Logo
EN

May our ears be opened and our tongues be freed!

Gospel reflection for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

La Croix International

Shortly after the story of Jesus giving sight to a blind person is the story of his enabling a deaf person to hear.

Both of these stories present Jesus as the one who, as Isaiah promised, signals the Kingdom of Heaven: “Your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you. (…)

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” (Is 35:5-6)

Coupled with the healing of the blind, this story frames the series that shows Jesus facing the ignorance of his disciples: they have ears but do not hear, they have eyes but do not see (Mk 8:14-21).

Here, the man’s difficulty speaking is linked to his deafness that prevents him from expressing himself clearly. Jesus’ aim is to allow him to speak freely.

Reading this passage in the context of the systemic crisis that the Christian community is currently experiencing, can help shed light on its deeper causes.

We could afford to dwell a moment on the proximity between the disciples’ ignorance and the deafness of God’s people.

Their muteness is down to their deafness to the abominations being committed around them, shutting them off from the suffering of victims in order to protect the institution.

As it is for the young man in the Gospel, this passage is challenging for us because of our own deafness, especially given that the crisis threatens the very credibility of the Gospel message we are trying to spread.

As such, the questions being put to Western societies by members of the Christian community working with migrants – with whom Christ himself identified – are going unheard.

They are drowned out by the crisis of conscience directed at clericalism, the corruption of authority into abuse of power and conscience revealed by cases of sexual abuse within the church.

If we remain deaf to this part of our collective history, the whole church remains threatened with an inability to express itself. If there are certain members of the community who continue to cause suffering and destruction, these episodes stand in the way.

The true responsibility of the church is to announce the resurrection of Christ and the victory of God over darkness and death.

While their duty is to “prepare the Lord’s path,” certain members of the church abuse their power, in direct contradiction to the attitude of service demonstrated, for example, in the washing of the feet (Jn 13), through which Jesus’ authority was recognized by his disciples and sung by Saint Paul in the Philippians hymn (Phil 2:5-11).

“Ephphatha!” It is up to God’s people to open their ears and mouths to welcome Christ in!

The choice isn’t simply between abuse and the absence of abuse; in between is a space for much work to be done, welcoming the Spirit to help open our deaf ears, untie our tongues and open the eyes of the blind to prepare for the kingdom of God.

Why is there so much deafness? Why is silence so prevalent? Why are we so blind?

The clergy doesn’t have a monopoly on clericalism or sexual abuse, and responsibility lies not only with believers, but also with good men and women who respect the gospels’ message without necessarily proclaiming it.

We must all work together to return to ecclesiastical life, to find the path back to the original source of our mission, and to discern how to live an “inter-relational chastity” and build healthy, respectful, and fair relations between people in all aspects of life in the church, including on an institutional level.

Since the Holy Spirit operates above ecclesiastical boundaries, there is no challenge that can not be faced. “Ephphatha!” God’s people! “Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in” (Ps 23).