Posts in category: Homilies

October 10, 2021                          28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

The unnamed young man in today’s gospel asks a significant question, he approaches Jesus and asks simply, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

• In other words, “what must I do in order to be saved?”
• The young man is obviously a person of great goodness.
•  He has kept all of God‘s Commandments, yet there is something stirring in his heart.
• He is eager for more. He has a restlessness in his heart.

What Jesus asks of him is difficult.

The coffee mug

Let me use your imagination for a moment. Imagine that you are at Starbucks and you’re holding a warm mug of your favorite coffee

• You like coffee and whenever you go to Starbucks you bring your coffee mug and always order the same thing.
• However, you are thinking to yourself, “maybe there might be a better kind of coffee”.
• So you bring your mug up to the counter to the barista and ask for something more satisfying.
• The man replies, “sure we have just the thing, a special brew. It tastes fantastic, fills you up and the taste will last the entire day.”
• So he asks for your coffee mug.
•  You hesitate for a moment because you’ve never tried this special brew and you’re a bit suspicious
• You ask yourself, “what happens if I don’t like it”
•  You think, “maybe I should just stick with the kind of coffee that I like because it’s familiar.” 
• You have only one coffee mug and you can’t have both. 
• To get the special brew, you will have to pour out your favorite coffee.

This is a bit like the situation that the young man finds himself in the gospel.

• His spiritual mug is full of wealth and possessions. 
• Jesus is offering him something more.
•  However, it means that he must empty his cup so that Jesus can fill it.

The gospel

Opening dialogue 

The gospel records an interesting dialogue between Jesus and the rich young man.

• It is obvious that the young man is seeking something more. 
• He yearns to be filled. He approaches Jesus and says, “good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
• It’s strange but Jesus doesn’t answer his question. To the contrary he has another question, “why do you call me good?”
• After this opening dialogue Jesus challenges him.
• He says “well then keep all God‘s Commandments if you want eternal life.”
• The young man, probably in his early twenties responds, “teacher I have done all of these things since I was very young.”

Jesus loves him

A curious statement follows. St Mark tells us that Jesus looks at him and loves him.

• Jesus sees in him the potential for greatness
• . Jesus sees in him the potential for great holiness. Then he offers the surprising invitation, “come, follow me.” 
• In order for that to happen Jesus tells him that he must abandon everything that would prevent him from doing so.
• Jesus makes an unexpected demand: “go sell everything you have, give the money to the poor and begin the adventure of discipleship”. 
• This may seem a bit surprising.
• He tells the man to let go of everything that he is most attached to.
• You would think that if Jesus really loved him, why would he ask him to give up everything that he valued most?
•  If Jesus really loved him why would he be so demanding.
• The answer is because he loved him so much that he wanted what is best for him.
• So Jesus asked him to follow the path of wisdom instead of the path of comfort.
• God is demanding with those he loves.
• The response of the young man is disappointing.
•  His face falls and his heart sinks because he has too many possessions and can’t let go of them.
• Essentially he prefers the satisfaction of his possessions and security to the rewards of discipleship.

Ultimately in answer to his question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds simply, “follow me!

Application

Jesus looks at us in the same way that he looked at the rich young man. He looks at us and loves us.

• He doesn’t call us to a life of comfort.
• Instead, He calls us to a life of wisdom for his kingdom.
• God sees in each of us our full potential. 
• He sees in us the possibility for great holiness. 

He wants each of us to be the best version of ourselves. As a result, God is demanding.

Possessions and wealth

In the second part of the gospel Jesus talks about possessions and wealth as obstacles to the kingdom of God.

• He infers that one must divest them self of all of these things.
• It’s not so much that possessions and wealth are evil in themselves.
• What Jesus sees is that they can become an end in themselves.
• It is so easy for a person’s life to be totally dominated by possessions, popularity and power.
• All of these things prevent one from totally following Jesus and his way of life.
• In the gospel Jesus goes so far as to say that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter into the kingdom of God. 
• The disciples are amazed. 
• Imagine the impossibility of a large camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle.
• The bottom line is that it is impossible.

Conclusion

In the gospel today we hear the story of the rich young man who remains nameless.

