Father Koch: Jesus points to the Messianic Promises in gestures, not words
September 6, 2024 at 9:03 a.m.
Gospel reflection for Sept. 8, 2024, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The eschatological imagery found in Isaiah has a clear fulfillment in the ministry of Jesus. The apostolic preachers and then the evangelists saw these connections and frequently quote or allude to Isaiah in their work. As Jesus responds to the request of a deaf man to restore his hearing, Jesus makes the dramatic gesture of putting his finger into the man’s ears, spitting, and touching his tongue, then boldly proclaiming “Ephphatha!” (“Be opened!”). The crowd around him saw in this action the writing of the prophets concerning the coming of the messiah and connected Jesus more clearly to that promise. The gesture provided less of a healing remedy than it did the sign of God’s on-going work in creation.
We often overlook the tactile nature of Jesus’s ministry. It was common for him to touch those he was healing, and frequently, as with the lepers, those who would not be accustomed to being touched. At other moments, such as with the woman who suffered with a hemorrhage for 12 years, when someone touches Jesus it staples him, causing him some disruption. At other times, though, the opposite is true. Jesus extends healing to people who are some distance from him at the time he speaks healing. This is true of the Canaanite woman, whose daughter is relieved of the demon tormenting her solely at Jesus’s Word.
The restoration of his hearing comes with a touch and also, with a command. Instead of his usual pronouncement that it is the faith of the one being healed that has affected the healing, Jesus delivers the imperative “Be opened.”
While there are some who want to connect these gestures and actions on the part of Jesus to some mysterious or healing practices, they instead are all foreshadowed and seen within the traditions of the Old Testament. His audience -- those being healed and especially the crowds -- were attuned to those symbolic actions and were able to interpret and understand them as they saw Jesus perform them.
He is not acting; he uses these gestures to point to deeper meanings and as a way of teaching.
As this man’s condition was regarded as a punishment for sin, as were the situations with all of the others whom Jesus healed. The gesture of expulsion of the demon and the command to “be opened” purges the man of his sinfulness and enables him to speak and to hear.
The church continues to point to Jesus through gestures, signs, and symbols. The most foundational of all of these is the Sign of the Cross. This simple gesture, whether or not it is accompanied by the recitation of the words, defines us as Catholics and is deeply ingrained within our consciousness. I have witnessed on more than one occasion a person who is deemed “unresponsive” at least begin and occasionally even complete, the Sign of the Cross during the Rite of the Sick.
The celebration of the Mass and the Sacraments all include many ways in which gestures and tactile expressions are used to signify the action. The Baptismal Liturgy uses the very command by Jesus in this miracle story: “Ephphatha!” to signify the opening of the ears and lips of the catechumen to receive and proclaim the Gospel.
The many gestures of anointing -- two at Baptism, one in Confirmation, Ordination to Priesthood and Episcopacy, and the Anointing of the Sick -- connect us deeply to the actions commanded in the Mosaic Law and the teaching of Jesus and practices of the early Church.
The use of candles, bells, incense, the nature and color of the vestments highlight the liturgical seasons, and point us to a deeper understanding of Jesus and our role as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Church utilizes these and many more forms of gesture and symbolism because Jesus did and because each motion, color, smell, sound, or posture tells us something about what we are doing on a deeper level, and always points us to Jesus.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Gospel reflection for Sept. 8, 2024, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The eschatological imagery found in Isaiah has a clear fulfillment in the ministry of Jesus. The apostolic preachers and then the evangelists saw these connections and frequently quote or allude to Isaiah in their work. As Jesus responds to the request of a deaf man to restore his hearing, Jesus makes the dramatic gesture of putting his finger into the man’s ears, spitting, and touching his tongue, then boldly proclaiming “Ephphatha!” (“Be opened!”). The crowd around him saw in this action the writing of the prophets concerning the coming of the messiah and connected Jesus more clearly to that promise. The gesture provided less of a healing remedy than it did the sign of God’s on-going work in creation.
We often overlook the tactile nature of Jesus’s ministry. It was common for him to touch those he was healing, and frequently, as with the lepers, those who would not be accustomed to being touched. At other moments, such as with the woman who suffered with a hemorrhage for 12 years, when someone touches Jesus it staples him, causing him some disruption. At other times, though, the opposite is true. Jesus extends healing to people who are some distance from him at the time he speaks healing. This is true of the Canaanite woman, whose daughter is relieved of the demon tormenting her solely at Jesus’s Word.
The restoration of his hearing comes with a touch and also, with a command. Instead of his usual pronouncement that it is the faith of the one being healed that has affected the healing, Jesus delivers the imperative “Be opened.”
While there are some who want to connect these gestures and actions on the part of Jesus to some mysterious or healing practices, they instead are all foreshadowed and seen within the traditions of the Old Testament. His audience -- those being healed and especially the crowds -- were attuned to those symbolic actions and were able to interpret and understand them as they saw Jesus perform them.
He is not acting; he uses these gestures to point to deeper meanings and as a way of teaching.
As this man’s condition was regarded as a punishment for sin, as were the situations with all of the others whom Jesus healed. The gesture of expulsion of the demon and the command to “be opened” purges the man of his sinfulness and enables him to speak and to hear.
The church continues to point to Jesus through gestures, signs, and symbols. The most foundational of all of these is the Sign of the Cross. This simple gesture, whether or not it is accompanied by the recitation of the words, defines us as Catholics and is deeply ingrained within our consciousness. I have witnessed on more than one occasion a person who is deemed “unresponsive” at least begin and occasionally even complete, the Sign of the Cross during the Rite of the Sick.
The celebration of the Mass and the Sacraments all include many ways in which gestures and tactile expressions are used to signify the action. The Baptismal Liturgy uses the very command by Jesus in this miracle story: “Ephphatha!” to signify the opening of the ears and lips of the catechumen to receive and proclaim the Gospel.
The many gestures of anointing -- two at Baptism, one in Confirmation, Ordination to Priesthood and Episcopacy, and the Anointing of the Sick -- connect us deeply to the actions commanded in the Mosaic Law and the teaching of Jesus and practices of the early Church.
The use of candles, bells, incense, the nature and color of the vestments highlight the liturgical seasons, and point us to a deeper understanding of Jesus and our role as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Church utilizes these and many more forms of gesture and symbolism because Jesus did and because each motion, color, smell, sound, or posture tells us something about what we are doing on a deeper level, and always points us to Jesus.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.