Friday 13th of February
“’He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”
Mark 7:31-37
We can imagine that we are the man in the reading today. We have not been able to hear for a long time, which means that we can hardly speak. Our friends and family are so concerned about us that they have brought us to Jesus, the famous local healer. Jesus could have just healed the man and moved on. But St Mark chooses to include in his recording of the scene how Jesus took him aside first.
How would it be for us to go from the complete silence of deafness to being overwhelmed by all the noise and stress of a crowd? Jesus isn’t just our powerful saviour and Lord. He shows us his compassion by taking us aside to a quiet place before he restores our hearing. He touches our ears and our tongue and prays to our Father in heaven, “Be opened.” Jesus, thank you for showing us not only your healing power, but also your love for us individually in how you reach out to us. Please help us to love others in the same sensitive, respectful way.