• He missed the opportunity of a lifetime.
• Jesus invited him to come, and follow him.
• He could have been remembered in history as one of Jesus’ disciples
• However, he chose to hang on to his possessions and melt into history.
• God made us for more.
• In the spiritual life we can form unhealthy attachment to things like wealth, health or relationships.
• Nevertheless, Jesus invites us to follow him.
•  He is the answer to the question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Gospel challenge 

Here’s the gospel challenge for this week.

• Carve out some quiet time maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Invite Jesus into your heart,
• Ask him to remove any distractions.
• Let him touch your heart and be with you in these moments. 
• Ask Jesus what things in your life you need to give up. 
• Ask him what things are preventing you from a closer relationship with him and then ask Him to give you the grace to let go of those things.
• In short, leave nothing off-limits to God.
• Don’t worry, remember what Jesus said in the gospel, “all things are possible with God.”

October 3, 2021                       27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Introduction 

This weekend’s readings remind us that God has a wonderful plan for the human race and at the very heart of that plan are two things: love, and all is a gift.

First Reading from Genesis

Our first reading from Genesis takes us back to the very beginning of creation.

• Creation is new and pristine.
• It radiates the beauty that has come from the creative mind of a God who loves.
• All of creation exists as an explosion or overflowing of his love.

The author of Genesis then speaks to us of original innocence.

• It is an innocence that was intended from the beginning by God for humanity.
• Men and women are created by a loving God.
• God creates woman as a partner for man, equal, but different. 
• Their sexuality is a gift from God.
• He intends that they be complementary and work with each other.
• Furthermore, the union of husband and wife is a part of the divine plan.
• That is why Jesus quotes this passage in the gospel, “for this reason a man shall leave his mother and father and cling to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”

Gospel

Jesus’ statement of the gospel is not without controversy.

• The religious leaders ask him, “is it permissible for a man to divorce his wife?”  
• Of course at that time according to Jewish practice a man could write up a bill of divorce for just about anything and divorce his wife.
•  It was not the case for the wife however.
•  Jesus goes back to the original innocence of creation.
• He speaks that it is the hardness of the human heart caused by a failure to love that divorce was permitted.
•  God never intended it that way Jesus announces.
• The religious leaders find his words difficult to accept.
• Furthermore, his disciples question Jesus as well.
• Notice however, Jesus does not back down.
• He boldly proclaims the bond God has joined together no human being has the right to separate.
•  Divorce was never meant to be a part of Gods plan.

Pain of divorce 

However, I am aware that some who hear this message have experienced the suffering of a breakup of a marriage not through their own fault.

• I’m sensitive of the pain and difficulty that you may have gone through. 
• You are not alone. Be assured, Jesus is with you.

Sacrament of Marriage 

The faithful union of a husband and wife ensures the continuation of human life and the unfolding of Gods plan for the human race. 

• The sacrament of marriage is the confirmation that what God has joined no one must divide.
• The bond of marriage is intended to be permanent, faithful and indissoluble.
• It speaks to us of the love of God and the faithfulness that God shows to each of us.
• The sacrament of marriage remains the enduring sign of God‘s love for his people. It is always a faithful and creative love.
• Similarly, the love of a husband and wife is a faithful and creative love that brings new life.
• That love is a gift and participates in Gods overflowing love.

Witness to Love

Our diocese is about to embark on a new marriage program called “Witness to Love.”

The purpose of our marriage preparation is to enable couples to better communicate and to have the best marriage possible.

• There are two basic underlying ideas in this process.
• First it involves the entire parish preparing couples for marriage and enabling them to participate in parish life.
• Secondly, it’s an opportunity for evangelization.
• Disciples make disciples who witness to the presence of Jesus in their lives.
• The new diocesan pre-marriage program is a mentor-based marriage preparation that helps to prepare engaged couples not only for marriage but to help them transition into the parish and a community of faith after they are married.

FOCCUS 

The marriage preparation involves several components.

• First of all, couples meet with the priest and take a pre-marriage compatibility survey. T
• The purpose of this survey is to give couples a snapshot of their relationship.
• It gives them an idea of the strengths in their relationship as well as areas that need work.

As in the past, the engaged couple meets with the priest to review the results of the compatibility survey.

