2012-09-06       Reflection on the Sunday's readings:       Daniel Daring        Daniel's previous reflections

Sunday 23(B):  Breaking the silence –  Mark 7:31-37

 Silence is golden, isn’t it? Then, why you are so upset when you text your friend and s/he does not respond. Silence is golden, isn’t it? Then, why you are so depressed when there is no one on the other side of the phone. Silence is golden, isn’t it? Then, why you are so disappointed when the long expected letter did not arrive. The one who said that silence is golden, was probably unaware that it can be a sign of desperation upon the constantly frustrated attempts to communicate with others. We are born with ability to communicate; we need to communicate in order to live, and if that ability is frustrated then we are left handicapped for life.  

Living in a world of silence

 The Gospel of Mark contains a story that does not have parallels in other gospels. Some people brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and could hardly talk (Mark 7:32). He lived in a world of silence, unable to communicate with others (the sign language was not yet invented). He could not share his thoughts, his feelings, his dreams, and his desires.

We define silence as a complete lack of noise or sound. We usually tend to think about silence as the solution to the world of noise we live in. We are encouraged by all the masters of prayer and meditation to enter into deep silence in order to listen to that inner voice that speaks in our hearts. And so we take the famous adage, “silence is golden,” at its face value. However, it was not golden for the man who was brought to Jesus. He desperately wanted to get out of his silence into the world of communication. Helen Keller was afflicted by a disease that left her blind and deaf at the age of eighteen months. In her autobiography she wrote about bitterness, anger and darkness that reigned in her soul since that moment when she realized her tragic situation: “In the still, dark world in which I lived there was no strong sentiment or tenderness.”

The Bible associates silence with divine punishment and even equals it to death. “Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous” (Psalm 31:18); “It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to silence” (Psalm 115:17). There is nothing positive about the void silence, emptied of words and feelings, and without any signs of communication. To be placed in a “silent mode” means to cease to exist. The redeeming word is the only solution to that kind of situation.

 And He said "Be opened"

 The Bible begins with the account of creation (Genesis 1:1-2-4), and each day of creation begins with the same phrase, “and God said.” It describes the creative power of God’s word. Yet, the similar power is also given to people. God brought to Adam all the animals and birds “to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19). This power of words is present within the story of Mark’s Gospel. “He [Jesus] looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly” (7:34-35).

When she was seven years old, Helen Keller met her teacher, Anne Sullivan. The teacher brought her to an experience that changed her for life:

 Someone was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten – a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. The living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! (Keller, The story of my life).

 One word, ephphatha, set free the man who was deaf and mute; one word, water, brought a total transformation in the life of Helen. Each of these words exploded within their hearts shattering the silence that reigned there for years; each of these words gave birth to new possibilities that could not be found in the world of silence. Everything became different. Life took a new course. What the prophet Isaiah proclaimed in the ages past was fulfilled: God broke the enslaving power of silence in their lives. “Say to those with fearful hearts: ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, . . . he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy” (Isaiah 35:4-6).

 Conclusion

 The story about the deaf and mute man ends with Jesus’ command to keep silence about the event that took place. Yet, if the word was born in that man’s life how could he keep silence? And how would we know that incredible story about the power of one word? Helen Keller did not keep silence either. She told the whole world about the amazing story of her life.

Maybe there is some truth into the saying that silence is golden. Yet, I am glad that neither Mark, nor Keller followed this adage. Their stories bring to our lives a powerful message about God who can and wish to break the silence imposed on us, either by a disease or by circumstances of life. And when that will happen, let us communicate with others and tell them the amazing story about God whose one word shatters the enslaving silence and sets us free for life.