Ears to Hear the Truth

Ears to Hear the Truth

14th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines
September 05, 2021

Readings: Isaiah 35:4-7a
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:31-37

We are instructed to wear the full armor of God so that we can fight against the wiles of the enemy. The first thing we are told to put on is “Truth.” The truth of knowing and believing in God and His Word. This is our defense. When the enemy deceived Adam and Eve, he used the “truth” but in a twisted way.

The will of God sets the course for our lives. Does He will us to have anxiety and fear? No. He wants us to have peace, to live a life of holiness and righteousness. Therefore, it is most vital for us to know the truth. This is what we need to stand upon. God reigns. Even if circumstances are contrary, God still reigns because God is Truth. We should know how to evaluate situations that we find ourselves in. Even if things are not in our favor, we still stand on God’s truth. God’s promises to us are forever. The knowledge of His will is needed in our lives.

We have unfortunately studied the will and ways of man more, so much so that this becomes the force of our lives. We need to form our lives according to God’s will.
Psalm 146:5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God.
Isaiah 35:4 Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”

God gave ears for us to listen. The Gospel talks about a deaf man who got healed. We see Christ taking a very long journey. A journey that took him about 8 months to travel on foot before reaching Decapolis, which was a group of ten cities that formed a Hellenistic or Greco-Roman confederation or league located south of the Sea of Galilee.
The people had heard of Him. They knew that one part of His ministry was healing. There was this person who could not hear and had a speech problem, and so they brought this man to Christ and asked Him to heal the man. Jesus took him away from the multitude. He then put His fingers in the man’s ears, but what was unique was that He spit on His finger, brought it to His tongue before putting it on the man’s ears. After He had done this, the deaf man immediately began to hear and even speak plainly. He was miraculously healed. He was brought to Christ by the people and he was healed. Our goal as Christians today is to bring people to Christ.

Christ came to destroy the works of the enemy. Deafness was not from God. Christ came to destroy what the enemy had put upon the man. God intends for man to be free, and Jesus has authority over all evil things. All we need is Him. We lack for no good thing. Shouldn’t we have the authority to do what Christ did? God has supplied all our needs.
The ears were given to us so we could hear the Word of God which is the truth. The tongue was given to us so we could speak forth the truth of God. We are no longer bound to slavery, to fear and anxiety. The people who witnessed this said, “He made all things well.”

We should express the goodness of God with praise and thanksgiving. God is our substance, our hope. We should put our trust in Him. We are to expect a miracle. Expect the truth to manifest in our lives. God will come with vengeance to restore us. It may seem that evil is getting stronger but the truth is, the government of God is the one getting stronger. Our faith and confidence should be in Him.

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