“And behold He saw that everything was good”

This is a recurrent refrain that is observed in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, the Genesis. (Gen 1: 1-31)

God, after each days’ work of creation…looked around at the marvellous works and exclaimed with great exultation and thrill… “Everything is indeed good”

He made the light and separated it from darkness…

And God saw that it was good (Gen 1:4)

He made the waters and separated the dry land and called it earth…

And God saw that it was good (Gen 1:10)

He made all sorts of vegetation and every kind of plant and fruit…

And God saw that it was good (Gen 1:12)

He made the great lights and the stars to shed light in the day and the night…

And God saw that it was good (Gen 1: 18)

He made all the various living creatures – animals, birds, reptiles etc…

And God saw that it was good (Gen 1:25)

He finally crowned creation with His masterpiece- the human being….

And God saw that it was very good (Gen 1:31)

The process of creation was “something that was very good” indeed!

But sin came into the world, and brought about disharmony and disunity.

The original goodness was lost…

The fundamental equanimity had vanished.

But Jesus came into the world to re-establish goodness and integrity.

His ministry on the earth was a mission of restoration….

… to restore complete dignity and honour

… to restore holiness and wholeness

… to restore sanctity and completeness

The Gospel of the Day is an exhibition of Jesus restoring and renewing the Creation, in the healing of a person who had a hearing and speaking impediment.

And as in the creation process, so also, in this renewed act of creation by Jesus, the words are proclaimed, “Everything is indeed good”

>> “He has done all things well” (Mk 7:37) are the words of the people, exclaiming Jesus after His wondrous miracle of recreation and renewal of the deaf and dumb person.

Jesus is back to the district of the Decapolis.

It was in this region that Jesus had healed the man who was possessed by a legion of demons (Mk 5: 1-20)

When Jesus had performed the miracle then, the people had requested Him to leave the place.

“Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their district” (Mk 5:17)

But today’s Gospel says that these people, were begging Jesus to lay His hands on the deaf and dumb person! (Mk 7:32)

What had caused this dramatic change?

A people who were begging Jesus to leave their place…

… were now begging Jesus to perform a miracle!

Probably, the great witness of the man who has delivered from the legion of demons had caused about this transformation!

>> He would have spread the good news about Jesus.

A real experience of the Lord can indeed be a source of many to believe in the Lord!

>> A true encounter with the Lord can indeed turn one to be a tremendous missionary!

But Jesus in healing this deaf and dumb person, has a very peculiar style of going about.

Jesus takes the person away from the crowd, put His fingers into the man’s ears, spitting, touched his tongue, lifted up His eyes to heaven, groaned and said “Ephphatha, Be Opened!” (Mk 7:33-34)

There is a very personal and intimate touch in this healing process!

It is interesting to note that in the book of Genesis, when God formed human beings, there was a very personal involvement from the part of God to create humans – the crown of creation.

>> “God formed man, out of the clay and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7)

Jesus also does something similar in the healing of the deaf and dumb person….

>> He very personally involves Himself.

>> He uses His own touch to heal and recreate the person!

A New Creation indeed! A renewal indeed!

Yes, Jesus is the Lord of the New Creation!

God created the world good.

Human beings spoiled it through sin.

>> But Jesus restores and renews the goodness!

Our ears maybe closed very often to the voice of the Spirit of the Lord

>> Our mouth maybe often mute to speak the power of the Lord to others.

>> Our ears maybe closed very often to the cries of the poor and the needy,

>> Our mouth maybe often mute to speak for justice for the cause of others.

But the Lord is ready to touch us…

… and renew and recreate us.

Are we ready to receive this renewing and recreating touch from the Lord?

“Ephphatha… Be Opened!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!