Mentoring Couples

In addition to the compatibility survey, engaged couples will have the opportunity to meet with a mentoring couple. 

• This will enable them to walk with a married couple in the months prior to their marriage.
• The mentoring couple and engaged couple will have a chance to meet six or seven times as part of the marriage preparation.
• At the heart of this is the understanding that disciples make disciples.
•  In our faith journey we don’t walk alone but we walk together.
• This will enable engaged couples not to only to become familiar with married life, but also be absorbed into the life of the parish once they are married.
• This is a new component of the marriage preparation of engaged couples.
• I suspect most engaged couples will find this different but enriching over a period of time.
• Not only that, but mentoring couples will also grow in their own relationship as husband and wife.

Invitation to couples

Here is where I need your help. I need seven or eight married couples who would be willing to serve as mentoring couples. 

The requirements are simple.

• First be married more than five years.
• Second be married in the Catholic Church by a priest and third have a healthy marriage.

We have many couples in our parish who have strong and beautiful marriages.   

• You are witnesses to the faithfulness and the during quality of married life.
• Through your sacrifices and love you have preserved the union and vows that you graciously and generously spoke on your wedding day.
• We need your witness!
• Our diocese will help prepare you as a mentoring couple.
• It will be an enriching experience for you not only as a married couple, but also help you to grow in your own faith journey.
• You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have made a difference in the life of an engaged couple as they prepare for their marriage.
• Over the next couple of weeks, I will be contacting some couples.
•  When you receive that invitation, be open to the workings of God‘s Holy Spirit.
• Open your hearts to the possibility that you will be involved in an important marriage ministry.

I ask you to consider this and respond with a generous heart.

Conclusion

Marriage preparation is really a ministry of the whole parish.

• We are a family that gathers weekly to praise the Lord.
• We are together in our own faith journey as Catholics.
• None of us does this alone. We are God’s people.
• Preparation for Baptism, preparation for First Holy Communion, preparation for Confirmation and preparation for Marriage is a part of the faith journey for all of us.
• We journey together.
• The Lord invites all of us to be bearers of the good news of his kingdom. His plan is one of love.
• Let us pray for all those who are preparing for marriage. 
• Let us pray that the Lord will bless and strengthen the marriages in our parish.
• May those marriages be a sign of God’s faithful love for his people

September 26. 2021                      26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

Wouldn’t it be boring if there was only one kind of tree?

• Wouldn’t it be boring if there was only one kind of flower?
• Wouldn’t it be boring if there was only one kind of dog?
• And yes, wouldn’t it be boring if there was only one kind of person and personality?

In creation God always deals with abundance. This stands in contrast with the way most people think. Most of the time we have a scarcity mentality.

Sunday readings

Our readings for this weekend exemplify that exclusive attitude.

First Reading 

In the first reading from the Book of Numbers we meet two individuals, Eldad and Medad.

• Prior to this passage, Moses complains to the Lord that he is overwhelmed by the burden of leadership and taking care of all these people in the desert. 
• So, the Lord tells him to draw up a list of people to help him.
• The Lord instructs him to tell all of those people, 70 in number, to come outside of the camp to the place where God dwells in the meeting tent. 
• So, everybody gathers out there and the power and authority of the Lord that had been given to him Moses is shared with all of those people. 
• However, there are only 68 people present and for some reason Eldad and Medad are not there.
• A very strange thing happens. 
• Although they were not present at the assigned spot, the spirit of the Lord comes upon them and they too prophesy.
• Of course, there’s a bit of jealousy on the part of Joshua.
• He wants to exclude them and complains to Moses that these men should not be counted among the number because they didn’t do what they were supposed to.
• However, God in his abundance showers his Spirit upon them nevertheless.

Gospel 

The same kind of thing happens in the gospel for this weekend.

• Prior to this particular passage Jesus has sent his disciples out with his power and his authority.
• They preach the good news of the kingdom and heal those who were sick. Things seem to go pretty well until they return.
• Then John comes up to Jesus and complains that there was somebody who didn’t belong to their inner circle who was using his name to cast out demons and cure the sick. 
• Jesus’ response is somewhat surprising. 
• Jesus tells him, “there is no one who can do these mighty deeds in my name and at the same time, speak ill of me.”
• He goes on to tell him, “anyone who is not against us is with us.”
• John wants to exclude as many people as he can. 
• That’s not the case with Jesus.

