Sunday, September 5, 2027 · Year B
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ephphatha! Be opened!
Isaiah promises that when God comes, the ears of the deaf will be opened and the tongue of the mute will sing. People bring Jesus a deaf man with a speech impediment. He takes him aside, touches his ears and tongue, groans, and says, “Ephphatha,” be opened. The crowd says, “He has done all things well.”
Mass Readings
- First Reading Isaiah 35:4-7a
- Responsorial Psalm Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
- Second Reading James 2:1-5
- Gospel Mark 7:31-37
Open the Mass Readings on USCCB.org →
First Reading Isaiah 35:4-7a
Say to the fearful: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God; He comes to save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf cleared, the lame will leap like a stag, and the tongue of the mute will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert.
Psalm Psalm 146
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Second Reading James 2:1-5
Show no partiality. If a rich man in fine clothes and a poor man in shabby clothes come into your assembly, do not give the rich man the good seat and tell the poor man to stand. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith?
Gospel Mark 7:31-37
In the Decapolis, people bring Jesus a deaf man with a speech impediment. Jesus takes him aside, puts His fingers into his ears, touches his tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven, groans and says, “Ephphatha!” His ears are opened and he speaks plainly. The people are astonished: “He has done all things well.”
Step Into the Story
Isaiah 35, a poem for a people far from home, pictures the desert in bloom and promises that the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf cleared. James, likely writing in the mid first century, imagines a rich man in gold rings strolling into the assembly, while the poor man in shabby clothes is told to sit on the floor. Gold rings marked members of Rome’s equestrian order. James is not amused.
- 63 B.C.Pompey frees the Greek cities
- 4 B.C.Philip rules the north
- 14 A.D.Tiberius becomes emperor
- c. 20 A.D.Antipas founds Tiberias
- This week’s scene: c. 29 A.D.“Ephphatha!” Be opened
Follow Jesus on a long loop, likely around 29 A.D., from Tyre north to Sidon and back down to the Decapolis, the league of Greek cities east of the lake. This is not Jewish country. Look up at Hippos on its hilltop, its temples and colonnades catching the sun. Hear Greek in the streets. Smell the pig herds on the slopes, an abomination to every Jew in your party.
Then people bring Him a man who is deaf and can barely speak, and beg Him to lay His hand on him. Jesus leads the man away from the crowd, alone. Follow at a little distance and watch. The man cannot hear you or anyone else; his world is silent. Jesus puts His fingers into the man’s ears, then looks up to heaven and sighs. Hold your breath, and wait for the word.
Encounter the Lord
Stand at the edge of the crowd and watch Jesus lead a deaf man away from the noise. In the quiet, He puts His fingers in the man’s ears, touches his tongue, looks up to heaven and sighs. Then one word: “Ephphatha.”
Jesus treats this man as a person, not a spectacle. He speaks to him in signs he can understand. He still works this way in the sacraments, touching us through water, oil, bread and the laying on of hands. At your Baptism the priest may have touched your ears and mouth with the same word. Some of us are deaf to God’s voice and silent about our faith. Jesus wants to open both. James adds that an opened heart sees the poor as God sees them, without partiality.
Pray this week: “Lord, open my ears to hear You and my lips to speak of You.” Then notice whom you tend to overlook at church, and greet that person.
Know Your Faith
- 91·why Jesus worked miracles
- 181·why the liturgy uses signs and symbols
- 314·how we know God is merciful
Christ the Physician
Christ’s compassion toward the sick and His many healings are a resplendent sign that “God has visited his people” (CCC 1503). He makes use of signs to heal, spittle and the laying on of hands, and so in the sacraments Christ continues to touch us in order to heal us (CCC 1504).
Signs Used by Christ
In His preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of the signs of creation. He performs healings and gives new meaning to the signs of the Old Covenant (CCC 1151). The sacraments are perceptible signs that make present the grace they signify (CCC 1084, 1152).
The Mercy of God
God reveals His fatherly omnipotence by His infinite mercy, displaying His power at its height by freely forgiving sins (CCC 270). The preparation of man for grace is already a work of grace (CCC 2001).
No Partiality
God’s love for the poor is a mark of the Church; Jesus identified Himself with the least of His brethren (CCC 2443-2444, 1825).
Key Takeaways
- Scripture
- Doctrine
- Sacraments
- Christian Life
- Scripture: Jesus’ healings are signs that God has come to save His people.
- Sacraments: Christ still touches and heals us through the sacraments.
- Doctrine: God’s grace opens us to hear His word and to proclaim it.
- Christian Life: Christians must not show partiality between rich and poor.
Test Your Knowledge
True or false? Tap your answer.
Isaiah promised that the ears of the deaf would be opened.
True.
Jesus healed the deaf man in front of the whole crowd with a word only.
False: He took him aside and used gestures of touch.
“Ephphatha” means “Be opened.”
True.
The Decapolis was a largely Gentile region.
True.
James says to give the best seat to the rich man.
False: he warns against partiality toward the rich.
The Catechism teaches that Christ continues to touch us in the sacraments to heal us.
True.
The rite of Baptism can include the Ephphatha.
True.
The crowd said, “He has done all things well.”
True.
God’s grace comes only after we have made ourselves ready on our own.
False: the preparation for grace is itself a work of grace, CCC 2001.
James says God chose the poor in the world to be rich in faith.
True.
Answers: 1 T · 2 F (He took him aside and used gestures of touch) · 3 T · 4 T · 5 F (he warns against partiality toward the rich) · 6 T · 7 T · 8 T · 9 F (the preparation for grace is itself a work of grace, CCC 2001) · 10 T
Journal Prompts
Where am I deaf to God’s voice?
Where am I silent when I should speak of my faith?
Whom do I tend to treat with partiality?
How have the sacraments touched and healed me?
Talk to God
Lord Jesus, You touched the deaf man and said, “Be opened.” Open my ears to hear Your word and my lips to proclaim Your praise. Teach me to treat every person with love, as You do. Amen.