....then (Jesus) looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”—that is. “Be opened!” (Mark 7:34)
There are none so blind as those who will not see. The same principle holds true for those who are deaf because they will not listen.
During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, a room was filled with applicants seeking a job opening for a telegraph operator. The noise of the applicants talking among themselves competed with the persistent sound of dots and dashes, Morse code, coming from a telegraph key. The outer door opened and another applicant joined those waiting to be interviewed.
Suddenly the newly arrived applicant’s eyes lit up. He walked to a door marked “Private” and went inside. A minute later the employer came out and dismissed the other applicants. They were furious. One of them shouted, “I demand an explanation. I’ve been waiting all morning to be interviewed. Then this upstart jumps the line and gets the job.”
The employer replied, “Listen to the dots and dashes; they contain your explanation.” Everyone listened for the first time. The dots and dashes were repeating over and over again this message: “if you hear this; come in, the job is yours. If you hear this, come in, the job is yours.”
The employer had been repeating that message all morning, but no one, with one exception, was listening.
The spiritual world is like that telegraph office. God is constantly speaking to us, within the ordinary circumstances of our lives, but sadly, many aren’t listening. To update my telegraph story, it’s as if God is broadcasting on FM radio, and we’re tuned to AM, or tuned out altogether.
Christians live in two worlds simultaneously -- the material and the spiritual. Teilhard de Chardin, one of the foremost theologians of the 20th century said: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” For enlightened believers matter and spirit are the same thing; spiritual presence can be sensed all around us. Sometimes, however, our sensors don’t work right.
In today’s gospel from Mark, Jesus performs a miracle for a deaf man. Jesus touches the man’s ears, says to him “Ephphatha!” -- “Be opened” – and the man’s ears are opened. The man’s ears were apparently blocked by some physical impediment. That same miraculous healing power is available to everyone, particularly when a spiritual impediment, temporary or longstanding, blocks God from getting through to us, but first, like the deaf man’s ears, our hearts have to be opened.
On the first day of school, a high school teacher wanted to get home to spend some quality time in prayer. She wanted to be in God’s presence in a special way. Between first and second period, she noticed a senior socializing with friends in the hall. One of the new freshmen was crying and the senior spotted her passing by. The senior left her group and offered to help. She took the freshman to a nearby room, sat down with her, and listened. When the teacher next saw them, they were walking together to the counselor’s office. The senior waited there on the step until the freshman was finished, then walked her back to her classroom.
The teacher at that moment knew that she had missed the point of her prayer that morning. God’s presence is all around us if we reach out for it, if we have eyes to see, if we listen to the inner urgings of our heart.
The same Spirit that descended at Pentecost comes to each of us in the waters of baptism, descending now unnoticed, not spectacularly as that first time in the Upper Room in Jerusalem -- but no less effectively. The Spirit is with us always, at work in all the circumstances of our lives, consoling, comforting, inspiring; perhaps in the word of a loved one, the touch of a friend, a passage of music, a beautiful sunset, a gorgeous summer’s day like yesterday and today, the smell of gardenias. Every moment and every event carries the potential for spiritual enlightenment. If the Spirit’s not getting through to us, it’s our job to identity and deal with whatever’s causing the blockage. Most often, not surprisingly, self-centeredness or ego is the root of our problem.
Since most of us aren’t mystics, however, we have to work at being open to the Spirit. We have to work at it because the noise and distractions of modern life interfere with our receptivity. Now we’re more likely to experience the mighty wind of the first Pentecost as a gentle breeze; the thunderous sound, as a whisper; and the blazing tongues of fire, as a flicker. Generally, our moments of closeness to God are muted and understated, which is why they’re so easy to overlook if we’re not paying attention.
How do we open our hearts to connect with God? We do it through our senses, through touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. The senses are God’s gateway to the mind and imagination which act as conduits to the heart. Ritual, for example, stimulates our imagination through the senses and explains why the Church down through the centuries has always emphasized ritual. The water, oils, candles, incense, vestments, music and singing (especially here at Transfiguration) used in our rituals aren’t just for show, they’re essential to Catholic spirituality.
When I was growing up in the ‘50’s, much of Catholic religious practice was about avoiding consequences, whether it was guilt, damnation, or just a stern look from an irate nun, pastor, or parent. Today, most of us no longer find ourselves motivated by fear and punishment. Nor are we as obsessive about following rules. We attend Mass on Sunday, for example, not out of obligation, but to feed our souls. What we’re seeking is what people have sought since the dawn of creation – oneness, unity, communion with God our Creator.
Specifically, what can we do to tune onto God’s wavelength? Participate in loving relationships; practice service to others; meditate (listening to God) consistently and pray (talking to God) daily; experience nature often; nurture positive qualities like kindness, courage, compassion, and sincerity; enjoy the Arts; be creative; go on spiritual retreats; live simply and according to gospel values. What works for my daughter Kate is doing yoga and chanting. In short, 21st century Catholic spirituality calls us to recognize the holiness of the material world and to be involved with it creatively, as Jesus did in taking on human form.
As faith filled believers, not only are we called to listen to God’s voice in the spiritual world; we’re called to echo it back to each other in the material world as well. Of course, as with any sound, if God’s voice falls on deaf ears, it’s like the proverbial tree falling in the forest when nobody’s there to hear or… like Morse code going unheeded.
Anthony J. Sciolino
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
September 7, 2003. (Cycle B)
Isaiah 35:4-7a/128
James 2:1-5
Mark 7:31-37.