“He has done all things well.”
Mk7:31-37
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis.
Jesus was in pagan territory, that is, the inhabitants were non-Jews.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.
Curing the deaf and mute was expected of the Messiah. “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. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe” (Is 35:5-6).
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
To keep the healing secret and his identity as the Messianic.
He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue.
These actions were what healers during the time of Jesus were doing. However, the difference was that these actions of those healers were thought to produce healing by themselves, that is, they worked like magic. In the case of Jesus, it was the power of Jesus that produced healing.
Then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!”
Ephphatha was incorporated into the ancient rite of baptism.
But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.
The verb used here is “kerusso” (κήρΰσσώ) from which the noun kerygma is derived. That noun is used to translate the proclamation of the good news. The proclamation about the healing of Jesus is an anticipation of the proclamation of the good news (gospel).
“He has done all things well.”
Astonishment and awe is the response of Christians before the work of God carried out by Jesus Christ.
PRAISE
I heard someone say this: “Don’t praise anyone, otherwise he will become proud. When he is dead, that is the time to praise him.” What do you think about this statement? Would you agree with it?
In my opinion it is the fear of appearing proud that makes us belittle our suc-cesses and achievements outwardly. When someone tells us, “ang galing naman!”, we respond with “hindi naman.” When someone tells us: “Congratulations for winning”, we respond with: “Chamba lang ‘yon.”
But humility is truth. The only proper response to praise is “thank you”. I once heard an actor who received a trophy begin and end his speech with thank you’s. In fact he began by saying, “First of all, I would like to thank him (pointing his fingers upward) for this trophy.” And he followed that by a litany of thanks. He mentioned his director, his fellow actors, his wife and children, etc.
Educational psychology and parenting manuals state that students and children thrive when there is more praise than blame. This is because a child who is often praised feels encouraged while a child who is often blamed is feels discouraged.
Moreover, a teacher or a parent who is seen as a source of encouragement is able to get the cooperation and good will of the student or the child. Whereas the parent or teacher who is seen as a source of discouraging remarks are disliked. Would you want to cooperate with someone who you dislike?
For this reason, when I was principal, I made it a point to praise publicly the senior students for a job well done. But when I had to scold them, I made it a point to do so away from the hearing of the lower years. I also made sure that I explain why I was scolding them. I would end by expressing my confidence in them.
In connection with parenting, fathers should keep in mind that a boy desper-ately needs his father’s blessing. The boy must know that he has the approval of his father. Consider the tragedy of this story. The team of a high school student won the gold medal in the school intramurals. He was excited to show it to his father. He wanted his father to be proud of him. When he arrived home, he went straight to his father to show him the gold medal. The response of the father was: “Where did you buy that gold medal?” The boy burst into tears.
One characteristic of a happy family is mutual affirmation and appreciation. Affirmation and appreciation makes you feel that you are valued.
One religious community made it a tradition to hold an appreciation circle for the birthday celebrator. After the special supper, each one takes turn in telling the celebrator the good that he sees in him. You might want to do it differently; you might want to write your words of appreciation on a birthday card.
Affirmation and appreciation are not only needed in families. The workplace can also benefit much from it. In some stores, the manager gathers the employees before opening time. One manager uses that time to congratulate a team or an individual for work well-done.
Does God need our appreciation? In a sense, yes. In as much as he has decided to create us and to relate with us as a father with his children, he desires the appreciation of his children. The prayer of praise and thanksgiving is precisely the way by which we express our appreciation to God.
I suggest that at the end of the day, before you go to sleep, review the day and discover how God has been good to you. Your discovery should lead to prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
I have told you in the beginning about the advice of an elderly person. He said we should not praise a man while he is still alive for fear that it would make him proud. He said we should wait until he is dead. Do you agree with him?
I for one, don’t. I feel that even if the only good that praise brings is a happy person, it is still worth the effort of being generous with our praise towards others.
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