1st Reading – Isaiah 35:4-7a
Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
The prophet Isaiah served in the Southern Kingdom of Judah around 740-700 BC, a period of Israelite history marked by political upheaval and existential threats to the nation. In 722 BC, the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire, which sent shockwaves through the Southern Kingdom of Judah, heightening fears of a similar fate.
Isaiah’s ministry spanned the reigns of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The Assyrian threat loomed large over Judah throughout this time until Jerusalem was miraculously delivered from the brink of destruction in 701 BC.
Today’s reading from Isaiah is a beautiful oracle of salvation in which God promises renewal and restoration.
Thus says the LORD: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!
In addition to physical and emotional resilience, this call to be strong refers to a strength rooted in faith.
There is no need to fear because the Israelites are under God’s sovereign care.
Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.
God’s vindication can be terrifying, but here it is a message of salvation.
Divine recompense is an execution of God’s justice, where he sets things right, rewarding the faithful and punishing the wicked.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing.
Isaiah lists various signs that will accompany God’s powerful intervention to save his people.
In Isaiah’s time, physical infirmity was often seen as a result of some sin or transgression. Healing, therefore, was viewed as a restoration of the proper order of creation, bringing things back into alignment with God’s original design.
Isaiah likely intended the four types of healings listed (eyes, ears, legs, tongue) to represent all forms of restoration, both physical and spiritual. These cures demonstrate the transformative power of God, who comes to save and restore his people.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus will perform two of these miraculous signs, demonstrating the saving power of God as foretold by Isaiah.
Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
The promised restoration is not limited to humanity: all creation will be renewed.
The image of water breaking forth in the wilderness speaks to the life-giving and transformative power of God, turning barren places into fertile, thriving landscapes.
God’s presence can bring life and rejuvenation to even the most desolate and seemingly hopeless circumstances.
2nd Reading – James 2:1-5
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please,”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
This week we continue our series of readings from the letter of James. In today’s passage, James teaches his fellow Christians to avoid treating people differently based on their social or economic status.
James’ exhortation is framed as a diatribe, a rhetorical style commonly used in moral instruction in the ancient world. In a diatribe, the speaker addresses an imaginary opponent or hypothetical audience, often using rhetorical questions and vivid examples to challenge the audience’s behavior or beliefs.
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
The reading opens with a clear and stern admonition: show no partiality.
For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in,
In a hypothetical example, two individuals enter the assembly: one rich, evident by his gold rings and fine clothes, and one poor, marked by shabby clothes. Both are strangers; their social status is known only by appearances.
The assembly is the synagōgē, a term that can refer to a Jewish synagogue or any assembly of people for religious purposes. For James’ audience, this likely referred to a Christian assembly that preserved some of the communal and judicial roles associated with the Jewish synagogue.
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,”
In both Jewish and Greco-Roman societies, where social status was highly valued, the position one occupied at a gathering or meal signified their standing within the community.
have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?
The assembly was meant to be a place of equality and fellowship per the teachings of Jesus, not a place of favoritism.
James points out the audience’s assessment of others by portraying them as judges. However, their judgments are tainted by “evil designs” — criteria driven by self-interest rather than righteousness.
They are perpetuating societal norms that create inequality instead of reflecting the inclusive and impartial nature of God’s Kingdom.
Listen, my beloved brothers.
James emphasizes the importance of what he is about to say.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
James emphasizes a theme found throughout Scripture — the reversal of worldly values. While the poor may lack material wealth, they are rich in faith and are promised to be heirs of God’s kingdom.
This principle echoes Jesus’ teachings, particularly in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3), where the poor in spirit are called blessed. Both James and Jesus challenge conventional views of status and success, pointing to a deeper spiritual reality.
Finally, James reminds his readers that God’s kingdom is promised “to those who love him,” a covenant promise rooted in passages like Deuteronomy 7:9, which underscores God’s faithfulness to those who live in love and obedience to him.
Gospel – 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.
He 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 ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered 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.”
Following a tense confrontation with the Pharisees and scribes over what truly defiles a person (last week’s gospel reading), Jesus withdraws into Gentile territory, where he continues to reveal his power through miracles.
In this week’s gospel reading, Jesus heals a man who is both deaf and mute, a moment that powerfully fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy from our first reading. This healing not only demonstrates Jesus’ compassion but also points to the coming of the Messiah, who brings restoration and wholeness to all, even those outside Israel.
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis.
The Decapolis was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, primarily inhabited by Gentiles. This area had a strong Hellenistic culture and was largely non-Jewish, making it an unusual destination for a Jewish teacher like Jesus.
