Hard of Hearing

Hard of Hearing
September 9, 2018    23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi

Do you know someone that is deaf?  We all know someone. Oh, I don’t mean someone who is hard of hearing, although we all know people like that, too.  I’m referring to those who haven’t heard or understood the Word of God and who either don’t think they need God or are afraid to admit that they do.  It may be a co-worker, a neighbor, a friend or the parent of one of your children’s friends.  It may even be your own child.  Your spouse.  Maybe it is – you.

I think that we all are hard of hearing at times.  There are even times that we could hear if we wanted to, but we choose not to listen.  I like to tell the story of my dad, who punctured an ear drum when he was young. As he grew older he had more and more trouble hearing what people were saying unless they were directly in front of him, and it led to an increasing tendency to argue with others – or to shut them out.  Especially my mom.

I remember once when Rene’ and I were visiting my parents.  They were having a fairly heated argument over something that had happened years earlier and I realized that they were arguing about two entirely different things – my dad misunderstood what my mom was saying and she in turn thought he was talking about something entirely different.  It was a weird conversation.

So my siblings and I tried to get him to try hearing aids, but we were unsuccessful until my mom had a stroke.  After that, my dad became her round-the-clock caregiver and I guess it made him reconsider and get a set.  To my surprise, the arguments decreased dramatically.  One day I asked him if he liked his hearing aids and he said, “Oh yes, they’re a big help.  Now, when I don’t want to listen to someone, I just smile at them and turn them off.”

I think we’re like that with our faith sometimes.  When someone says something to us that we don’t want to hear, we just turn them off or tune them out.  Maybe it’s because we’re comfortable where we are and don’t want to change.  Maybe it’s because what we’re hearing challenges our status quo.  Maybe it’s because that, despite our knowing that our lives would be better in the long run, we’re afraid to face the unknown that change would bring.  So, what do we do when we or those we love are afraid to come to Jesus?

In today’s Gospel, once again we see that it is a person’s friends who bring him to Jesus. Just like the paralytic that was lowered through the roof of the house where Jesus was staying.  Just like the blind man at Bethsaida. Why?

They recognize that Jesus has the power to perform miracles.  The poetic language used in the first reading from Isaiah – how the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will be cleared; the tongue of the mute will sing – is a recurring theme used in the Old Testament to describe the power of God and how He will always have mercy on those who seek Him.  Jesus’ actions with the deaf-mute confirms that He indeed has the power and authority of God, that He possesses the attributes of God as described in the Old Testament of He who will come to save His people.

So if the man’s friends recognize who Jesus is, why doesn’t the man come by himself?

•    Maybe it’s because they know something he doesn’t – they’ve heard about Jesus or heard Him themselves and believe in Him.
•    Maybe it’s because he’s embarrassed by his speech impediment and didn’t want to be ridiculed.  Think of how many times people have made fun of those who spoke funny.
•    Maybe it’s because he’s afraid to come forward since deafness was thought to be a punishment from God for sin.

In any case, he needs to be persuaded to come to Jesus.  Unlike the blind man or the paralytic, the deaf-mute can see Jesus – he can see the way to come to him, but still he won’t come by himself.  He needs help, and the help comes from his friends.  The man doesn’t ask for help; again, it is his friends that begged Jesus to heal him.  They obviously see past whatever faults he might have and think that he is important enough to help.

Which brings us to the Letter of St. James.  Do you want to go to heaven?  James is cautioning his community to be careful when choosing who we help, who we show preference to.  I think it becomes a question of priorities.  It isn’t that we shouldn’t have friends, for as we just heard it is their friends that brought those in need to Jesus.  But we must be seeking those who are in need of Jesus and then work at bringing them to Him, even when they are reluctant to come themselves.  I don’t mean to force them, but we must be persuasive enough to convince them how much they need Jesus in their lives.  James points out that God chooses those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to all of us who love Him.  Shouldn’t we be looking for those who are the ones we will be spending eternity with?

Are we?