23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B, Year I)
Community Word: Those who trust and serve God are open to His will.
Theme: We are open to God’s will when we show no partiality in adhering to our faith.
Promise: “The God of Jacob keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry.”(Ps 146:7)
Reflection:
At the heart of our Gospel (Mk 7, 31-37) is a seemingly small but very important word for all of us in the BLD community. The word is “Ephphatha”, an Aramaic word meaning, “be opened.” It is an action word, written the same way Jesus pronounced it, so that it will sound even more alive to us today. Remarkably, the Filipino translation is exactly the very name of our community, “Bukas Loob sa Diyos.”
Examining the context in which the Gospel story is told, we find Jesus travelling through the “Decapolis,’ a region between the coast of Tyre and Sidon and Galilee, therefore a non-Jewish area. The people there brought to Him a deaf man so that He could heal him – evidently His fame had spread that far. Jesus took him aside, touched his ears and tongue, and then, looking up to the heavens, and with a deep sigh said, “Ephphatha.”And immediately, the man began to hear and speak fluently (Mk 7:31-35). Literally, the meaning of the word Ephphathais “be opened”, or be cured of the physical handicap because of which the man had been insulated from and ostracized by society. Consequently, the recovery of his speech and hearing became instruments of his “openness” to others and to the world. This “openness,” which began with the healing of his sense organs, caused a major change in his person and life, enabling him to communicate and relate in a new way to the events and the people around him.
“Openness,” however has a deeper meaning for us in the BLD family. The word “openness” is meant to heal us of our spiritual blindness and deafness caused by our sinfulness, arrogance, pride, confusion and partiality (Ps 146) in dealing with our brothers and sisters, especially the lowly (Jas 2:1,5). These hinder us from hearing the voice of God, the voice of love speaking in our hearts, which enable us to speak the language of love and to communicate with God and our fellowmen in and outside the community.
The Lord’s exhortation demonstrates not only His majesty as our God (Is 35:4), but it also affirms His personal concern to save us. He heals the broken hearted, lifts up the humble, and takes pleasure in those who fear and hope in His mercy. Beyond gold and silver, heeding God’s call to believe and “be opened” is like receiving abundant blessings and riches, including developing an understanding of the Triune God in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and of Christ, our hope of glory living in us and source of the mighty strength of our inner being and through whose blood we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
When we go into ‘high praise’ during our worship evenings, we are reminded of that special event in the Decapolis when the Lord said, “be opened!” And in the silence of our hearts, we go deeper into prayer and invite the Lord to convey his special message for us and our Community that evening, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening!” (Sm 3).
We are blessed to be members of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community which helps us to seek God constantly and reminds us to stay open to receive God’s mercy and grace, as He leads us on the right path and to the fullness of joy in His presence. Truly, all we need is to OPEN our hearts in faith to Him and surely, He will OPEN the door of heaven for us!
Prayer:
Thank you Almighty Father for allowing us to serve you in the BLD Community and to share our faith journey with our brothers and sisters in Your presence. Thank you for constantly reminding us to “be opened” and for healing us of our deafness to Your voice and blindness to Your light. Thank you for Your divine presence in our BLD family. It gives us the hope that sustains us in the deepest and toughest moments of our community life. To you Lord, we are eternally grateful. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1. How should I keep alive the word “Ephphatha” with myself, my spouse and my family, and among my brothers and sisters in community?
2. In what way do I get myself involved in the Word ministry to encourage openness to the Lord among our brothers and sisters in Community?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
September 6, 2015 (Sun) Is 35:6-7/Ps 146:7,8-9,9-10/Jas 2:1-5/Mk 7:31-37
September 7, 2015 (Mon) Col 1:24-2:3/Ps62:6-7,9/Lk 6:6-11
September 8, 2015 (Tue) Mi 5:1-4/Ps 13:6,6/Mt 1:1-16
September 9, 2015 (Wed) Col 3:1-11/Ps 145:2-3,10-11,12-13/Lk 6:20-26
September 10, 2015 (Thu) Col 3:12-17/Ps 150: 1-2,3-4,5-6/Lk 6:27- 38
September 11, 2015 (Fri) 1Tim 1:1-2,12-14/ps 16:1-2,5,7-8,11/Lk 6:39-42
September 12, 2015 (Sat) 1Tim 1:15-17/Ps 113:1-2,3-4,5,6-7/Lk 6:43-49
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
Please download in PDF format.
