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.”

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.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2024