Sep 8 2024

First reading Isaiah 35:4-7

The blind shall see, the deaf hear, the dumb sing for joy

Say to all faint hearts,

‘Courage! Do not be afraid.

Look, your God is coming,

vengeance is coming,

the retribution of God;

he is coming to save you.’

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

the ears of the deaf unsealed,

then the lame shall leap like a deer

and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy;

for water gushes in the desert,

streams in the wasteland,

the scorched earth becomes a lake,

the parched land springs of water.

Responsorial Psalm 145(146):7-10

Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
The God of Jacob keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets captives free.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
The Lord gives sight to the blind;
the Lord raises up those who were bowed down.
The Lord loves the just;
the Lord protects strangers.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow the Lord sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The Lord shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.
Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
Alleluia.

Second reading James 2:1-5

God chose the poor according to the world to be rich in faith

My brothers, do not try to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with the making of distinctions between classes of people. Now suppose a man comes into your synagogue, beautifully dressed and with a gold ring on, and at the same time a poor man comes in, in shabby clothes, and you take notice of the well-dressed man, and say, ‘Come this way to the best seats’; then you tell the poor man, ‘Stand over there’ or ‘You can sit on the floor by my foot-rest.’ Can’t you see that you have used two different standards in your mind, and turned yourselves into judges, and corrupt judges at that?

Listen, my dear brothers: it was those who are poor according to the world that God chose, to be rich in faith and to be the heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love him.

Gospel Mark 7:31-37

‘He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak’

Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. ‘He has done all things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’

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God is near

“Say to all faint hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid: ‘Look, your God is coming…” (1st reading). How is your heart? Is it beating with fear and anxiety, or is it just tired? The prophet Isaiah tells us today: “Courage! Do not be afraid”. These words provide hope and strength when we are anxious about the future or feeling lonely and misunderstood. The reason for our courage is because God is here. We trust deeply that He is with us and guides us as we walk on.

“…put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue…” In today’s gospel, Jesus puts His fingers into the man’s ears and touches his tongue to show that He empathises with his condition. Jesus, God incarnated, is not indifferent but can identify and feel compassion for this man. This is our Good News! Jesus inserts Himself into our human reality and understands our fears, joys, pains, loneliness, etc. Let us open ourselves to the presence of Christ and trust that His love gives us life.

Reflective question:
What is Jesus saying to me today?

Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.