God in his abundance delights in all of his children. Jesus excludes no one.

Application

Furthermore, both of these stories tell us that God acts in unexpected ways.

• God delights to work outside of the box of human expectations.
• Sometimes He uses the most unanticipated and unexpected circumstances and people to do his work.

These Readings tell us several things. 

God includes

First of all, they tell us that God is more interested in inclusion rather than exclusion.

• His plan includes everybody. God does not wish to exclude anyone.
• Not only that, but God will work in whatever ways and with whomever  he chooses  in order to fulfill his plan.
• That’s what happened in the readings for today. 
• Although Eldad and Medad we’re not in the appointed place, God did not exclude them.
• The same thing is true in the gospel. 
• Although Saint John objected, Jesus included those who believe in the power of his name even though they were not members of the company of disciples.

There is room at God’s table for every one of his children.

God chooses the unexpected 

The other thing the readings tell us is that sometimes God chooses the most unexpected people and circumstances to be the channels for his plan.

• God doesn’t necessarily judge by human standards, but has his own.
• Sometimes God chooses the most unlikely people to be the bearers of his plan. 

Birth of Christ 

In antiquity shepherds, tax collectors and prostitutes were considered outcast, marginalized members of society.

• However, think of the people that Jesus chose to surround him.
• By the standards of the world, they really were insignificant and amounted to very little
• It’s a bit curious that God would choose shepherds to be the first representatives of humanity to greet Jesus at his birth.
• Shepherds were outcasts who lived in fields with sheep.
• They were mostly illiterate, unclean and not to be trusted.
• However, in God’s eyes they must’ve been special because he chose them to be the heralds of his son’s birth in Bethlehem.

Mary Magdalen

How about choosing a former prostitute to be the one on Easter Sunday morning who would announce the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

• Yes, that’s what happened.
• Jesus chose Mary Magdalene to be the one who announced to the apostles and to the whole world that Jesus was alive and had risen from the dead.
• By human estimation, it is strange that God would entrust this most important message to her.
• However, that’s exactly what he did.

Openness to all

As we hear the stories of the scripture for this weekend it really reminds us that God includes everybody in his plan.

• If God includes everybody then each of us should have an openness to all God’s people.
• Everyone is precious to him.

God excludes no one. Jesus would go so far as to say whoever is not against Him is for Him.

Openness to God’s working

Second of all we are reminded that God’s ways are not necessarily our ways.

• God can choose to work outside of the box of human expectation.
• Sometimes he chooses the most unlikely people, like shepherds and prostitutes, to be an integral part of the unfolding of his plan.
• Other times he chooses situations and events to be the channels of his grace.

Conclusion

The secret with God is this: expect the unexpected.

• No one has control over God and the unfolding of his plan.
• That seems obvious in the two scripture readings that we have today.
• God continues to work in our lives. We need to be attentive and sensitive to the unfolding of his plan.
• Just as in days of old with Joshua and John, God can burst into our lives in the most unexpected and surprising ways.
• All that is required of us is that we be ready

September 19, 2021                  25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

Imagine four persons in a room. 

President of the US

The first one is the President of the United States.

• He has tremendous power. He can command armies.
• He has the power to issue executive orders. He can command vaccinations and face masks. 
• His decisions impact the economy not only of the United States but of the whole world.

Tom Brady

Sitting next to him is Tom Brady.

• At the peak of his physical power he won Super Bowls with his quickness and skill.
• He is much admired and envied by a lot of people.

Lady Gaga

The third person in the room is Lady Gaga whose music and charisma have infatuated many audiences with her energy.

• She is wealthy and has the power to inspire and energize people in her concerts by her music and performance.

Baby

Finally, also in the room is a newborn baby lying in a crib.

• This little baby seemingly has no power or strength whatsoever.
• That little baby isn’t even able to ask for what it needs.

Now, the question: which of these is ultimately the most powerful?

