Healing of the Deaf

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:31-37. 

Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. 
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. 
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 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. 
He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and (the) mute speak."

Reflection:

Jesus really makes miracles anywhere to anyone and to anybody but we should do this with others. The gospel of today says that people brought to Jesus a deaf man and begged Jesus to lay his hand on the deaf man. This particular statement implies that when you come to Jesus we need other people to ask what we need. We need others to be with us in our prayer. It is powerful to pray with others. That is why a community prayer is more powerful compared to a solo prayer. Besides, the later portion of the Gospel also emphasize the need to proclaim Jesus on the things that He has given to us. We need to proclaim to the whole world that Jesus creates a miracle in our lives. This is the way of glorifying Jesus as our God being the Son of the Father.