Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR B TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - 10.9.06 Is 35,4-7; Jas 2,1-5; Mk 7,31-7 A biting biblical logic As
we search for inner holistic healing. In 2 stories: ‘woman of Lebanon & ephphatah
man’, Mark hides a skilful lesson plan & a keen insight into the mind-set
of every deeply religious person: in the 1st story, (Mk 7,24-30 omitted here) a
charming Lebanese woman forces her way-in & deliberately persists &
demands & expects a miracle, while Jesus just as deliberately responds with
words that are insulting, this goes on till she realizes that her arrogant
approach gets her nowhere. In the 2nd story (here in today’s Gospel) holds the
central, controlling thought of Mark’s Gospel, namely that Jesus’ Mission is
for all people & cultures & times. Tragically we Christians have never
learned this lesson: not at Jesus’ time, nor at early Christians’ time, nor
today: throughout every century for 2000 years & even now, Churches &
Church groups, have shamelessly excommunicated & destroyed each other: to
impose its own arrogant way of thinking, each has excluded all others from
entering God’s Kingdom. Today, write a sad poem on “Jesus’ grown as he
cried-out Ephphathah”, & weep over the divisions, which-hunting, hatred
& massacres we Christians have perpetrated one against the other: Orthodox -
Catholics - Protestant, of every colour, nationality, denomination & even
among each other in our own groups. Tragically, while indoctrinating ourselves
with apologetical reasons, we have lost sight of Jesus’ Mission for all Jews
& Pagans, & even now, we treat other Christians as ‘dogs’. Today,
Mark invites us to own the tragic consequences of our divided Christianity:
we’ve all been wrong & slaves of arrogant mind-sets; even today we are
blind, deaf & dumb. A
humble, grateful logic.
As we live through our daily preoccupations, we rarely pay attention to our
attitudes toward God & each other. But, soon as we get a jolt, get sick or
are at risk, we run for physical & wholistic remedies, we even feel the need
of healing Masses, while we hold to a stubborn conviction that we can twist
God’s arm, force our way to him, demand, expect & make him do what we ask.
It takes time for Christian wisdom to teach us that such a selfish approach can
never work with God. As slowly we discover the Biblical way of thinking about
our gift of life & health, we realize that -without faith- we become deaf,
blind & dumb in different ways, as we refuse to listen to others or to what
the Lord wants of us” indeed, without God we risk becoming hurtful,
destructive & insensitive. In many ways, we are all like the man in
today’s Gospel, when we have eyes & cannot see, ears & cannot hear,
mouth & cannot speak. Only faith-in, & love-of God, gives the wisdom
that enables us to see, hear & speak what really matters to our total well
being; be truly wise & welcome one another in God’s sight. Only then, the
religious sentiment in us provides its unique conviction & way of thinking.
Then, we move away from attitudes that may be selfish & self-righteous,
spiteful & arrogant, exclusive, fundamentalist, & slowly let Christian
wisdom forge in us the truth about who we are: God’s beloved children, called
to respond in love, & yet aware to be humble servants. In this vision,
everything in us is God’s gift, & life is God’s gift, to be spent for
the good of others. And as we live our life of sincere dedication to God &
to welfare of all, we still must say with God’s Saints: we are only servants,
& are doing only our duty. This Gospel logic will slowly make us truly wise,
help us discover new hidden insights, tender nuances of God’s mercy new
horizons of Christian wisdom. All along our religious sentiment will provide
gratitude, sense of direction & marvellous integration. ______________________________________ |
