House Notes * The notes/recaps from our meetings are posted on our Catholic Catacombs website within 24 hours https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog * Remember that knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check out The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7. * If you have questions about anything, you can email Ron at ron@hallagan.net. Year B (Mark), 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time This coming Sunday: Jesus heals the deaf & dumb man in the Decapolis (Mark 7:31-37)
Survey Results
Sept 7 – Week 1: Gospel for the upcoming Sunday Mass (next week Labor Day – skip? Some people want to continue. I will let you know)
Sept 14 – Week 2: Bible Timeline: Next – Noah & the Ark, Tower of Babel
Sept 21 – Week 3: Topic of Choice week – 1) 2) 3)
Sept 28 – Week 4: Open Mic – choose format
Bible Topics Survey Results 1. Jesus’ Greatest Parables (24 unique, you have heard them all) 2. Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3. Christian Comparisons 4. Great Women in the Bible 5. Why is there suffering in the world 6. Compare World Religions 7. Revelations
The Mass
Q: Last week we discussed opening the Mass with what?
The Sign of the Cross. I don’t know how many of you read or saw the Lord of the Rings, but at one point they are stuck on a mountain (Moria) and the best hope for survival is if they could go through Moria rather than around it. There was an elven riddle carved on the wall of the mountain rock and if one could read it, solve the riddle, and speak it exactly, an opening would appear in the mountainside and let them in. Of course they figured it out and the door appeared/opened.
In the Sign of the Cross, we use the exact words Jesus Christ gave us as he Ascended. Like our Christian forbears, we are invoking the Holy Trinity just as they did to bring them courage and God’s protection. When we make the sign of the cross with meaning, we call the Blessed Trinity’s attention to whatever we say next. If we don’t mean it, that’s our option, too; but then as Jesus said, it’s like babbling in vain like the heathens – they say things for show but don’t understand them. So think about it and mean it when you call upon the Trinity, and you will in turn add meaning and presence to your prayer, as well as to your relationship with God that prayer effectuates.
Similar to how the Elven words opened the door on the mountain, the Sign of the Cross opens the door for the Trinity to enter.
Q: What happens next in the Mass?
The Greeting: The Lord Be With You, And With Your Spirit. You wouldn’t think as something as simple this greeting would be worth talking about, but then we tend to take so much in the Mass for granted since we’ve heard it so often.
From a biblical perspective, “The Lord be/is with you” is no ordinary greeting. This is not at all like an exchange in which the priest says, “Good morning,” and the people respond, “And good morning to you, too, Father!” Once we understand the background to these words, we might be able to approach the liturgy/Mass with more awe. On a basic level, The Lord Be With You conveys the reality of Jesus’ presence with the community assembled in his name, for as Jesus said, “when two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst” (Mt 18:20).
The words come directly from scripture. Look at what company we are in:
When Isaac was alone in threatening circumstances, God says to him: “Do not be afraid, for I will be with you.’ – Gen 26:24
God says to Jacob in a dream on the way to Haran: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go…” Gen 28:15
God to Joshua after Moses died: “I will be with you as I was with Moses.” – Joshua 1:5
The prophet Nathan to King David: “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” – 2 Samuel 7:3
God speaking to Jeremiah who is thinks he is too young to be called: “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” – Jeremiah 1:8
The Angel Gabriel to Mary: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” – Luke 1:28
Perhaps the best example is the call of Moses at the burning bush. Moses complains that he is not the man to accomplish God’s request, because, among other excuses, he says he doesn’t speak that well.
Q: How does God respond to Moses’ feelings of inadequacy as a leader?
“I will be with you.” - Ex 3:12 and 4:12. Moses will fulfill his mission, not because of his own talent and skill, but because of God’s help, which will enable him to accomplish much more than he ever could have done on his own. As Paul would later say,
“God’s power will be made manifest through Moses’ weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9-10).
Most of all, The Lord Be With You points to the awesome reality that we are all about to participate in—the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection and the communion with Him in the Eucharist.
And with your spirit!
You might recall the previous translation, when we used to reply, “…and also with you!”
Yet, there is much more going on in this response. By saying “and with your spirit,” the people are acknowledging the Holy Spirit’s unique activity through the priest during the Mass by virtue of his ordination. You may recall, the priest has no powers by himself – he stands in for Jesus Christ but only during the sacraments. When we say spirit, we are first addressing the ‘spirit’ of the priest – the deepest interior part of his being where he has been ordained precisely to lead the people in this action. In effect, we are saying, “Be the priest for us now,” in the sense that there is only one priest, Christ himself, and that for this service he is representing NOT himself, but Christ. The Last Supper is truly being relived. And the Holy Spirit is part of the process just as He was in the Incarnation, the Eucharist, the Resurrection, and the Pentecost.
Context of Mark 7:31-37
Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon between last week and this one, and now he has headed to the Decapolis. Last week, we discussed how Jesus’ work in Galilee, with is base in Capernaum, was right on the Via Maris – the main trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia. Thousands each season would be passing through north and south, especially during the three yearly required pilgrimages festivals in Jerusalem.
The three Jewish pilgrimage festivals created a sense of union, or community, for the Jews over their history, centered on God.
Q: What are the three pilgrimage festivals?
