First Reading - 1 Kings 11:29-32,12:19
Gospel - Mark 7:31-37
The first reading narrates the call of Jeroboam as the king of Israel. The kingdom of Solomon gets divided into Israel (consisting of 10 tribes) and Judah ( consisting of 2 tribes) as two separate kingdoms shortly after the death of the king Solomon. Jeroboam comes in scene because of his appointment as the in-charge of the forced labour. Seeing Jeroboam's enthusiasm for work, Solomon had made him as the leader and in-charge of all the forced labour of the House of Joseph. A turning point occurs with the prophecy of the prophet Ahijah who communicates God's message of his being chosen as the ruler of the ten tribes of the kingdom of Solomon after his death. However, he is strongly advised by the prophet to walk the path of the commandments of God and never desert it like David.
The gospel presents to us a beautiful episode of Jesus healing a mute and deaf man in the territory of Tyre. The mute and deaf man is brought to Jesus by people with a request to lay his hand on him. Jesus takes him away from the crowd to hide the healing due to the surging popularity and touches his ears with his fingers and touches his tongue with his spittle and restores him. He gets healed and released from the impediments.
Dear friends, in the fast growing materialism, consumerism, individualism, sectarianism, and new ageism, we do need a touch of Jesus to see what is pleasing to God, to hear the voice of God and speak what is the will of God. The first reading clearly mentions that God abandons Solomon and splits his kingdom because he turned his deaf ears to God's voice. He was physically capable of hearing but becomes spiritually impaired to hear the voice of God and Jeroboam is chosen to govern the kingdom of Israel. We may be physically able to hear and speak but can be spiritually impaired to hear and speak. The social evils are soaring higher day-be-day due to materialism, consumerism, individualism, sectarianism, and new ageism. They make us deaf and mute to talk about gospel and gospel values. In such situations, we need a touch of Jesus to see the fast spreading social evils, hear the voice of God and speak and disclose the will of God so that all people may be released from the bondage of deafness and muteness with the words of Jesus "Ephphatha" - Be opened.
We do need a touch of Jesus to be released from the bondage of spiritual muteness and deafness; to hear Him and speak about him. We call ourselves missionaries but we fail many times to hear and speak the word of God. We have many topics to discuss about but a small space to talk and speak about spiritual matters. They reveal our spiritual deafness and muteness.
Let's pray today that Jesus may touch us today so that we may be cured from our spiritual muteness and deafness.
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