Sunday Gospel (Mark 7:31–37)
IN THAT TIME Jesus went out again from the coasts of Tyre, and came by Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring to Him one deaf and dumb, and they besought Him that He would lay His hand upon him. And taking him from the multitude apart, He put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, He touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He groaned, and said to him: Ephpheta, which is, Be thou opened. And immediately his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke right. And He charged them that they should tell no man. But the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal did they publish it. And so much the more did they wonder, saying: He hath done all things well; He hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
The following sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost is by Father Francis Xavier Weninger S.J. (1805–1888), the same author of Lives of the Saints, from which several lives of saints on this website are taken. The sermon was published in 1882.
And they bring to Him one deaf and dumb, and they besought Him that He would lay His hands upon him.
Mark 7:32
Those portions of the Gospels which are read to the faithful in the course of the ecclesiastical year seem to be selected, it might almost be said, at random from the Sacred Scriptures. To the preacher, also, whose duty it is to discourse, year after year, from those fragments, it might at first sight appear difficult to make a practical application of this or that Gospel to the spiritual wants of his hearers. This, however, is not so; for, as each Gospel is in turn presented for the instruction of the faithful, it will become more evident that the Word of God is a manna which contains the most varied and delicious tastes, and, moreover, that it impresses the mind as being the ever new and yet immutable truth of the word of Him Whom St. Augustine addressed as Beauty always ancient yet ever new.
Indeed, if the preacher were every year to direct the attention of his hearers to the same important point of doctrine, it would be, even to the very same congregation, most interesting as well as instructive, since every word of the Gospel is intimately connected with the great work of redemption; for instance, the lesson for this Sunday tells us how Christ vouchsafed to heal the deaf and dumb man. Let us consider how deaf the human race has ever been to the Word of God, and whatever relates to their salvation. Mary, whose heart was ever open to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, obtain for us the same readiness to receive the admonitions of the Spirit of Love and Truth. I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the greater honor and glory of God.
If there is any thing which should call forth our astonishment, it is this spiritual deafness of the human race, both individually and collectively, and the incredible indifference manifested in regard to all that God has revealed concerning our existence and eternal destination, the fall of man, his redemption, and that eternity which draws nearer each day. This disposition was manifest even in paradise, before the fall, and afterwards developed itself to such an enormous extent as to justify the assertion, that after our first parents had yielded to the seductions of Satan, their whole posterity became afflicted with this voluntary deafness.
As I have already said, this disposition was perceptible when the fidelity of our first parents was put to the test, for they seemed to give a more ready ear to the seducing wiles of the tempter than to the warning voice of God. Yes, it would seem that our first mother found something far more attractive in the alluring voice of the devil, and the delicious taste of the fruit, than in the exercise of the obedience which she owed to her Maker and Sovereign Lord. His divine command was unheeded and despised at the intimations of greatness conveyed by the serpent: You shall be as gods. Adam and Eve fell, and, with them, the race of man became subject to sin and death. But God, in His mercy, decreed that His well-beloved Son should redeem and save the souls created for eternal happiness.
But, alas! Cain, the first-born of the human kind, closed his heart to the inspirations of divine grace, and stained the earth with his brother’s blood. And in every age of the world so many, many souls have been found to follow in his footsteps, that, as time wore on, the human race became more and more deaf to the voice of God, and its ways seemed perverted to the ways of iniquity. Noah, for a hundred years, spoke in terms of entreaty, as well as warning; but his words fell upon ears which refused to heed. He built the ark amid the jeers and mockery of those who looked on in scorn; and, even after the deluge, how soon did heathenism stifle the voice of conscience, and close the ears of the soul.
Almighty God set apart for Himself a nation, through which the whole human family might receive warning and instruction, and be prepared for that wonderful and much-desired event, the birth of the Redeemer of the world. Yet how did the world behave towards this people? We need only look at Pharao. Moses spoke to him, threatening him in the name of the Lord. He listened, yet heard not, for he was obdurate. Again, Moses appeared, and spoke in terms of terrible warning to the wicked king. God sends him various punishments; noxious insects of every kind infest the land, and cause fearful destruction; the waters change into blood; the light of the sun is darkened; the destroying angel spares not the first-born of the Egyptians; and, nevertheless, the hearts of Pharao and his people remained closed to the voice of God. Hearing it exteriorly, they despised it interiorly, until the Lord stretches forth His avenging arm, and the waters of the Red Sea engulf that rebellious host in their terrible depths.
