Today’s Gospel reading (Mark 7:31-37) is about Jesus restoring a deaf and quasi-dumb man’s hearing and speech. (“Quasi” because the man was described as having a speech impediment, meaning he could speak, but not properly.) The passage is typical of the miracles of Jesus: someone with an ailment is brought to Jesus and is healed. This particular story has a slight twist to it that I never paid attention to previously, but the priest highlighted it in his homily.
Jesus took the soon-to-be-healed man aside from the crowd and plugged his ears with his fingers. One might think, “Random,” but it wasn’t at all. Jesus took him away from the crowd for the same reason He plugged the man’s ears: this deaf man was about to regain his hearing and it was kindest to be shield him from the cacophony the rest of the world is used to. Imagine typically listening to your television at a volume of one, but when you turn it on, you find it at a volume of forty-three. Your ears would hurt. Jesus protected the man while he acclimated to his new ability to hear.
That’s the Jesus of the Bible: helping people in ways the rest of us forget may need attention. Jesus consistently offers support not only in the way we’re asking, but also in the ways we need to get there. He helps with what I call logistical support, making sure the details of each need are covered.
Case and point: Jesus feeding the five thousand people who followed Him and the disciples out to a lonely place. His disciples told Him to send them away to find dinner for themselves, but Jesus took the provisions they had and distributed it among the people to satisfy their need for food. He could have sent them all away to get their own dinners, but He instead fed them because He cares for all of our needs. Not just the ones we ask about, but all of them, including the ones we don’t yet see.
How much do you trust in the Lord making sure you have what you need? I have my good days and my bad days. On my good days, even the most disastrous of circumstances leaves me saying He’s strengthening me for another trial. On my bad days, if the coffee shop doesn’t have the flavor of doughnut I want, the world is going to end and nobody loves me anyway so it doesn’t matter. Most days, I’m somewhere between the two; I fight to move that needle in toward trust, but I do still have to wage that war.
Do you have a favorite passage about God providing for His faithful? How do you best remind yourself that He loves you and will make sure your needs are taken care of? When do you find it easiest to trust God and His providence, and when is it more difficult? Where is the next step toward trusting God more fully in the way we are called to love, honor, and trust him?