• As strange as it may seem, I believe the baby ultimately wields the greatest power.
• Yes, the other three people in the room have the power to make things happen.
• However, the baby has a different kind of power.
• The baby can touch the hearts of people in a way that none of the others can.
• Babies are innocent, gentle and helpless.
• Yet they can touch the human heart.
• There is something about being with a baby that touches people.
• The presence of the baby can bring out gentleness, kindness and openness unlike any other person. 
• People even watch their language around a baby.

Babies are cute and helpless, yet powerful!

• God’s power is a lot like that of the baby.

The Gospel

In the gospel today, Jesus refers to the presence of children.

• Actually, the gospel is a continuation of the one we had last weekend.
• Jesus and his disciples are now on their way up to Jerusalem.
• For the second time, Jesus tells them about what is to happen.
• He will be handed over to the Gentiles and they will kill him and he will be raised up on the third day.

Disciples arguing

It doesn’t seem as though the disciples have been listening to Jesus said.

• They have been arguing about who is the greatest.
• In other words, they have been arguing about who is most important and powerful.
• Actually, they have been buying into the system that those who are powerful are the ones who can control people and overwhelm them to make them do what they want.

Become like children 

In the second part of the Gospel, Jesus tells them there is another way to do things.

• Power it’s not manifested in the important and the elite, but true power is found in those who can change the human heart.
• Jesus uses the example of a child. 

Application

This is the way we experience God‘s activity on earth. 

• Jesus comes born as a baby, powerless and then dies on the cross helpless and powerless. 
• Both his birth and his death manifest a power that comes from God alone which can transform and speak to the human heart.
• Jesus manifests the power of God more like a newborn baby.
• He comes gently, and helplessly without a power that overwhelms.

God comes into the world 

Jesus continues to come into the world in the same way.

• He comes in what is viewed as powerless and gentleness.
• He never overwhelms nor forces his way into people’s lives.
• Sometimes people are frustrated and impatient with the way that God acts.
• They would prefer that God come in power and majesty to overwhelm people. That way, people would be compelled to do the right thing. That’s just not the way that God operates.
• We want God to come clean up the world with his justice and power.
• However, God continues to operate under the radar.
• He gently speaks to people’s hearts.
• He invites them into a relationship.
• He invites them into the joy of the encounter.
•  For God, it is love not power that conquers the human heart.

Conclusion

It is really amazing that God who has the ultimate power and authority chooses to come into the world simply, and quietly. 

• His power is a power of powerlessness.
• God comes into your life and into mine.
• However, he comes in the same way that he did when he came centuries ago.
•  It’s a presence based upon love and not power and coercion.
• Our challenge is this: will we recognize him when he comes?

September 12, 2021                      24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

When you look at the cross what is it that you think of.

• Do you see the cross as the symbol of the Christian faith?
• We place the cross and all of our buildings above the altar and make the sign of the cross at the beginning and end of our prayers.
• Do you see the cross as the sign of suffering, humiliation and human cruelty?
• Do you see in the cross the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus? 
• As you gaze upon the cross do you see Christ’s ultimate victory over sin,
• death and evil?
• The cross figures prominently in the gospel for this weekend.

Gospel

As we look at the gospel you will notice that it is divided into two parts.

Jesus identify 

In the first part Jesus and his disciples are walking along.

• They are near a Roman city Caesarea Philippi.
• As they walk along, Jesus stops for a moment and ask his disciples, “what are people saying about me? Who do the people think that I am?”
• The disciples answer by saying, “well, some people think you might be John the Baptist come back from the dead or maybe Elijah or one of the prophets from our old.”
• Jesus pushes a little bit and asks, what about you? Who do you say that I am?”

Peter answers on behalf of all of them by responding, “you are the Christ!”

The Messiah

In other words, you are the promised one for whom our people have waited for centuries.

• What follows is a clarification of what it means to be the Messiah. 
• The expectation of the Jewish people was that the Messiah would come as a National leader and political figure who would set Israel free from external domination.
• He would be the one who would set things right and be a glorious leader who would lead Israel into freedom and prosperity.

True nature of Messiah

Jesus shatters their expectation when he says it will not be that way.

