B Ordinary 23 Sunday
Fr. Vincent Nguyen

Many of us might have attended the celebration of Baptism of someone in our family. In the Baptismal celebration, we see many signs and symbols. We see water, candles, holy oils, and the white garment. Each of these elements has its own theological meaning. Toward the end of the celebration of Baptism, there is a small detail which not many people pay attention to. That is the rite of Ephphatha. In that rite, the priest will touch the ears and the mouth of the child, saying: “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.”

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah brings good news to the people of God. He tells them that the Lord will come to save them. And when He comes, the eyes of the blind will be opened, the lame leap like a stag, the ears of the deaf will be cleared, and the tongue of the mute will sing. All of these prophetic signs have found their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Today’s Gospel tells us the miracle of Jesus healing the deaf man with a speech impediment. First, Jesus “took him off by himself away from the crowd.” Why did Jesus take the deaf man away from the crowd? According to Bishop Robert Barron, Jesus did so because he did not want the deaf man being confused by the lousy noise of the crowd. He brought the deaf man to a quiet place so that the man would be attentive to His Word. In that quiet place, the ears of the deaf man were opened and the very first thing he listened to was the voice of Jesus. Likewise, we often need to find a quiet place to listen to God. The world that we live in is filled with noise. We constantly listen to or watch something. Those noises might prevent us from listening to the words of God. If you want to pray and to fast, may I suggest that, instead of fasting from food and drink, you might consider fasting from social media. Turn off your phone, your computer, your iPad for a while so that you might be more attentive to the voice of Jesus.

Then, Jesus “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.” Right after his ears were opened to listen to Jesus, his tongue was also opened. His mouth opened to speak the words that he just received. Listen first and then speak. We cannot keep the Word for ourselves. We need to proclaim it to others. We proclaim the words by our own actions. Our actions must bear witness to the words that we speak.

Think of Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents and his first disciples. They listen to Jesus attentively. And they did more than they said. Only a few words of Mary were recorded in the Holy Scripture but her life is the perfect example of a listener and announcer of the Word. Mary listened to Jesus and kept His words in her heart. Let us learn from Mary to open our ears to Jesus’ voice and keep His words in our hearts. Do not let the noise of this world steals his Word from our heart. In the entire Bible, we cannot find any word of Saint Joseph but his actions reflected his holiness. Mary and Joseph speak the word of God by their actions. Their actions spoke louder than their words.
Sisters and brothers, today’s Gospel reminds us of the rite of Ephphatha that we received at our Baptism. Let us ask the Lord Jesus to touch our ears to receive his Word, and our mouth to proclaim His faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father. Amen.