When I read the account in Friday's gospel of the "deaf and dumb" man, I had thoughts of Lorenzo's reception of the Sacraments this weekend. I figure this is a good time to give some Christian (as well as "fatherly") advice and counsel. In the gospel the crowd brings to Jesus a deaf man with a speech impediment and begs Jesus to lay His hand on him. Note how Jesus deals with the man, one on one, sensitively, carefully and compassionately.
“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!)”
The basic question for Jesus, and the one He hopes we learn, is always: What does my neighbor need from me today?
How often do we find ourselves selfishly reversing the question to: What do I need from my neighbor?
As members of the Body of Christ our primary vocation is extending Christ’s presence: we are Christ’s hands and hearts on this planet. God depends on us to touch our neighbor as Christ would if Christ were here.
That’s why I’m so proud of my children—Sarah, and her work on behalf of God’s children who are caught up in the web created by those who ask the selfish second question, above, and take advantage of the former to further their own agendas. And Alicia, who as the mother of a baby must always not just ask what Lily might need, but must instinctively “know” what she needs and accommodate that need, just as Jesus did in our gospel reading.
Through our baptisms and confirmations we all receive the graces we need to be able to ask, “What does my neighbor (mother, son, daughter, father, friend, co-worker, etc) need from me today?” and “How can I accommodate that need?” Our “job” as baptized Christians is to become the face of Christ to others.
Let’s thank God for giving us the Spirit of Christ in baptism and ask God to be open to this Spirit so we might truly be Christ’s presence for others.
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