God's Love Heals

𝐅𝐄𝐁. 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝟏 𝐊𝐠𝐬 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟗-𝟑𝟐; 𝟏𝟐:𝟏𝟗

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟖𝟏:𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟓 “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟕:𝟑𝟏-𝟑𝟕

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐁𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟒) 

         If there is one verse in the Sacred Scriptures that summarizes the nature of God in relation to man, you can find and it in 𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟔 which is probably the most popular verse in the Bible.

         And today’s Gospel reading that we read in 𝐌𝐤 𝟕:𝟑𝟏-𝟑𝟕 lends credence to what 𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟔 is about as Jesus was not just sent to suffer and die for humanity’s sake. He was sent to show the people in those days and us today how much God loves us.

        There are at least three situations that add mystery and color to this Gospel passage for today. Mystery? Yes, because Mark who wrote this gospel account did not offer any explanation why Jesus went to Sidon as left Tyre on his way back “𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐞” (𝐯.𝟑𝟏).

         Some bible scholars actually went as far as to question whether Mark knew his geography because it seemed illogical for Jesus and his disciples to go to Sidon which was north of Tyre on his way to the Sea of Galilee which was south of both Tyre and Sidon. In effect what happened was Jesus went up north to go south.

         But Mark was right because there was a mountain range between Tyre and Galilee and there was also no trade route between these two regions. There was, however, a trade route that connects Sidon to the Sea of Galilee which was why Jesus had to go north to go south.

         How long this journey took was not explained. There were some views, however, that claimed Jesus decided to take this longer route to give him quality time with his disciples to teach them and explain to them at length the deeper meaning of the parables he preached and, most importantly, to prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead that will culminate at the greatest event in the history of mankind.

         The second situation was when a man who was deaf was brought to Jesus. Most often, persons who are deaf may also be suffering from some speech impediment that could cause embarrassment for them.

         And Jesus knew what the deaf man felt and this was the reason why he took him aside, put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. Then he looked up to heaven with a deep sigh said to him Ephphatha! which means “𝐁𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝.” (𝐯𝐯.𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟒).        

        By taking the man aside away from the crowd, Jesus showed not only his compassion, but he took into consideration the plight of the deaf man for whom life has become difficult to communicate with others as sign language was non-existent in those days.

        Jesus looked at the deaf man with affection demonstrating the goodness and compassion of God in his actions. Then he puts his fingers into the deaf man's ears and touches the man's tongue with his own spittle and uttering a command “Ephphatha” the poor man's ears were opened, and his tongue loosened up and he spoke.

        Gregory the Great, one of the Fathers of the Church in the 6th century explained this miracle saying: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘧 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵.”

         What was also significant was when Jesus looked up to heaven not just to implore the aid of God the Almighty Father but to also acknowledge that his power flows from the Father. When the deaf man spoke, the crowd could only sigh and with amazement and this brings us to the third situation as the people who witnessed the miracle said: “𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟕) This could actually be equated with the events related to the creation of the world in Genesis when God said: “Everything is good.”

         The question we should now ask is have we been touched by the finger of God which is the Spirit of God. How have we been living our lives after we have been touched by the Holy Spirit? Can we say that we have been saved from our sins? (𝐌𝐤 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟓). Can we also honestly say our souls are at rest? (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟖). Are we now at peace (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟖) or are we still in the world?                

         If we are still struggling with our relationship with God, perhaps we should look into our own selves and check the level of our faith. It is possible that we are laboring through the practice of our faith because our hearts and minds are being restricted by concerns other than developing a deeper relationship with our Creator.

         Many times, we are like the deaf man as we remain oblivious to the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. We attend mass regularly, but our minds wander and are far off and we often hear people grumbling that they don’t get anything from the mass and it is because they haven’t invested anything in it.

          Relatedly, can you withdraw money from the bank without making any deposit? This is the same with our spiritual lives. We need to invest our time, talent and treasure in order to enjoy the blessings that come from the source of all good.

        Nothing is too hard for the Lord (𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟏𝟖:𝟏𝟒) but it will all depend on how open we are and will be to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who showers us not only with his spiritual gifts but brings us to a new life in Christ (𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟓:𝟏𝟕).         

        If we consider salvation history as a love story between God and man, we should also view the Sacred Scriptures as God’s love letter to mankind. As we celebrate tomorrow Feb. 14 what has been known as Valentine’s Day, we should try to find time to reflect on the love of Jesus for all of us.

        A sacrificial kind of love for “𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲.” (𝐌𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟒𝟓) We can even consider that Jesus’ death on the cross could very well be the first celebration of Valentine’s Day for it was on this day that Jesus showed the world what love really is.

        It was also out of love that Jesus has shown us in the gospel stories that that like Peter we too can also walk on water but only if we have faith. Like Lazarus, our spirits and souls can be raised back to life if we will draw closer to him who is the source of life. And we can hear God’s Word and proclaim it to the world if we will only allow the Holy Spirit to move and take control of our lives. Love then is having faith in the one who has taken possession of our souls.

        Then and only then can we say that Jesus has done all things well in our lives as we stand ready to open our eyes to see the beauty of his salvation and proclaim the glory of His Kingdom to all and, our ears to listen only to his Word. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘍𝘦𝘣. 13, 2026)