Gospel: September 8, 2024

(Sunday)

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 146: 7, 8-9, 9-10 (1b)

Praise the Lord, my soul!

1st Reading: Isaiah 35: 4-7a

Say to those who are afraid: “Have courage, do not fear. See, your God comes, demanding justice. He is the God who rewards, the God who comes to save you.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed.

Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout.

For water will break out in the wilderness and streams gush forth from the desert.

The thirsty ground will become a pool, the arid land springs of water.

2nd Reading: James 2: 1-5

My brothers and sisters, if you truly believe in our glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, you will not discriminate between persons. Suppose a person enters the synagogue where you are assembled, dressed magnificently and wearing a gold ring; at the same time, a poor person enters dressed in rags. If you focus your attention on the well-dressed and say, “Come and sit in the best seat,” while to the poor one you say, “Stay standing or else sit down at my feet,” have you not, in fact, made a distinction between the two? Have you not judged, using a double standard?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters, did God not choose the poor of this world to receive the riches of faith and to inherit the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?

Gospel: Mark 7: 31-37

Again Jesus set out; from the country of Tyre he passed through Sidon and skirting the sea of Galilee, he came to the territory of Decapolis. There a deaf man who also had difficulty in speaking was brought to him. 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 groaned and said to him, “Ephphetha,” that is, “Be opened.”

And his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone, but the more he insisted on this, 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.”

Lectio Divina:

Read: Jesus came to the territory of the Decapolis, skirting the sea of Galilee. A deaf man was brought to Jesus so that Jesus could lay his hand upon him. This same man also had difficulty in speaking. Jesus separated the man from the crowd. He put his fingers into the ears of the man. Then he touched the tongue of the man with spittle. Jesus looked up to heaven and with deep sigh he said “Ephphata” which means “Be opened.” Immediately, the man was able to hear and then began to speak. Jesus ordered the people not to tell of the miracle but all the more they proclaimed it. They were astonished because Jesus did things well, making the deaf hear and the mute speak.

Reflect: If one cannot hear well, one will not also be able to speak well. Today’s Gospel narrates how Jesus healed a man who was deaf and mute. The Gospel passage tells that in this particular healing miracle, Jesus followed a certain process. Jesus first separated the man from the crowd. We may reflect that a crowd, by nature, is noisy. It implies that Jesus provided the man with a quiet space. Jesus first opened his ears. Then Jesus touched his tongue with spittle. We are called to be more open. We are challenged to lend our ears more often and speak less.

Pray: Let us pray that we may become more open, attentively hearing what other people are saying.

Act: Let us be more attentive to what the people we encounter today will say.