(1) Pesach (Passover) in the spring – celebrating the liberation from Egyptian slavery (became Easter for Christians)
(2) Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) in the summer – celebrating the word of God (10 Commandments) on Mt. Sinai. (Pentecost)
(3) Sukkot (Festival of Booth) in the fall – commemorates the years the Jews spent in the desert.
The Western or “Wailing” Wall
(the remains of the Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans in AD70)
I mentioned last week that there was another reason Jesus spent time in this northern part of Israel aside from intersecting tens of thousands of people on the Via Maris.
Q: What prophecy was Jesus fulfilling by gathering sheep in the North?
Recall that after King Solomon’s reign ended in 931, the kingdom split into two. Of the 12 Tribes of Israel, 10 tribes broke off and became the Northern Kingdom, and the remaining 2 Tribes became the Southern Kingdom.
In time, both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms had good and bad kings, but the Northern Kingdom apostatized first and worst. God sent prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, to call them back, but they didn’t listen (and often murdered the prophets).
In 722 BC, the Northern Kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians. The Assyrians dispersed the Jews and had their own countrymen settle in the conquered land; and so the North became a mixed people of pagans and Jews. Many of the Jews deported never returned. The loss of their tribal identities and homeland – which had tracked its lineage back the great Patriarch, Jacob, became known as the Lost Tribes of Israel. Isaiah prophesies that the Lord will come back for the remnant, the lost tribes of Israel:
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, and from Egypt… and from Cush [Ethiopia], and from Elam…” (Isaiah 11:11).
Q: But Jesus is also visiting gentile areas in the north and the Decapolis. What about this?
As prophesied, Jesus is also spending his time throughout the north reaching out to gentiles.
“… and through your descendants all nations of the earth will be blessed.” – Gen 22:18
“I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations…” - Isaiah 42:
In today’s reading, we find that Jesus heals a deaf and dumb (mute) person. The medical definition of dumb/mute is unable to articulate language, which is understandable especially if a person cannot hear. If one is deaf and mute, it is usually a genetic malady (born that way), or a traumatic accident causing brain damage. We don’t which situation applies for the person Jesus encounters today. Also, some translations say “speech impediment” because the Greek word mogilalon means “can hardly speak” but also means “dumb,” which means “mute,” which means cannot articulate language. In today’s reading, both references are used.
Gospel of Mark 7:31-37
Again 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.
Jesus 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 instructed them not to tell anyone. But as much as he kept instructing 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.”
Q: Jesus was in the Decapolis in Chapter 5 and the people begged him to leave. Who remembers what happened?
In Chapter 5, he came across a huge, strong wild man who lived in the caves by the sea and threatened the townspeople when they came near him. Does anyone remember the name of the demon that possessed him and what Jesus did to him?
Legion. He send the demon(s) into the nearby herd of swine, and they all ran into the sea and drowned.
Q: Why did the townspeople beg him to leave?
They were frightened of the things he did.
Q: What could have possibly have turned this situation around so that, this time, they come to him immediately to ask him to heal this deaf-mute man?
According the Chapter 5, the wild man broadcast what Jesus had done for him to the whole region. They must have thought it over after Jesus left and decided they just ran off a very good, holy man.
Q: Many of Jesus’ healings take place in public – in full view of everyone. This time he takes the man in private. Why?
If we have seen anything at all, it is that Jesus knows the heart of everyone he encounters. And we already know Jesus can do any kind of miracles in public, because he already has. That leaves only one possibility: he did it for this man’s sake. For some people, it is important not to be in public, under the stares of crowds, especially if you have been an outcast, or just shy. Jesus pulls the man off on his own, and heals him, one-on-one.
Q: Why did Jesus instruct everyone not to tell anyone?
1) The miracles were not the reason he came. The miracles were to point to who he was, and to his purpose for coming.
2) If his miracles became over-sensationalized, it turns into a circus; and then people lose sight of what he is teaching them – just like after multiplication of loaves when the crowds wanted to make him king. Besides, this kind of mistaken attention might cause the authorities to arrest him before he was finished, before he was ready to die.
3) Finally, notice what Jesus is doing. The exciting part of the miracles the people saw was just changes to the exterior of the person. Yet, how often does Jesus forgive their sins first, or say “your faith has healed you”? Jesus was healing the whole person, which includes not just our spirits, but the bodies that contain our spirits. The Fall of Man brought about our fallen spiritual and physical lives. Man desired to have nature to himself without God, so God gave it to him. Separated from God, life (spiritual and physical) is a bitch and then you die. By healing the whole person, Jesus is giving us a taste of what God has in store for us after this life. If this time we choose God over the world, our spirits will be joined again with our glorified bodies, and this time our bodies will behave!
Q: Why were they so amazed?
The people know the prophecies say. Jesus was fulfilling them exactly. Isa 29:18, 35:5,
Closing Prayer
Lord, I pray now to set everything aside…
to empty myself of all worldly matters and put them into your hands,
so that my soul-spirit-being may rest awhile in the stillness of your presence…
where nothing of this world is hidden,
where the truth of me is laid bare,
and where Your healing power can repair, build up, edify, and strengthen me
in accordance with your purposes, and to accomplish your purposes
today, and every day.
Wisdom Prayer
O Divine Wisdom and eternal Word of the Father,
I humbly ask you, by your grace, to purge all harmful and unprofitable words from my mind and lips,
so that my mouth may never open but to the benefit of others,
and to your praise and honor.
Amen.
And Taylor’s closing devotion…
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