Daily Gospel Reflection for September 8, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

“Ephphatha!” -- that is,“Be opened!”

Perhaps it could be argued that one of the most essential characteristics for healing is openness. That is, faith in God that the impossible is possible and a willingness to trust in the working out of that plan. While God does not need our participation to heal, He does desire our cooperation with the Holy Spirit in this life-affirming action. And full healing, sometimes not in our lifetime, is quite often not on our timeline either.

In the Gospels, there are at least twenty-six accounts of Jesus as a healer. Everyone that came to Jesus in faith seeking healing received it. In this passage, faith was present also in those who brought the man to Jesus.

Likewise, we are called to draw others closer to Christ. Here, however, the deaf and mute man we see not only needed to be brought to Jesus, but to spend time alone with Him, free of the distractions and the crowd. This man needed a personal encounter with Christ, to be open to the healing he desired, and that which God sought to give him.

Physically and spiritually, we are a people both blessed and broken, in need of a Savior and of the healing that Christ can offer. Yet what exactly that healing will look like for each person is drastically different, as is the invitation itself to encounter Christ. Will our healing require complete unseen trust (John 4:46-54), or in a more bodily way, as with the man in this passage? Only He who “has done all things well” knows how to heal and the way best to reach each one of us. The question is, are we open to receive the peace and joy by entrusting to Him what lies in our hearts?

Ponder:

Am I closed in any way to an area of my life that needs healing? Do I ask God to conform to my expectation of healing?

Pray:

Lord, help me to seek Your healing touch, physically and spiritually, in every corner of my heart. And when I am tempted to lose hope, please be persistent with me by sending others to lead me to You and the peace I seek.

Daily Gospel 4