jesus is in everything as their Creator and Lord. He does everything good, too. The world must make this confession by seeing our works. Jesus does all things well even on the cross. The pagan sees and confesses that Jesus is truly the Son of God. He has experienced suffering well. He did not experience it like other men. It is the difference in the works that makes the difference in the nature and mission. Jesus is the Different from every other man, because his life, death, resurrection, every word of his and work, his every command are different than those of every other person on earth.

Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And (immediately) the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and (the) mute speak.”

This difference must be professed, confessed and celebrated for every disciple of Jesus. The first difference is in the government of vices. The second is in the possession of the virtues. The third is in growth in wisdom. The fourth is in obedience to every Word of the Gospel. The fifth is in perfect exemplarity. The sixth is on the journey in true hope. The seventh is in universal charity. The eighth is to know how to renounce everything. The ninth is in knowing how to live every cross well. The tenth is in conformation to Christ in all. By SEEING the difference, every other man will believe that we are of Lord Jesus.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that our difference is true light for the world.