Good Shepherd Catholic Parish

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, (Year B)

          Peace be with you and welcome to our celebration of the Mass for the 23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.  You know, when I first read these readings today, I wasn’t overly excited.  Initially nothing really jumped off the page.  With the Gospel for example, it’s sad to say, but I think all of us hear readings with Jesus performing these amazing miracles so often, I think we sometimes get a little numb to them.  We take them for granted.  You know what I mean, “ho hum”, just another one of those Jesus’ miracles.  Well, after I sat back, closed my eyes, and meditated for a few moments, I realized, there is something very unique and timely about today’s Gospel reading.  Something that is still resonating down through the millennia even as we sit here today.

Anyone attended a Catholic Baptism lately?  If not, let me refresh your memories.  After the child is baptized with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the white garment is emphasized as representing a new creation clothed in Christ with the white as an outward sign of Christian dignity. Then a lit candle is passed to a parent or a godparent representing the light of Christ.  And then, the celebrant performs the rite of “Ephphatha” or the Prayer over Ears and Mouth.  He says this, “May the Lord Jesus who made the deaf hear and the mute speak grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears and profess that faith with your lips, to the glory and praise of God the Father.  Amen.”  And as he says that prayer, he touches the child’s ears and mouth.

Ephphatha – “be opened”.  Friends, this proclamation of Jesus still presents us all with a challenge here in the 21^st Century, perhaps even more so that it did 2000 years ago.  Of course, on the surface, this is just another one of those Jesus’ miracles in the Bible but spiritually, just like the Church uses “Ephphatha” in the liturgy of baptism, it is a clear and precise instruction for each and every one of us. 

You see, the unnamed deaf man represents all of us as we are often deaf to the voice of God and cannot speak plainly the truths of his message.  Therefore, the Gospel asks us, in what ways do we need to be opened by God through Jesus?  One big clue from the Gospel today is, Jesus crossed into the district of Decapolis.  My sisters and brothers, this literally means Jesus crossed outside of the boundaries of his own Jewish homeland.  Consequently, it forces us to ask, what boundaries are we afraid to cross to proclaim the Good News of Christ?  The list of boundaries that divide us today is almost endless, politics, religion, race, neighborhoods, physical appearance, education, gender, sexual orientation.  And Jesus said, “Ephphatha” – be opened!

Be opened.  Ask, can we be open to beauty, goodness, and truth in a society so severely divided?  Be opened.  Know that we can learn from each other, especially from people who may be different than us.  Be opened.  To the complications of life and the reality that we just can’t always have easy answers.  Be opened to the voice of God communicating with us from places we least expect.  Be opened to experiences and truths of others that seem foreign to us.  Be opened to the voice of God calling us to people and places that make us uncomfortable.  Be opened to ultimately receiving love and graces from God. 

Unfortunately though, being opened to the voice of God calling us in our modern 21^st Century American Society is not an easy task.  Anyone ever read C. S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters?  In case you haven’t, the general plot line is about an experienced demon, old Screwtape, teaching his apprentice demon, young Wormwood, how to tempt and ultimately take the soul of a new Christian for their master below, Satan.  Of course, Screwtape makes maximum use of those secular false gods we all battle every day, pride, pleasure, power, and wealth.  Fortunately, in the end however, Screwtape and Wormwood fail but there is one particular bit of wisdom Lewis puts forth in his book I often think about today.  Having realized they had failed Screwtape tells Wormwood, someday Satan will make the world so noisy men won’t be able to hear God’s voice.  Wow.  You know that book was written in the early 1930’s.  So here we are today, with our smart phones, smart pads, laptops, desktops, ear buds, smart TVs, wireless networks, and blue tooth.  We are so connected to noise generating and visually distracting devices can God breck in?  You must wonder, has C. S. Lewis’ 90-year-old prediction come true?

Being open to God’s voice can be challenging as it takes us out of our comfort zones in many, many ways.  And when we talk about being open in this spiritual context, we’re not simply talking about hearing.  It takes all of our senses.  We all must open our hearts and our minds to any form God chooses to call us and there is only one sure way to do that.  We must give God a little bit of time in our noisy days.  We must find time to disconnect from our electronic world.  Ask yourself, when is the last time I’ve intentionally laid my smart phone down in one room and walked to another room, where I can’t hear it?  Of course, the operative word here is intentionally.  An hour in Mass once a week is magnificent, but doesn’t the unlimited creator of the Universe deserve maybe just a few minutes of our dedicated attention the other six days also?  We need time to ask, what needs to be opened inside of us?  What do we need to hear from God?  How can we let the Spirit strengthen all that seems weak and limited within us so we can be a blessing and strength to others?  OK.  Here’s our obvious homework.  Find a silent place, disconnect from electronics, and dedicate just a few minutes listening to God at least once a day, until you come back to Mass next weekend.  Ouch!

1. So, let’s talk about right now, at this very moment, before we stand for the Creed, take a slow breath, and focus for a few seconds. Ephphatha – be opened!  Think, what is about to happen.  We believe at this Mass Christ himself personally comes into us.  More than touching our tongue or putting fingers into our ears, Jesus penetrates our whole being.  At this Mass, let the Spirit help us to hear more clearly, and let the words of our worship come more freely from our hearts.  Ephphatha.  Be opened.