Domenico Maggiotto (1713-1794), Christ Healing a Deaf and Mute Man, no date, private collection.

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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.       Mark 7:33-35.

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One of the elements which strikes in this miracle is the physicality of it. The man is a deaf-mute, totally unable to hear anything, and unable to speak in an understandable way. Hence he had two huge impediments to a normal life. Jesus, taking him to a quiet spot away from everyone else, placed his finger in the man’s ears, wet it and touched the man’s tongue with it. Jesus then groaned, perhaps in sympathy with this man’s terrible disabilities, looked to heaven, to his Father, then uttered in Aramaic, his own tongue, “Ephphatha!” “Be opened”, and the man was cured. And this was in the area of the Decapolis, or ten cities, which was not Jewish but Gentile. But that was no impediment to the Lord. Suffering is without borders. Love and empathy are without borders. And Jesus requested that this event be kept quiet, which of course was totally ignored and the news spread like wildfire. Remember that Jesus did NOT want to be declared the long-awaited Messiah because he would be made king, and be expected to conquer the Romans and politically re-establish the kingdom of David. That was NOT Jesus’ understanding of the Messiah, which did eventually destroy him, but not before he was sure his message and mission had been fully understood and accepted by his closest followers. But even in that Gentile part of the world, he did not want news of his divine powers to be trumpeted everywhere.

Katherine Drexel, America’s fourth saint, was declared such following the acceptance of two miracles attributed to her intercession with the Lord. Both were cures for deafness, as in today’s gospel story. A baby girl was diagnosed with congenital and permanent failure of the auditory nerves, and a boy deaf in one ear after an infection which had destroyed two of the three bones in the ear necessary for hearing to take place. Both families prayed to Katherine for miracles, and at her intercession with the Lord, they were cured instantly, permanently and inexplicably. Consequently she was beatified and then canonized. Clearly the Lord is still of the same opinion as he was 2000 years ago! But miracles are extremely rare. I am sure thousands of people afflicted with deafness have prayed for the same to no avail. But they still, I hope, believe and continue on in faith and hope. And so, miracles, though rare, continue to this day as we see. And there are even more miracles in addition to those officially accepted as such by the church, such as this one. Clearly Jesus understood that his miraculous cures were central to his mission as Messiah, that this demonstration of divine power was essential. With such tremendous powers, people would listen to him! And, as can be seen from today’s first reading, he was clearly The One prophesied by Isaiah, and from the second reading, he was utterly indifferent to the social level, or indeed, the religious conviction, of any individual; we are all children of God. 

It was from this thought that the history of Helen Keller emerged, perhaps the ultimate modern example of deafness and inability to talk, and in her case, also unable to see. Trapped in such a life experience is something almost all of us cannot even imagine. She had no miracle as those  mentioned above, but she did have saintly help from those around her. She was not Catholic but became a member of The New Church, perhaps more commonly known as Swedenborgianism, a Christian church closely allied to the writings of the scientist Emanuel Swedenborg. It was through his insights about God that Helen saw an interior light, just as the Gentile inhabitants of the Decapolis in today’s gospel saw the light in Jesus’ presence and his loving action. As the old hymn says, God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform – no matter which tradition you decide to follow. In other words, allow the Almighty even a tiny opening into your heart, the larger the better, then expect wonderful things. That is what Helen Keller did, John Traynor did (click on the “this one” link above), Kathleen Drexel did and God is ready for everyone, Catholic or not, miracle or not. And each of us is invited to do the very same, acknowledging Jesus as Lord. It reveals that the Lord is very much still with us today, even if we are not blest with a desired miracle. 

 

John Traynor leaving for Lourdes, July 1923 

     John Traynor arriving back from Lourdes, cured.

(see the link “this one” above)

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