03-Sep-2006
Dear Friend,
Most people would claim that they are open-minded people. We like to believe
that we do not have prejudices and that we do not discriminate and are not
closed up in our dealings with others. But are we truly open to change, ready
to give up our ways of thinking and acting if we discover that there is another
possibility? Life is always changing, and each day we are confronted with new
happenings, and new possibilities. Are we open to God in our life? Enjoy the
new week ahead! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: Twenty-third Sunday of the Year Be Open to God!
10-Sep-2006
Readings: Isaiah 35:4-7; St. James 2:1-5;
Mark 7:31-37;
In todays first reading the prophet Isaiah consoles his people asking them
not to be afraid or worried because the Lord has not abandoned them, he is
coming to them. The sign of Gods coming will be that the deaf will hear and
the dumb will speak and shout for joy. By these signs will they recognize the
Messiah. Evidently, the prophet is not speaking of physical blindness or
deafness, for those who have sight but cannot see God and those who can speak
but cannot proclaim God, are worse off than the physically handicapped. Only
God can open us to His presence and goodness that surround us. If we have God
we have everything, without God we are nothing.
The Third Presence!
Malcolm Muggeridge, the famous editor of the British magazine Punch was a
staunch critic of the church, He was formerly a distinguished university
lecturer and a journalist of great repute. In the Second World War he had an
outstanding record as a major in the Intelligence Corp. He had seen life as it
was, and his strong doubts against anything Christian were not only published
but also openly expressed in his radio and television programmes. Once, the BBC
was making a television film on the Holy Land and Malcolm Muggeridge was
assigned with its responsibility. After finishing the filming, he walked with a
friend down the road to Emmaus. To put in his own words, As my friend and I
walked along like Cleopas and his friend, we recalled as they did, the events
of the resurrection and its aftermath in the light of our utterly different yet
similar world. Nor was it fancy that they were joined by a third person! And
I tell you that wherever the walk, whoever the
wayfarers, there is always this third presence ready to emerge from the
shadows and fall in step along the dusty, stony way. The story, you know, is so
incredibly vivid, that I swear to you that no one who has ever tried to write,
can doubt its authenticity. Anyway, they went to eat their supper, and of
course when the stranger broke bread they realized he was no stranger but the
Saviour.
Daniel Sundararaj, in Manna for the Soul
In the second reading St. James reminds his fellow believers that faith has
to be seen in deeds. We cannot say that we love God if we do not express this
love in our dealings with our brothers and sisters. Christians cannot show
discrimination and partisanship in their behaviour with others. Class
distinctions can have no place in the life of believers. We have to be open,
treating all with respect and love.
Discrimination
Once a wealthy man invited all his fellow townspeople to a banquet. A man
showed up at the banquet in a tattered suit, which was the only one he had, and
was turned away at the door. Undaunted, he went home and borrowed an expensive
suit of clothes from a wealthy neighbour. Then he returned to his hosts house
looking like a man of substance. This time the doorman welcomed him
respectfully and showed him to a seat at the top table. During the meal as he
reached for a piece of roast meat, his sleeve accidentally slipped into the
dish. Pull up your sleeve, the man next to him whispered. No, I wont, said
he. Then addressing his sleeve he said, Eat, my sleeve, eat and take your
fill. You have more right to the feast than, I, since they respect you above me
in this house.
Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy day Liturgies
In todays gospel Gods preference for those who are poor according to this
world is clearly pointed out by Jesus. He wants us to be open to the poor, open
to people different from us, and open to God, who wishes to enter into our
lives. Be opened! Jesus cures a Gentile man who is deaf and has a speech
impediment. He performs this miracle in pagan territory. The faith response of
the Gentiles contrasts sharply with the disbelief of Jesus own people. Who are
believers, who are blind and who can see? The miracle is the only cure in the
Gospels that is described as taking place gradually, perhaps as an illustration
of the gradual growth in faith.
In working this miracle we see the trouble Jesus went through in dealing with
the blind mans predicament. He took him aside from the crowd to give him his
personal and undivided attention. Rather than speak to him, he touched his ears
and tongue, thus he made him feel what he could not hear. The miracle is not so
much about physical healing of person who was deaf and dumb, Rather it is about
opening of a persons ears so that he might be able to hear the word of God;
and loosening of his tongue so that he may be able to profess his faith in
Jesus. The miracle has great relevance to us, because a person could have
perfect hearing, and yet not hear the word of God, have perfect speech, and yet
be unable to make an act of faith.
Faced with a chosen people who have become deaf to his preaching and who no
longer wish to listen to his appeals to change their lives, Jesus has gone over
to pagan territory. He comes to open the eyes of the blind and to unstop the
ears of the deaf. He wishes them to be responsible people, capable of
listening and entering into the dialogue of salvation which the covenant
between God and his people sets up. Jesus challenges the closed minds and self
sufficiency of the rich, the powerful and the proud. He also takes issue with
our own complacency and egoism each time the gospel is proclaimed. To all of us
he commands: Be opened. Be opened, Christian, to hear and take the teaching
of the Gospel! Be opened to declare your faith with your whole life! Be opened
to allow your Our Father to be expressed in your works! If only this were
really so, how eloquent our lives would be, what honour they would confer on
Jesus Christ! The whole world would not resist declaring:
He has done all things well; he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.
Glenstal Bible Missal
The Touch of the Masters Hand
In the poem The Touch of the Masters Hand. Myra Brooks Welch tells the story
of an old dusty violin being auctioned. The violin is about to be sold for a
mere $3 when a grey-haired man steps forward, picks it up, dusts it off and
begins to play. The man plays such sweet music that when he finishes, the
bidding jumps into thousands of dollars. What transformed the dusty old violin
into a precious instrument? The touch of the Masters hand. The same touch of
the Masters hand continues to transform our lives today. By his touch we
become his instruments to accomplish the marvelous works described in todays
Psalm 146: to secure justice for the oppressed, give food to the hungry and set
the captives free.
Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds
After Jesus had performed the miracle he asked the people who witnessed the
miracle not to publicize it. But they went about proclaiming He has done all
things well, he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. They were amazed at
the physical cure. They marveled at the things Jesus could do. They publicized
the wrong thing. The meaning of any cure is that it manifests the presence of
God among us. Through this healing Jesus wanted the people to recognize that
Gods message was being communicated to humankind. But it is so easy to be
impressed with the wrong thing. It is so easy to see the means as the end. We
can be enraptured by the magnetic voice of a popular evangelist. We can glory
that thousands showed up in a stadium for a religious event, but if we dont
hear the challenging message of Christ about love, we have missed the point.
Healings were the means Jesus used; the end was that people hear the Word of
God and keep it. Eugene Lauer
May His touch open me to the fullness of life!
Fr. Jude Botelho
www.netforlife.net
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site
www.netforlife.net Thank you.
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