Deacon
Tom Writes
“The
Secret To Success”
Jesus has a remarkable
encounter with a deaf man as He traveled the countryside of the Decapolis.
Petitioned by the man’s friends, Jesus cures him. “Be Opened!” Jesus says
two simple words to the deaf man and he is able to hear. His life changed in an
instant. There is newness to the world he has been living in but not fully
participating in. He is complete, made whole, reunited to his community from
which he was isolated somewhat, and ready, perhaps, to begin life anew.
There are many events
recorded in scripture that demonstrate Jesus had power over the natural world. He
changed water into wine, walked on water, calmed the sea. But Jesus’ greatest
power lies in His power to heal as we read in today’s gospel when He uses that
power to set this man free from the loneliness and isolation that his deafness
caused.
The words we hear in the
gospel today are powerful, “Be opened”. They challenge us to
look into our lives and find those attitudes and behaviors that stand in
contrast to the openness to which God calls us. Are we “Open” to forgive someone who has hurt us? Are we “Open” to letting go of resentments? Are
we willing to change our behavior and stop gossiping, or thinking that we are
better than others?
Be Opened! Not
just our ears, but our minds and attitudes also. We are living in a fast-paced,
media fueled, 280 character twitter tweets, relationship challenged world and
we can’t help but wonder if, when we speak, is anybody listening?” Is anyone open to what we are saying when we speak
about God’s love for each person; that we are made in God’s image and likeness;
that we infused with great dignity, and our destiny is to share forever in the
divine presence?
When we are “Opened” to the Word of God, our lives
change, just as the man in the gospel’s life was changed. We don’t know the
details on what changed. We only know that everyone was told to keep silent
about what happened. Yet, because of their astonishment, they just couldn’t
keep this amazing occurrence to themselves. They had to spread the word. And
those words did not fall upon deaf ears! Praise God!
God never disappoints. There
is nothing in our lives that God can’t use to bring about the good if we turn
to Him and trust in Him. That’s the deeper meaning of faith. That’s the “Openness” that God longs for so that He
can fill us with every good thing in our time of need. Openness is our invitation to God to come into our lives and holds
the secret to success in attaining a peaceful and joy filled spiritual life.
Enjoy
the day!
Deacon Tom
Image credit: dave-burke.squarespace.com/storage/ephphatha.jpg
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