Friday word, 09 Feb 2007

5th Friday of the Year (09 Feb 2007) Gn 3. 1-8; Ps 32; Mk 7. 31-37
Homily of Fr. Paul Panaretos, S.J.
Graced Learning

Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven: we proclaimed that between the readings. What are the effects of forgiveness? Our readings suggest two opposites: open versus hiding; and plain versus garbled.

Sin ruptured the open and free relationship the first humans enjoyed with God. They felt shame about their bodies; they hid them from each other. Plus, The breezy time of the day seems to have been the time the Creator visited the first humans in the garden. After eating of the tree in the middle of the garden, which the Creator had forbidden them to eat, they hid themselves from the Creator instead of visiting.

One effect of sin fractured the wholeness of humans’ bodies. Some ears were deaf to sound and some tongues could not clearly speak. The effects of Jesus’ healing the deaf man were opening his ears to sound and allowing him to speak plainly.
We will always confront sin and wrestle with its effects. However, we already enjoy forgiveness, and it gives us a taste of the wholeness we will one day enjoy when Christ’s victory mends all the ruptures of sin.

We can use these two spectra--from hiding to open and from garbled to plain--to identify the effects of sin on us. What causes me to hide from my Creator and Lord rather than open my self more and more so that I may know myself as my Creator and Lord knows me?

The second self-examination: What garbles my ability to live my faith instead of offering a clearer, keener witness to Messiah Jesus?

Did you notice that people brought to Jesus a deaf man who had a speech impediment? We cannot bring ourselves to Jesus all on our own. Grace, Jesus’ self-gift, allows us. Ours is to cooperate with grace. We hide from grace. We might ask Jesus to enlighten us to know what causes us to do that.
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