23 Sunday Ordinary Time, year B | Mark 7:31-37
One of my teachers was fond of telling us that when we study a text from Bible we need to imitate Sherlock Holmes by focusing on small details within the text. He often repeated this line of Sherlock Holmes to us: “it is, of course, a trifle, but there is nothing so important as trifles”(1). My teacher’s point was that small details in the text - what we might consider mere trifles - are often highly significant. I would like to focus on one such trifle from the Gospel today (Mark 7:31-37), the word ephphatha spoken by Jesus when he heals the deaf man.
_-_James_Tissot.jpg/389px-Brooklyn_Museum_-_Jesus_Heals_a_Mute_Possessed_Man_(J%C3%A9sus_gu%C3%A9rit_un_poss%C3%A9d%C3%A9_muet)_-_James_Tissot.jpg) |
| James Tissot [No restrictions or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
When we know the language that Jesus spoke, we learn something very important about his identity. All the Gospels were written in koine Greek. This was the common language used throughout the Roman empire at the time of Jesus. As Greek was the language of the Empire, it can rightly be described as the language of the rulers. Since the Holy Land was under Roman rule at the time of Christ, Greek was the language of those who exercised power over Jesus and the rest of the Jewish people. Greek, however, was not the mother tongue of Jesus. Although Jesus probably spoke Hebrew and perhaps some Greek, the main language that he spoke was Aramaic. If Greek was the language of the rulers in 1st century Palestine, Aramaic was the language of the ruled. In the Gospels, the words of Jesus are predominantly recorded in Greek, even though he spoke Aramaic. There are, however, some instances in which Jesus is depicted as speaking Aramaic. The Gospel today is one such example. The word ephphatha is an Aramaic word meaning “be opened”. That we should find this Aramaic word in a sea of Greek is an important trifle. Why would Mark record this Aramaic word of Jesus? Why not have Jesus always speaking in Greek? By having Jesus speak an Aramaic word in the Gospel today, Mark reminds us that Jesus spoke the language of the ruled rather than the rulers (2). This teaches us something very important about Jesus. Jesus did not come from among those who were powerful or exercised political force over others. Jesus was numbered among those who were dominated, often harshly, by others. He was one of the ruled and not the rulers.
The Gospel today shows us that God works his salvation through those who lack worldly authority and strength rather than those that society deems as powerful. In the Gospel, Jesus cures the deaf man in the region of the Decapolis. The Decapolis was a group of ten autonomous city-states that were dependent on Rome. The language, culture and political status of these cities made them particularly associated with the Roman empire, the rulers of the land in which Jesus lived. For this reason, it is highly significant that Mark records Jesus as speaking Aramaic - the language of the ruled - while performing a miracle in this region. While accomplishing this work of salvation, Mark highlights that Jesus is one of the oppressed in the symbolic center of imperial authority. Throughout the Bible, we find this same pattern: God consistently brings salvation through the ruled rather than the rulers. In the Old Testament, God chose Israel to be his special possession through whom he would bring his salvation to the world (cf. Isa 49:6). In comparison to the nations that surrounded them, the people of Israel were not a dominating force. Before the time of Jesus, they were subjected by a long list of nations and empires: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and finally Rome. Israel, God’s chosen instrument of salvation for the world, was usually among the ruled rather than the rulers. As was the case with Israel, in Jesus we see that God uses those considered powerless in the eyes of the world to accomplish his work of salvation.
The Church, therefore, is at its best and is most effective when it is with the powerless, poor, marginalized and oppressed. Consider this: what building or monument is considered to be the symbol of Catholicism in the world? I think that many people would consider St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to be the visible symbol of the Catholic Church. Although this Basilica is beautiful and an important place of pilgrimage, it would be unfortunate if this were considered THE monument of the Church in society. This is because, to many, the Basilica and the Vatican State in which it is found communicates riches and worldly power. I would suggest that the buildings that far better represent what the Church is and should be are the numerous and often hidden buildings close to St. Peter’s in which acts of charity are performed. There are in fact numerous soup kitchens, hospices, dormitories and parishes around St. Peter’s in which the poor are cared for and the hopeless and those who mourn and lack direction hear the Good News of Jesus preached. Since God uses those who are powerless in the eyes of the world to bring salvation and healing to the world, the Church is at its best when it is close to those who are oppressed and suffering.
The small “trifle” of Jesus speaking Aramaic in the Gospel is significant. With it, Mark highlights that Jesus spoke the language of the ruled. It shows us that God works his salvation through the powerless and oppressed. This small detail of language in the Gospel invites us to consider how our “language” as individual Catholics and as a parish are interpreted. What do our words and actions convey to those around us? Do people hear from us a desire for power and self-aggrandizement? Or, do they hear from us a message of love and concern for the weak and oppressed?
Footnotes:
1) The quote is from The Man with the Twisted Lip, Arthur Conan Doyle.
2) I first heard this explanation from another of my teachers, Fr. Craig Morrison.