And even in regard to the chosen people of God, was not their spiritual deafness astonishing and deplorable? Amid the thunder’s roll and the lightning’s flash the Israelites listen as the commands of God are proclaimed; but even while they listen they turn away unheeding, and, in spite of the wonders they witness, pay homage to a golden calf. God sends them a succession of prophets, and they put them all to death. Christ Himself appears. He speaks, He, the Incarnate Wisdom of God. The people throng around Him; but that class of priests, so wise in their own estimation, yet so totally depraved, the scribes and Pharisees, cry out in tones of scorn: Which of us hears Him?
Ascending to heaven, Christ sends His Apostles to announce to all mankind the word of salvation. The Holy Ghost, the promised Paraclete, appears in the form of fiery tongues above their heads; and, taking in the utmost boundaries of the earth, they proclaim to all men the Word of God. But St. Paul has told of the results, as he himself experienced them, when, at Athens, he publicly addressed the inhabitants of that world-renowned city. Some laughed in derision, some promised to listen at a future time, which never came for them; and the other Apostles, as they went their ways to the nations of the earth, too often met with the same discouraging results. Oh, how sad, my brethren, when we reflect that this deplorable indifference still characterizes the children of Adam, even after the Gospel has been preached, and the Church spread over the whole earth, and its holiness proved by the most wonderful effects and astonishing miracles.
Even today, and in this so-called age of enlightenment and culture, in this our nineteenth century, how fearfully indifferent are not men to the truths which the Word of God teaches, about their spiritual duties, their ultimate destination, and the momentous affair of their eternal salvation. This inattention and indifference is so much the more surprising because it presents such a striking contrast to the manner in which men generally act when they are told of something which, by performing certain duties, or fulfilling certain conditions, they can gain, and by which they can greatly promote their temporal interests. Ah, yes! They eagerly hasten to that spot in some far-off land, where they are told that the bright gold lies buried deep in the soil, waiting only to enrich him who is so fortunate as to find it. They even brave the perils of the mighty deep, uncertain whether they will ever safely reach the shore. The same is true of honors and dignities. Observe the different aspirants to a throne; with what anxiety they watch the various political changes, fearing to lose the slightest chance of turning them to their advantage.
It is ever the same, beloved in Christ. Look at the sick. If they are told of some eminent physician or celebrated remedy, they will inquire into or send in quest of the same; they are all anxiety, and leave nothing undone to regain their health. The mechanic is ever on the alert to hear of new inventions; the merchant watches every opportunity to buy and sell to advantage; the man of wealth knows no rest, for, day and night, he is seeking to add to his store, or, hearing of a probable panic, he rushes to the spot where he can learn the truth, and try to avert the worst.
And, by means of God’s Holy Word, man is told of the joys of heaven, the glory therein, and of the terrible and eternal torments which are prepared for sinners in hell. It penetrates the ears of the body, but the spiritual hearing is gone. The human race goes recklessly on, living in a state of indifference as if wholly unconcerned for the future. Alas! Christians, Catholics, are no better, if they were only aware of it! They act as did the Jews, when St. Stephen preached to them: They stopped their ears. That is, they resolutely avoid attending service at those hours when they would be reminded of their duties to God; or, when they are present, they attend not to the word of salvation, even if they hear it exteriorly.
O folly! folly! To seek after the transitory joys and honors of earth in preference to listening to the Divine Word; to plunge, perhaps, into the vilest dissipations, rather than mortify their passions; to listen to the voice of the worldling or infidel, yet to close their hearts against the warning voice of God’s minister, who seeks to win souls for Christ.
O Lord, preserve us from the evil of willful deafness of the soul; for, when it becomes chronic, all hope of salvation is over forever! Amen.