"Ephphatha!"

They were exceedingly astonished and they said,"He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Mark 7:37

Reflection:
Jesus did a healing in a very unusual way in this reading. He took a person off to the side to poke his fingers in the ears and touch the tongue. Then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")

As I try to envision this scene, I put myself in this person's place and hope that my ears will be opened and my speech will be cleared, with Jesus' loving touch. All too often I do not hear, but even more so I also do not speak.

How often do we go about with our ears closed to God's word and our speech shut from proclaiming the Word of God. We go about our busy days, hardly hearing what others have to say; to not often listening to the voice that speaks in the silence around us. We hear what goes on, but sometimes we close off the noise without hearing them at all. We have many levels of deafness, that range in scale. Our biggest one is the one we do not hear God whisper to us everyday.

And then we too have many levels of being mute. Out of fear we will not speak of God, out of offending we stay silent. But if it is something that we are passionate about, our voices are heard. I too see myself in the many levels of deafness and muteness, where all too often I have not listened or have not been passionate in voicing God's Word.So today my dearest Jesus, poke your fingers into my ears so I may hear, and touch my tongue so I too may speak eloquently your Word.