Loading today's devotional...
No devotional available for this date.
Be Opened to What God Can Do
Where We Are
On this Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, the first reading from Kings continues the unraveling of Solomon's united kingdom as the prophet Ahijah tears his cloak into twelve pieces, symbolizing the coming division of Israel. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus returns from the region of Tyre and Sidon to the Decapolis, and a beautiful healing unfolds. After yesterday's encounter with the Syrophoenician woman beyond Israel's borders, Jesus continues to demonstrate that God's saving work knows no boundaries.
The Word
The prophet Ahijah meets Jeroboam on the road and dramatically tears his new cloak into twelve pieces, giving ten to Jeroboam. This prophetic action declares that God will rip ten tribes from Solomon's kingdom because of his idolatry, fulfilling the judgment announced yesterday. Only one tribe will remain for David's descendants. The psalm captures God's lament: "If only my people would listen to me." In the Gospel, people bring a deaf man with a speech impediment to Jesus. Taking the man aside privately, Jesus places his fingers in the man's ears, touches his tongue, looks up to heaven, sighs, and says, "Ephphatha!" meaning "Be opened!" Immediately the man hears and speaks clearly. The crowd is overwhelmed: "He has done all things well."
Continue Reading
Sign in to read the full devotional and receive it in your inbox each morning - a quiet moment of reflection to start your day.
By signing in, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Reflect
The healing of the deaf man is one of Mark's most intimate miracle accounts. Unlike many healings performed before crowds, Jesus takes this man aside, away from the spectacle. The physical gestures, touching ears and tongue, meet the man precisely where his disability lives. And the sigh Jesus breathes before speaking the word of power reveals genuine compassion; this is not a performance but an encounter of deep care.
"Ephphatha," be opened. The word resonates far beyond this single healing. Throughout Mark's Gospel, Jesus has been trying to open the eyes and ears of his own disciples, who continually misunderstand his identity and mission. The Pharisees have ears but will not hear. The crowds see miracles but miss the meaning. This deaf man, a Gentile in the Decapolis, receives what Israel's leaders have refused: openness to God's transforming word.
The first reading provides a stark counterexample. God's people had closed their ears to his voice, and the result was a kingdom torn apart. The psalm's refrain is haunting: "If only my people would hear my voice." The same God who opened a deaf man's ears longs to open ours.
The early Church understood this connection. "Ephphatha" became part of the baptismal liturgy, spoken over the ears and mouth of the newly baptized. It remains a prayer for all of us: Lord, open our ears to hear your word and our mouths to proclaim your grace.
Living It
Today, pray "Ephphatha" over your own spiritual senses. First, spend five minutes in silence, asking God to open your ears to what he wants to say to you. Do not fill the silence with your own words; simply listen. Second, consider whether there is an area of your life where you have been spiritually deaf, refusing to hear what God or others have been trying to tell you. Ask for the courage to receive that truth. Third, like the healed man whose tongue was released, find one opportunity today to speak a word of encouragement, truth, or witness that you have been holding back.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you looked at a deaf man with compassion and spoke the word that opened his ears and loosed his tongue. Speak that same word over us today: Ephphatha, be opened. Open our ears to hear your voice above the noise of our lives. Open our mouths to proclaim your goodness. Open our hearts to receive the truth we have been resisting. You have done all things well; do this good work in us. Amen.
Signed in as ·
