Get connected to Jesus, 23rd Sunday of Ordinary time, Cycle B

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(The homily starts off by Deacon Ron putting on headphones and walking to the front of the altar while staring at my phone)

This is what I see many people doing as I start my morning workout at the downtown YMCA. It seems like almost everyone is wearing headphones connected to their phone or tablet listening to something.  I suspect it’s either music, a sports show, or the daily news.   On some days I’ll go out for lunch and walk along canal and see a similar scene. On a rare occasion I’ll see people talking to one another, which is a refreshing site. 

Hearing is something that’s so important in our lives.  It’s essential for interacting with our surroundings and being in relationship with others.   It allows us to enjoy the beauty of music & lyrics so we can sign along with our favorite songs.  It’s the primary way we learn when we’re very young so we can learn to speak.  It would be very difficult to do most of the things we do in life without the ability to hear.  God has given us the gift of hearing and it’s something we can be truly grateful for. 

Unfortunately, today much of what we hear in the world is noise that deafens us to God.  We have too many distractions: music, news, sports, and entertainment that constantly consumes our time.  Sadly, some of the noise are the negative things within the Church and it can be discouraging.  This makes it very difficult to be open to the most important thing to hear, the word of God, through Jesus, the one restores us and gives us everlasting life.

Today we heard about Jesus’ healing of the deaf man in district of the Decapolis.   This was a region of ten cities that were mainly in Gentile territory.  Jesus goes into this area to proclaim the Kingdom of God to those who have yet to hear of it. This was a sign of Jesus coming to save all people, even those who are far from God.  The people bring the deaf man to Jesus, but he doesn’t perform the healing amongst the crowd. Jesus took the deaf man away by himself.  He wanted to be in relationship with the man who needed healing.   He didn’t want heal just for show to the other people. We’re told that Jesus touched the man’s ears and tongue and groaned Ephphatha, which meant be opened! The healing was immediate and the man could hear and his speech impediment was also gone. He could not only hear, but could now clearly proclaim the good news of what Jesus did for him.  We’re only able to proclaim what we are able to hear well.

Most of us here today have received the healing grace of baptism that restored the imperfection of original sin, so we could become children of God.   Through Christ, we’re being perfected through our relationship with him.   This was made possible through the Rite of Baptism. In this rite after the Baptism with water, the Ephphatha prayer is prayed by the priest or deacon. They touch the ears and mouth and prayer the following:  The Lord Jesus made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.  May he soon touch your hearts to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.   We’ve received the same gift as the deaf man to hear and proclaim the Good news of Jesus Christ!

So how can we be open to the word of God and proclaim it?  By being in relationship with Jesus just like the deaf man was.  This requires taking some time away from the noise and distractions of life and spending it with Jesus.  We first need to be absorbed in the Word of God so we can proclaim it.  The more we hear it the better we’ll be at sharing it with others.   Coming to Mass weekly is essential for this.  At Mass we have the opportunity to hear the word of God in the readings, psalms, and Gospel. We also have the rich prayers of the liturgy, especially the Eucharistic prayers.  The hymns that we sing also help to support the readings and season we’re in, and add to the hearing of God’s word.

Each week we can also listen to God’s word prior to coming to Mass.  This can really help the Mass become more rich and alive.  There are plenty of resources in print or online that provide the weekly readings and reflections on them.  Two that I really enjoy listening to are podcasts of the Sunday readings and a homily by Bishop Robert Barron through his Word on Fire ministry.  I really like Bishop Baron’s homilies as he has a unique way of relating Jesus to today’s culture. I’ll listen to these multiple times while driving to work, exercising, or working in yard.  It really helps stay connected to Jesus throughout the week. There is also the Opening the Word video reflection on the weekly readings that’s another good resource.  It’s on the opening screen of the parish’s Formed subscription that you can access online. Sharing the readings together with a small group, your spouse, or family can also be helpful to hear God’s word.  Finally, it’s always good to plan some quiet time in prayer to connect with Jesus and get away from the noise that distracts us from him. 

The last few weeks have been a bit of a challenge with the negative news about the Church.  It can be discouraging and take the focus away from what’s most important: hearing the Good News that Jesus proclaims.  To help with this I’ve relied a lot on the Blessed Mother’s intercession. Praying the mysteries of rosary has really helped me to focus on Jesus.    Also keeping the Blessed Mother’s last words in the Gospel of John, “Do whatever he tells you,” has helped me to listen much more attentively to the words of Jesus, and gives me the hope to proclaim the good news they bring.  So this week I hope you can disconnect from the noise in the world and get connected to hearing the word of Jesus so you can proclaim the Good News.