Be Opened
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Mark 7: 31-37 - Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Jesus goes into the district of Tyre and Sidon, a district that is full of non-Jews. It is wonderful to see that Jesus chooses to go there to meet them, to meet them in their paganism, to meet them where they are. And it is also wonderful that they go out to meet Jesus. Here, “the people brought to [Jesus] a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.” Let us never, never forget that Jesus goes out to the fringes. Also, let us never, never forget that people on the fringes (those who might have been written off by others as sinful and faithless) are always hungry for Jesus, and often very willing to meet Him.
Jesus heals this man in a very physical and unusual way. But before He does so, He first leads the man away from the crowd. We can’t fully understand Jesus’ reason for doing this, but it would make some sense to consider the man’s surroundings. The man is likely a pagan, surrounded by pagans. For Jesus to speak into this man’s spiritual deafness, He first needs to draw the man away from his pagan surroundings. There he can hear Jesus clearly. There is a lighthearted saying about a sick fish: you don’t take him to the doctor, you clean his water. The point is: our surroundings affect us. It matters who we hang around with; what we do for fun and relaxation; which places we choose to frequent. As Christians, we must understand that it is easier to succeed in the spiritual life when we aren’t placing ourselves in occasions where it is easy to sin. In prayer, consider people, places, and things that place us in spiritual danger. How can we better avoid these dangers? Also in prayer, consider how we might be more available to help provide others we know with our friendship—especially those new to or struggling with the Faith. How can we help them to be spiritually safe?
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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