Pastor's Letter -- September 5, 2021

Greetings to you my beloved parishioners,

We thank God for the gift of human labor, which beautifies creation and provides for human needs. We pray that the unemployed and underemployed would find gainful and meaningful employment, and that the dignity of workers would everywhere be respected. I wish you all a blessed and restful Labor Day weekend, and safe journeys to all who would be traveling to visit with families and loved ones.

The holiness of God is a central theme in the book of Isaiah. The prophet contrasts human sinfulness with the thrice-holy God whom he had seen a vision of. In the inaugural vision that began Isaiah’s prophetic ministry to the people of Judah, we read about his lament upon beholding in a vision the overpowering holiness of God. And he spontaneously confessed his unworthiness to behold God for he was a sinful man and lived among a sinful people. His confession of guilt is then followed by a purification ritual performed by one of the Seraphim, who touched his mouth with an ember taken from the altar (Isaiah 6:5-7). God’s holiness and majesty were such overwhelming themes such that political power and military might faded into insignificance. Isaiah called the kings of Judah to have faith and trust in God and not in military might. But they ignored him, and the consequence of this was grave. Judah was overpowered by the Assyrians and subjugated to paying a huge indemnity to the king of Assyria for its continued existence. Instead of trusting in the Lord, the kings trusted in human might. As a result, they were taken into captivity, first by the Assyrians, and later by the Babylonians. The text we have for our First reading this weekend promises a time of liberation from captivity, when the Lord, in keeping with his promise to their ancestors, would set them free from their oppressors. This deliverance would result in the reversal of fortunes, with visible signs such as the opening of the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, the healing of the limbs of the lame and the loosening of the tongues of those who are dumb so they sing for joy, among others. These would not be on account of anything the people have done, but to show God’s fidelity to his covenant, and to manifest God’s glory and splendor. From the First reading and the Responsorial Psalm, we are called to praise the Lord who remains true to his covenant despite our infidelity by choosing to stray from the path of holiness.

In the Gospel, St. Mark presents Jesus as the savior, who fulfills the prophecy given through Isaiah. Jesus heals a deaf man with speech impediment. This man was deaf, so, presumably could not have heard what Jesus said. He could not speak, so might not have been able to ask for help without some difficulty. He was dependent on others, who today brought him to Jesus. Jesus separates this man from the crowd. Why would he do that? Why heal this man in private? It seems this is connected with the theme of the Messianic secret. We had seen Jesus perform miracles in public, and with just a word of command. Why then did he choose to dramatize the cure of this man by putting his finger into the man’s ears and touching his tongue with spittle? Could it be to respect this man’s privacy, and not to irritate the onlookers who might have taken offense at this ritual? Was Jesus emphasizing the importance of touch in healing? Could Jesus not have done this healing in a more dignifying manner rather than his preferred use of spittle? We might never know what was in the heart of Jesus, and why he chose this tactile manner of healing on this occasion. But one thing is evident in Jesus’ action. He ‘looked up to heaven and groaned…” We are not told that Jesus prayed, but this gesture points to the intimacy between Jesus and the Father. It also signals that the power to cure this man did not come from his hand, which he put in his ears; neither did it come from the spittle with which he touched his tongue. The power for healing came from above. God is the source of every healing, and to him must the praise be addressed. Of course Jesus healed the man, but he did not want to draw attention to himself but to lead people to the Father, hence the admonition to tell no one. In the face of world events, the war in Afghanistan, the earthquakes in Haiti, the hurricanes in Louisiana, and the global COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are asking where does help come from? We can respond with the Psalmist that neither does help come from the mountains, nor from military might, or from science; our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth (Psalms 121: 1-2).

Our readings for this weekend confirms to us that we serve a God in whom mercy and justice meet. Out of his mercy God cares for the plight of his people. He promises them salvation, and heals them of their infirmities. In his justice, he also does something about their condition, providing food to the hungry, restoring sight to the blind, making the deaf hear and the dumb speak, protecting strangers, setting captives free and caring for orphans and widows. In his authority as the Son of God, Jesus commands closed organs to be opened, and they yielded. This same Jesus is willing and able to open whatever is shut in our lives today, and every area of our lives that have not been yielded to the Lord, if we let him. He is able to open our eyes that we might behold God’s glory, our lips that we might proclaim it, our ears that we might hear God’s word and our hearts that we might ponder on it and keep it. In faith, we pray: “Ephphatha!”

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you!
With blessings from my heart,