Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Friday. 14 February 2014 - Catholic Meditations

Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Friday. 14 February 2014 - Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Mark 7: Jesus Cures a Deaf Man
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus[a] ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Footnotes:
a. Mark 7:36 Gk he
Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop
People brought to him a deaf man. (Mark 7:32)
“Come here; you’ve got to see this!” You’ve probably had someone say this and tug you along to witness something amazing. Or a friend calls you to tell you that something you need is on sale at the store. “Quick! Get over there while you can still get it!” So it seems to have been with these people in the Decapolis, hurrying the deaf man up to Jesus. “Quick, he’s here now. Let’s get him to heal you!” Being deaf, the man hadn’t heard anything about Jesus. Being impeded in speech, he hadn’t said anything about wanting to go to Jesus for healing. He just stood there as his friends begged Jesus to heal him.
Still, for all his impediments, this man didn’t resist Jesus. He went along with him away from the crowd. He was open to finding out what would happen. The results—complete restoration of his hearing and speech—tell us that the man’s limited understanding of the whole situation didn’t keep Jesus from working a miracle. Healing doesn’t depend absolutely on whether we think we can be healed or not. It’s not a matter, or a sign, of our faith. We can be disposed to receive healing, or we can be unsure; we can be full of faith, or we can have our doubts. It doesn’t all depend on us.
Know this: whether you’re eager or baffled, believing or skeptical, Jesus can heal. He can work wonders, even in the face of the things we consider obstacles. Sometimes, as in the case of this deaf man, he does things that cause exceeding astonishment. Sometimes we ask and feel let down because we aren’t healed exactly as we imagined. But God is sovereign, and we are children whom he loves. Jesus said that we are to ask, and it will be given to us.
So ask! Imitate this deaf man. Be present to Jesus. Be open to what happens—because if you ask, something will happen. Be open, and keep looking for the gift God has for you, especially if you haven’t seen precisely what you are expecting. God is good; he does all things well. He is faithful; he hears you when you call on him. He loves you, and he loves to give you good gifts.
“Jesus, I open my heart to you today. Take me off by myself with you, and heal me.” Amen!
1 Kings 11:29 About that time, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open country 30 when Ahijah laid hold of the new garment he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 He then said to Jeroboam: Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes. 32 One tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
Psalm 81:10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels.
13 O that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
    and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
    and their doom would last forever.
-------