The miracle that will occur here emphasizes the universal reach of Jesus’ ministry.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.
In ancient Palestine, where communication was almost exclusively verbal, the man’s inability to hear and speak would have drastically limited his interactions with others, marginalizing him within both the social and religious spheres of the community.
The imposition of hands on the sick was a common feature in exorcisms and healing rituals of that time. This practice is mentioned throughout the New Testament (Mark 5:23; Mark 8:23-25; Luke 4:40; Luke 13:13, to name a few).
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
Jesus takes the man aside privately, possibly to focus personally on the individual, away from the public spectacle.
This privacy is also in keeping with the secrecy Jesus sought (Mark 7:24).
He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue;
In the ancient world, there was a widespread belief that saliva, particularly that of a holy person or miracle worker, had healing properties. This belief is reflected in various ancient cultures and practices, where saliva was thought to contain some of the individual’s personal power or essence.
These gestures by Jesus are sacramental: there is an outward and visible sign of grace being conferred.
then he looked up to heaven and groaned,
Jesus’ looking up toward heaven is a form of communication with the Father (i.e., a prayer). What he is about to do aligns with God’s will.
The groan is not a sign of the difficulty of the task, but rather an expression of pity and compassion for the miseries of human life.
and said to him,“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
The miracle itself is accomplished by Jesus’ authoritative command.
As usual, Mark translates the Aramaic term for the benefit of his Greek-speaking audience.
And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.
The man is instantly healed — his ears are opened, his tongue is freed, and he speaks clearly.
Typically a deaf person would require time to learn and master spoken language, but this healing is immediate and complete. This miraculous transformation underscores Jesus’ divine authority and the extraordinary power of His word.
Mark uses the term mogilalos in reference to the man’s speech impediment, which is precisely the same word Isaiah uses in the salvation oracle of our first reading. In all of scripture, these are the only two times this word appears. Mark seems to be making a deliberate connection between this miracle and Isaiah’s prophecy, suggesting that it is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s messianic vision.
“So open your ears and enjoy the good odor of eternal life which has been breathed upon you by the grace of the sacraments. This we pointed out to you as we celebrated the mystery of the opening and said: ‘ephphatha,’ that is, ‘be opened,’ so that everyone about to come to the table of grace might know what he was asked and remember the way he once responded. Christ celebrated this mystery in the Gospel, as we read, when He healed the one who was deaf and dumb” [Saint Ambrose of Milan (390 AD), The Mysteries, 1,3-4].
He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.
Jesus often instructs people not to spread news of his miracles, a theme in Mark’s gospel known as the “Messianic Secret.”
The revelation of Jesus as the Messiah began discreetly and proceeded in stages, ensuring that his path to the cross was not jeopardized by popular enthusiasm.
They were exceedingly astonished
The term for “exceedingly” is hyperperissos, which translates to “beyond measure.” Nowhere else does Mark emphasize so strongly the reaction of the crowd – an indication that the crowd’s proclamation of the event is more an act of indiscretion than disobedience.
and they said, “He has done all things well.
This echoes the language of creation (Genesis 1), where God saw that everything he made was good.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
The people recognize Jesus’ ability to perform miracles that fulfill the prophecies about the Messiah.
By juxtaposing Isaiah’s prophecy of hope with this miracle story from Mark, the Church is professing our faith that in the person of Jesus Christ, God came to save us.
Connections and Themes
- God’s partiality for the poor. All three readings this week reveal God’s special concern for the poor and afflicted. In the first reading, God promises salvation and healing to those who are weak and suffering, offering hope to the fearful and downtrodden. In the second reading, James explicitly warns against showing favoritism to the rich, challenging them to instead honor the poor, whom God has chosen to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. In the gospel reading, Jesus exemplifies this divine concern by healing a man who was deaf and mute, showing that God’s compassion reaches out especially to those who are afflicted and in need.
- An ancient mandate. These readings pose a significant challenge to us today, where the gap between the prosperous and the marginalized continues to widen. In an era where the fortunate seem to thrive amidst growing wealth and technological advancements, we often overlook or dismiss those left behind by these rapid changes. In contrast, scripture calls us to resist this indifference and align ourselves with God’s preferential option for the poor, advocating for justice, compassion, and inclusivity in our communities. The fact that this concept is as old as Isaiah shows that this isn’t a modern theological development, but a timeless truth.
- Responding to grace. Caring for one another is not a transaction to secure a reward in heaven but a heartfelt response to the abundant graces we have received from God. By caring for others, we recognize our own limitations and the ways in which we, too, are in need of God’s mercy and love.
Sunday Readings 