• The Messiah will be the humble servant who will come, be rejected and ultimately put to death and rise.
• Obviously this is way too much for Peter. He takes Jesus aside, “this will never happen to you. This is not the way that it is supposed to be.”
• Suddenly Jesus turns on Peter and chastises him.
• He tells Peter, “you have got it wrong. You do not understand because you are not thinking the way that God does but the way that you want things to turn out.”
• At the heart of Messiahship is suffering.
• It is only through the Messiah suffering that there will be salvation and ultimately in the shedding of blood will there be life.

The Cross 

Then we come to the second part of the gospel reading.

• It really builds on the rebuke given to Peter.
• Jesus stuns his disciples by telling them that if they wish to follow him, they must take up the cross and follow him.
• The cross is the only way to discipleship. At the heart of discipleship is a willingness to deny oneself and suffer.
• It is only through suffering and death that there is life.
• It’s easy to see why this did not make sense to Simon Peter.

The cross may be a religious symbol for us today.

• However, when Jesus uttered these words to his disciples, the cross was a symbol of Roman domination and fear.
• The Romans used it to intimidate people into subjection.
• The cross stood as the instrument of excruciating pain, humiliation and torture.
• It is no wonder that the disciples must have gasped when Jesus told them they must take up the cross.

Application

Why suffering

Jesus invites us also to take up the cross and follow him.

• There are problems, difficulties and struggles in everybody’s life. 
• God does not will human suffering. However, he permits it. 
• I suppose it is a mystery why there is suffering in the first place and why God would permit it.
• However, that is the reality of the human experience.

The question remains, “what do we do with the suffering in our lives?”

• In the gospel today, Jesus invites his disciples to take up the cross.
• At the heart of following Jesus is to follow Him all the way.
• That way is through suffering and ultimately a death that leads to eternal life.
• That is the mystery of salvation: through death there is life.

Suffering creates bitterness 

Suffering has a way to sharpen our values and identity.

• For some, suffering creates hardness of heart, bitterness and anger.
• The question haunts, “why me? Why not me?”
• In time they become alienated by their suffering and are marked by an anger that ultimately consumes them.
• Many times that anger is directed toward God.

Suffering is redemptive 

On the other hand, there are some, who embracing their suffering, find the ultimate meaning of their own existence and life. 

• They follow Jesus all the way. 
• It reminds me of that scene in the Passion of the Christ where Jesus is handed the cross on his way to crucifixion.
• He embraces the cross and kisses it.
• One of the thieves who will be crucified with him remarks, “you fool, don’t you understand what is about to happen?”
• Yes, Jesus embraced the cross, his passion and death.

Good from suffering 

• Because of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, God can bring good from evil.
• In other words, he can bring an unexpected good from human suffering. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why God permits suffering.
• In the cross of Jesus, and in our own crosses borne out of love, God brings the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
• In the cross, God entered into the depths of human sin and suffering. 
• On the cross, Jesus conquered hatred, sin and death.
• Our own suffering can be redemptive.
• Although suffering is never pleasant, we can offer it in reparation for our sins and for the salvation of those that we love.
• It is perhaps one of the most precious gifts we could give to another person.

Conclusion

The road of discipleship is not easy.

• If it were, everybody would want to follow Jesus.
• The gospel invites us to follow him.
• However, the road is a difficult one. Jesus Invites us by saying, “come follow me, deny yourself and take up your cross.” 

Although the cross may represent suffering in our lives, it is ultimately the way to eternal life.

September 5, 2021 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

What would it be like to never heard the birds singing in the morning?
What would it be like to never heard the bubbling sound of a mountain
stream? 
What would it be like to never heard the waves crashing on the seashore?
What would it be like to never hear the voice of your mother? 
What would it be like to never hear your name?
What would it be like to never hear someone say, “I love you?”

Gospel miracle

In our gospel for today Jesus cures a man who was both deaf and unable to speak.
The setting 
The miracle unfolds in a rather strange way.
First of all, the setting is unusual.
Jesus is in a region called the Decapolis. It is a gentile region not a Jewish
one.
The fact that Jesus would travel there is in itself unusual.
The miracle
Curiously, there is no opening dialogue because Jesus is trying to communicate
with someone who cannot hear. 
Usually the person who is ill asks for a healing. 
Sometimes, Jesus asks, “what is it that I can do for you?” 
However, nothing like that happens in the gospel story.
The description of the miracle itself is rather earthy.
Interestingly enough Jesus takes the man away from the crowd.
It is a private and intimate moment of the sick man with Jesus.
Initially, no words are exchanged. 
He takes his fingers and places them in the man’s ears the source of his
deafness.
Afterwards, Jesus spits onto his fingers, opens the man’s mouth and
touches his tongue.

