They asked Jesus to lay his hand upon him. Jesus took him apart from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s
ears, and touched his tongue with spittle. Then, looking up to heaven, he said with a deep sigh, “Ephphata!” that is, “Be
opened!” And immediately, his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them
not to tell anyone about it; but the more he insisted, the more they proclaimed it. The people were completely astonished and said,
“He has done all things well; he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”
Reflection:
Unlike yesterday, when we saw Jesus hardly doing anything to
effect healing, today, he is into hard labor—he takes the man
aside, puts his fingers into his ears, touches his tongue with
spittle, sighs deep, orders “Ephphata!” Why such hard
work? Whereas the woman came to Jesus with a solid faith
and unfailing openness, today’s deaf man was brought merely
for a blessing, probably with no expectation of cure. The man
had become uncommunicative, passive, and shut off. Jesus had
to engage him at a deeper level, touch his person, and order “be
opened!”: an order not merely directed to his senses, but to his
very being. Isn’t it good news to know that Jesus does not give
up on us, despite our periodic shutting down? Just as his Father
goes on working, so does Jesus (Jn 5:17), to open us up to God’s
grace and healing.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022