The Gospel reminded me of a story about a 90-plus grandfather who was deaf. He bought high-tech in-ear hearing aids without telling his family. They worked perfectly.
When he went back for his checkup, the audiologist said, “I bet your family is pleased you can hear so well.” The grandfather replied, “I haven’t told them. I sit and listen to what they're saying about me, and I’ve changed my will three times.” The moral of the story: be careful what you say.
Now here’s a true story. President William Henry Harrison’s inaugural address in 1841 was the longest ever. He spoke for over two hours, on a wintry day without hat or coat. He got pneumonia. A month later he was dead. So, the lesson for speakers is to be brief!
Let's plunge right into Word of God.
Isaiah speaks about a new age in which the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the rivers will flow. Yes, the Messiah will come. God’s word today asks us to remember that in times of darkness, God is our light; in times of brokenness, God is our healer; and in times of discouragement, God is our hope.
The operative message in this Isaiah passage is to say to those whose hearts are frightened—and there are many in today’s world: "Be strong, fear not!" So when things are not going our way or the opposite of what we want, be strong, fear not. God is close to you.
The Letter of James urges us to practice two fundamental principles of justice.
“Show no partiality”: treat everyone with respect. We are made in the image of God.
The other principle is “God’s preferential option for the poor.” Jesus says we will be judged by our response to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the prisoner.
I thought about this on September 5, the feast of Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa is a beautiful reminder that what we do to others, we do to Jesus Christ. Mother Teresa made the poor and destitute street-people who lived like “animals in the gutter” able to “die like angels” with her simple love and care for them.
In the Gospel, Jesus meets a deaf man, and takes him to a quiet, safe place. Jesus then “puts his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touches his tongue.” Notice: no exam gloves!
Jesus doesn’t just use a fleeting word. By his touch, Jesus enters this person’s life and brings hope and healing.
The Aramaic word “F-fatha” can mean “be open” or “be released.” Jesus releases the man from his disability and also from his isolation: bringing him back into his family and community.
It’s awful to feel isolated, isn’t it? Mother Teresa recognized, “The poverty in the West … is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. People hunger for love as well as for God.”
I would like to think that the word of God today is urging us to have a heart. Within each one of us is the heart of a spiritual champion.
Some of you horse racing fans may have heard of Seabiscuit: “Horse of the Year” in 1938. The story of Seabiscuit eventually became a national best seller and a movie.
Small, with crooked legs, Seabiscuit began his career with 16 losses. But a trainer was convinced Seabiscuit could be a winner.
The trainer persuaded someone to buy the horse. The two hired a washed-up prizefighter as the jockey. Somehow, these three people saw a greatness that had eluded everyone else.
The team worked. Seabiscuit began to win and win and charmed our country in the midst of the Great Depression.
The story is really a story about “F-fatha” (the Aramaic word in today’s gospel). It's an “openness” to greatness. And that spirit is contagious.
In the waters of Baptism, God breathes his Spirit into us and the Spirit enables us to continue the work of Jesus: to be instruments of God’s compassion and generosity and love and forgiveness. And the result of spiritual greatness is moral character.
Our challenge is to be our best self. As the classical philosopher Aristotle put it, “Excellence is never an accident … choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
Our prayer, in light of the scriptures, may be that we be released from our fears, and from a self-centeredness that makes us “deaf” to God and “mute” in responding to someone in need.
Let us ask for God's grace to be open to the possibilities for spiritual greatness. Every day, opportunities to do good open up to us. Seize these opportunities! With God's grace, let us pray to "do all things well." Amen.
