Is 35:4-7a; Ps 145 (146); Jm 2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37

God chose “the poor in the eyes of the world, who are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, promised to those who love him” (cf. Gc 2.5). Among these poor are those blind, deaf, lame, of whom Isaiah speaks, and who must rejoice, because the Lord is close to their lives. The two texts of James and Isaiah allow us to reread in the right perspective the signs that Jesus works, like the healing of the deaf-mute, of which Marco narrates. Freeing him from evil, Jesus takes care of his life, but does more: it offers a sign that they are indeed the poor, the small, the discarded, to be the privileged heirs of the kingdom. Their ears must be opened to hear this good news; Their language dissolve to proclaim the fulfillment of creation by a God who works the good in everything. All their lives must be opened to accept the promise of God that is fulfilled in them. Effatà: A word that has been pronounced upon us in baptism. We too, baptized, are heirs of the Kingdom. The Lord “opens” our life so as to make it a prophetic sign of the Kingdom in history, because of actions of compassion and liberation which we are able to carry out.

Commentary by Comunità di Dumenza

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey