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.”
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Sickness, disease, and death were thought of as consequences of the sinful human condition. It was not God’s intention that man should live with the pressure of death upon him, but because of sin and the power of the devil death entered the world: “For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it” (Wis 2:23-24). When someone was sick, it was thought that a person was being punished for sin, or was under the power of the devil. In this light, every healing means that death is repelled and sin assaulted. That is why it is appropriate for Jesus to proclaim the remission of sins when he heals. It is not necessary to think of a corresponding sin for each instance of sickness. But since for people to be sick is to fall into the sphere of withering or decay belonging to the realm of death, healing is seen as the gracious movement of God into that sphere. Like the Lord God who saw how good his creation was (Gn 1:10), Jesus “has done all things well.”
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2021,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.