With that, Jesus looks up to heaven, sighs and groans.
Jesus groans and sighs because even though the deaf man cannot hear, he
can see Jesus groaning.
In that moment Jesus connects with him.
The result is that immediately the man’s ears are opened and his tongue
set free and he can hear and speak plainly.

Ephphatha 
Saint Mark chooses to record the exact Aramaic word of Jesus in this miracle,
“Ephphatha”
There are only two other places in the scripture where the exact Aramaic
words of Jesus are recorded.
When Jesus raises a little girl from the dead he commands,” talitha koum”
and his final words on the Cross, “Eli, Eli, lama sabancthani”
Why would Mark record the exact words?
The reason would be that in that spoken word is the explosion of divine
power.
Ancient peoples believed that words had power.
In Aramaic, “Ephphatha” translated as, “Be open” changes reality by the
power of God.

Application

Jesus continues to speak to us. The challenge is to be able to hear his voice.  
In a sense, sometimes we are locked in a spiritual deafness and can’t hear
his voice. 
Obstacles 
As I was thinking about it, there are really three obstacles to listening to the voice
of Jesus that create a spiritual deafness.
The first obstacle is busyness. So often we find our self absorbed in many
things.
There are many demands on our time.
The perception frequently is that there are more demands and
commitments than we have time.
Sometimes we just have to say “no.”

In saying “no,” we have the opportunity to free up time to listen to the
voice of Jesus.
We can only experience his voice in the present moment of the here and
now.
It takes a real effort on our part to make time to listen to his voice.
The second obstacle is a lack of surrender to God‘s will. 
Jesus tells the deaf man, “Ephphatha “or “be opened.” 
Jesus says the same thing to us.
He asks us to be open.
If our hearts and our minds are closed, we will never be able to hear the
voice of Jesus inviting us to surrender our will to his.
To surrender to the divine will is not easy.
We like to be in control.
If we are open to the heart of Jesus, then we have a willingness to abandon
ourselves into his hands and trust that he knows what is best.
Finally, our own sinfulness can make us deaf to the voice of Jesus.

Sin frequently not only blinds us but makes us deaf to the voice of God.
Sin has an unusual effect of blocking out goodness so that evil controls our
attitudes and way of thinking.
Conversion is always at the heart of being open to the voice of Jesus.
The power of his grace transforms us.
However, we have to want to let go of sin and be flooded by grace.
When this happens it is easy to hear the voice of Jesus drawing us into a
closer and deeper relationship with him.
Listen to the voice 
Where do you experience Jesus speaking to you?
The most important thing is to be able to listen.
There are really two places where we encounter the voice of Jesus.
Scripture
Of course the first one is in the Scriptures itself. 
Jesus is referred to as the Word.

The Scriptures are the living word of God continually speaking to his
people.
It is in the words of scripture that we find the heart of Jesus.
Jesus speaks to us in a living word.
It is not so much a written word as it is the word proclaimed.
When we encounter Jesus in the Scriptures, he comforts us, forgives us,
challenges us, and continually invites us.

Prayer
Similarly, Jesus speaks to us in prayer.
That is why it is critical to spend some time each day not only reading the
scripture and letting the voice of Jesus speak to us but to spend time in
prayer.
Remember, prayer is a conversation. We speak and we listen.
It is in these moments of listening that Jesus speaks to the human heart.

Conclusion—Gospel Challenge

Here’s the gospel challenge.
Sometime this week consciously decide to set aside at least 15 minutes in
prayer.
Ask Jesus to remove any obstacles.
Ask Jesus to speak to you and help you to listen and recognize his voice.
Then open up the Bible and pick one of the Psalms.
Read the psalm slowly and let one word or phrase speak to your heart.
Sit quietly and listen for the voice of Jesus.
Trust him.
Not only will he open your ears, but he will open your heart as well and you will
hear his voice just like the deaf man in the gospel story.