In the gospel of Mark, he tells us the story of Jesus taking a deaf man him “off by himself away from the crowd.” Jesus “puts his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (that is, ‘Be opened!’).” Looking up to his Father and inserting his fingers into the man’s ears, Jesus establishes, an electrical current, literally plugging him into the divine energy, compelling him to hear the Word.
This story is one healing and spiritual significance. We come to understand that the crowd is a large part of the problem. The loud and competing voices, the insistent bray of the advertising culture, the confusing Babel of competing spiritualities—all makes us deaf to God’s word. We have to be moved to a place of silence and communion.
Jesus draws us into his space, the space of the Church. There, away from the crowd, we can immerse ourselves in the rhythm of the liturgy, listen avidly to Scripture, study the theological tradition, watch the moves of holy people, take in the beauty of sacred art and architecture.
There we can hear.
Smitten With Goodness 