Homily for 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Liturgical Year B
First Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7a. Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146:6c-7. 8-9a.9bc-10ab. Second Reading: James 2:1-5. Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 4:23. Gospel Reading: Mark 7:31-37.
We celebrate the 23rd Sunday in the ordinary time Catholic Calendar, Year B. The readings taken from Isaiah 35:4-7a, James 2:1-5, and Mark 731-37, captures the comforting presence and action of God admits His people. The consoling Word of God is found in the first reading, which is drawn from the book of Isaiah. The prophet gave several consoling prophecies to uplift the people at the period when the children of Israel were experiencing great sorrow. In Isaiah 35:3-7, He says strengthen all weak hands, make firm all feeble knees and say to broken hearts, courage do not fear, look your God is coming. He is coming to save you; the eyes of the blind shall be open and the tongue of the mute shall be loosened. (Isaiah 35:3-7).
For people with frightened hearts, the assurance of God’s presence provides solace. The passage joyfully celebrates God’s final victory over the powers of annihilation and death. This will highlight the sincere desire of a community to return to life amidst death and healing for those who have been caught in the grips of war for a long time. Even though you’re in a hopeless situation, Isaiah still presents another world in which dry and barren lands have been turned into the most fertile places.
The science that will be applied when the Messiah returns to build God’s Kingdom is laid forth for us by Isaiah. The deaf will hear, the blind will see, the lame will leap like a deer, and the mute will sing for joy. Like many other parts of the world even now, the ancient Near East viewed disability as the ultimate life-denying situation. The Israelites in exile are paralleled to those who feel weak and powerless due to physical disabilities. These defenseless and forlorn people are given hope by Isaiah to overcome their obstacles.
Consequently, the announcement of Jesus’ appearance in the Nazareth synagogue marked the accomplishment of this dedicated and adventurous prophecy of Isaiah. He said, “This text is being fulfilled even as you listen,” after reading the aforementioned chapter (Luke 4:21). Jesus is also seen in several gospel passages fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah.
Examples of this include the healing of the blind man (John 9:1-41) and the suffering of some of the people of Gentile descent in addition to the children of Israel. The epileptic boy’s recovery (Mark 9:14–29). The recovery of the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter (Mark 7:24–30). The healing of Jarius’ daughter and the lady with the blood flow, as recorded in Mark 5:21–43), and lastly the healing of the ten lepers, (Luke 17:11-19).
The gospel reading for today tells the story of how the people brought a deaf and dumb man before Jesus and asked him to heal him. Jesus took the man aside, stroked the man’s tongue with his finger, then inserted his fingers into his ears. He let out a sigh, raised his eyes to heaven, and spoke the Word to heal the man, saying “Ephphatha” an original Aramaic word meaning “be opened”, thus, bringing him back to full health.
This proves that Jesus is the Messiah after all He is the one who gives the deaf ear, the dumps speech, the blind sight, the limb function, and makes the lepers clean. With Jesus, everyone who has been marginalized by our countries’ poor socioeconomic systems and those who have suffered because of our flawed political system can have fresh hopes for success and fulfilment. All who were oppressed by guilt and held captive by sin can now discover fresh freedom and redemption in Jesus.
Also, with Jesus, all those of our generation whose conscience have been killed by sexual immorality, pornography, and the crime of abortion, all of those whose drug and alcohol addiction has numbed their senses, all of those whose spiritual lives have been undermined by occultism, etc., can now leave new lives full of meaning and purpose in the loving presence of God. Furthermore, all those whose lives have been inverted by having children with serious disabilities, all those whose dreams were dashed by marriage and family life failure, and all those whose hearts are crushed by betrayal can now rejoice because Jesus is the one who mends the wounded heart.
He is the one by whose wounds we have been healed and by whose stripes we have been all paid for, (Isaiah 53:5). As with his encounter with the deaf man, Jesus wishes to take each one of us aside. He wants to give us undivided attention, He wants to open our ears and loosen our tongues. So that, we may hear his word and proclaim his peace. The Lord says in Revelation 3:20, “Behold a stand at the door, knocking; If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me”.
Dear friends, the three readings of today deal with God’s loving concern for his poor and suffering people in Christendom and in the society at large. Thus, thoughts of partiality, tribalism, favoritism, nepotism, and class distinctions should be discouraged as expressed by St. James in the second reading (James 2:1-5). There should be no room in the Christian community for disrespecting some people while adoring others because of wealth or the positions that they hold in the society. In the Christian community there should be no superiority or inferiority complex.
Christians should be among the first to appreciate the fact that all of us, men and women, are before God, poor and helpless people. Before God, all of us are impoverished beggars. The apostle James makes a strong statement on this subject. He illustrates why it is absurd for Christians to participate in such behavior and serves as a reminder that God favors the weak and the defenseless. As the Virgin Mary said in the Magnificat, our God brings down the powerful from their thrones and exalts the humble. (See Luke 1:52). According to the Psalmist, God is the widows’ protector, companion, and father of orphans. (Psalm 40:7; Psalm 68:5).
In conclusion, if we are indifferent to the suffering of the poor and marginalized, we cannot claim to be followers of this God who has so much love, care and concern for us. How can we claim to be followers of Jesus and children of God if we do not actively work to end the suffering of the oppressed and stand up for those who are marginalized by the poor social structures that push them to the border regions of society?
This includes not only opposing the wishes of our neighbors but also rejecting certain people. Jesus wants us to build our relationship through our relation with our neighbours, for not only will we be healed of our illness when we see the Lord, as he healed the dumb man and raised the dead, but we will also be given the ability to heal others and save them from their suffering. God requests our hands in order to utilize them to dry the weeping people’s tears. He begs for our ears so that he can use them to listen to the cries of worried people, and he requests our lips so he can utilize them to speak out against the various social injustices that exist in our society. May God give us the grace to always open our hearts so that we may hear His Word and receive His healing and blessings, through Christ our Lord. Amen. God Bless You.
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Rev. Fr. Godwin C. Ibe is the Assistant Parish Priest of St Paul’s Catholic Church, Airport Road, Benin City
