Be opened

Gospel MK 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis. 
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 
He put 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!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. 
He ordered them not to tell anyone. 
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it. 
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well. 
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

In today's gospel, Jesus heals the deaf mute.  Here is a man who was not able to hear and not able to speak.  It's not a stretch to say that he was disconnected to the world and others around him.  Perhaps he figured out how to communicate with others, but it likely wasn't easy and how much was lost in translation?  This is not unlike the spiritual disconnection that is a part of the human condition.  We long for God's presence in our lives, we long for God to give our lives meaning.  And just as Jesus healed the deaf mute, he also heals my emptiness, reconnecting my soul with the Divine.  I am at my best when I become aware of those times when I turn away from God.  Sometimes Jesus himself will command "Be opened!" and my heart does just that as it is filled with God's presence.