September 6, 1991
The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
Commentary
I
Ma,,s Readings
ByFA'rHER
DONALD DILGER
Gospel Commentary for Sunday, Sept. 8,
1991, Twenly-third Sunday of Ordinary Time,
Cycle B: Mark 7:31-37
In a preceding episode Jesus had spoken of
the religious leadership of his own people as hyp-
ocrites who confuse their external observances
with true worship of God: "In vain do they wor-
ship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of
men." The story had to do with clean and unclean
foods. Mark tells us that Jesus declared all foods
clean. No foods would ritually defile a person,
whether they were eaten with washed or un-
washed hands. T'bat was last Sunday's gospel
reading.
In the catechesis of the early Church the abo-
lition of distinguishing hetween clean and un-
clean foods was also applied to people. No group
of people of any origin was to be considered un-
clean. And so Mark arranged his gospel so that
Jesus now goes into Gentile territory. There he
heals a Gentile woman. He continues his healing
activity among the Gentiles in a confederation of
cities settled by (;reek colonists.
Mark summarizes Jesus' healing activity
among the Gentiles in the cure of a man who was
deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus took the
man aside. He put his fingers into the man's ears.
Then Jesus put his saliva on the man's tongue.
Mark preserves for us the command of Jesus in
Aramaic, the hmguage Jesus spoke. The command
'EPHPHATHA" means, "Be opened, ." As, was his
CUstom, Mark graciously translates the Aramaic
5
I II |
Jc,..,;us among the Gentiles:
A deaf man is healed
word into Greek for his Greek-speaking readers.
Then the result: "His ears were opened. His
tongue was released and he spoke plainly." The
people say: "He has done all th.ings well. He
makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."
By this miracle Mark has demonstrated that
the healing power of Jesus reaches out beyond
the confines of Judaism. He is also drawing a
contrast. In the preceding episode mentioned
above, where Jesus rebuked his critics, Mark
quotes from Isaiah. On several occasions Isaiah
speaks of the ears of his people being closed. He
speaks of a time when a king will reign in righ-
teousness and "the tongue of those who stutter
will speak distinctly." Mark intends to say that
any people, whether Jew or Gentile, if they hut
listen to the words of Jesus, will be healed.
There is no longer any distinction between Jew
and Gentile, just as Paul had taught a decade be-
tore Mark wrote his gospel. The healing power of
Jesus recognizes no boundaries.
The procedures urged by Jesus to heal as de-
scribed by Mark may reflect the practice of a
healing liturgy in the Church for which Mark
was writing. The use of saliva as a healing reme-
dy in ancient times is known from sources out-
side the Gospel of Mark. If Jesus practiced heal-
ing, the Church would have imitated this
practice and perhaps the methods Jesus used.
Mark speaks of early missionaries practicing
healing of the sick. If the use of saliva is offen-
sive to us, let's remember that it was our own
practice tlat the baptizing priest touched his
Q
own tongue, then the tongue and ears of the one
being baptize(t while saying the words: "EPH-
PHATHA, i.e. BE OPENED."
Does the story of this miracle teach us any-
thing beyond the above explanation? Jesus
rea('he(l out with a loving, healing touch. He
touched the deaf, the blind, the lepers, sickness
of all kinds. He Ordered his disciples to do the
same. We are those disciples. Though we may
avoid some of the methods of healing used by
ancient Christianity, we (:an still reach out to the
sick through a visit and a loving touch. The visit
of a compassionate person to the sick is itself a
healing process. We cannot know how God may
have chosen us to bring healing to another.
Those who ininister to the sick, the dying, the
grieving, and all other kinds of mental, spiritual,
physical sickness, are fulfilling the work 9 f Jesus.
Through their hands he still reaches out with his
healing touch.
We cannot know how God may have chosen
us to bring healing to another. Those who minis-
ter to the sick, the dying, the grieving, to all
kinds of mental, spiritual, physical illness, are
fulfilling the work of Jesus the Great Healer.
Through their hands he still reaches out with his
touch of compassionate low',. The praise of Jesus
by the crowd applies to those who minister to
the sick: "They have done all things well. They
even make the deaf hear and the dumb speak."
Other readings for Sunday, Sept. 8: Isaiah
35:4-7; James 2:1-5.
I III
L00egion of Mary
An invitation to join your parish Legion of Mary organization
The following personal
COmmentary was submitted
/or Publication by Kin] Mel-
Chiors of Evansville.
This past Tuesday, Aug. 27,
I Was asked by members of
lhe Legion of Mary at Christ
n e King Church if I would
lnd writing an article for
i. ae Message for possible pub-
,]cation. I said yes. However,
L ust admit that I've never
attempted anything of this
ature before therefore I put
this in God's l'mnds.
l.,You see, I picture myself
!ke many morns in today's
Church: I have three children
attending Christ the King
School. I work part time, and
volunteer for various school
and parish functions. Like
many good Catholics my fam-
ily attends weekly Mass and
also prays grace before each
meal,
Sounds great, huh?
I should be happy and ful-
filled, right?
Wrong..
Something always seemed
to be missing.
In March 1991 I attended
one of the school's Masses.
Afterwards I walked over -- I
still don't know why -- to the
parish center where the Le-
Low, Fixed Rates For
Term Life Insurance
Guaranteed For Ten Years
These low pramlume will remain level for 10 year,,
$100,000 Face Amount
Female
Age Nonsmokealesmoker Nonsmoker Smoker
30 $161 $ 252 $120 $184
40 295 406 168 340
50 390 820 266 567
60 790 1.606 459 965
Cot per $1,000 decreases at higher levels of protection
For additional information clip end return the coupon below.
[ "1
a,rfl, p..
'# Best Time 'To' Call
_"Z ve= No I
kn'tt O| Ittuance Age Smokflf
BTHE 101 Court Suite 211
ARTHEL Evansville, IN 47708
CALL: 423-7716 or
AGENCY 1-800-879-5506
glen of Mary meets every
Tuesday. The ladies of the
group literally welcomed me
with open arms. The rest is
history and I became a per-
manent member this past
July.
You cannot begin to imag-
ine how much these ladies
have taught me. There are so
many things I have learned
about nay Catholic faith that I
will never take ibr granted. I
have been trying to pass on
what 1 have learned to my
children and by doing so
have seen some wonderful
changes and many prayers
answered.
For example, do you know
when we celebrate the
Blessed Virgin Mary's birth-
day? If you guessed Sept. 8
you would be correct. This
date brings me to the purpose
of this article which is to in-
vite you to spend a special
time with Jes3]s this Sunday
and to thank him for appoint-
ing his mother to be our
mother, too. What better way
to celebrate Mary's birthday
than to spend time with her
son?
Legion of Mary is certainly
worth your while. I guarantee
it will fulfill that "empty"
feeling.
If you have questions about
the Legion of Mary, check
with your parish priest. Hope
'I have been trying to pass
on what I have learned to my
children and by doing so have
seen some wonderful changes
and many prayers answered."
I also invite you to check
into your parish Legion of
Mary organization. If your
parish does not have one,
please .visit ours.
If you enjoy helping others,
learning about your faith and
aiding your parish priest in
various activities, then the
to see you Sunday. Go with
God.
Exposition oJ" the Blessed
Sacrament is scheduled in
the chapel at Christ the King
Church, Evansville, Sunday,
Sept. 8, following the 10:30
a.m. Mass, and concluding
with Benediction at 6 p.m.
i i i I
DEWIG BROS.
PACKING CO.
FRESH MEAT BEEF AND PORK
HAUBSTADT, INDIANA
............ II ¸ .
ii i ii i i iiiiii i I I I
