Ecstasy.

 Gospel of Mark 7: 31 - 37

Again, Jesus set out from the country of Tyre he passed through Sidon and, skirting the sea of Galilee, he came to the territory of Decapolis. There, a deaf man, who also had difficulty in speaking, was brought to him. They asked Jesus to lay his hand upon him. Jesus took him apart from the crowd, put his fingers into the man's ears, and touched his tounge with spittle. Then, looking up to the heaven, he said with a deep sign "ephphata!" that is "be opened" and immediately, his ears were opened, his tounge was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about it; but the more he insisted, the more they proclaimed it. The people were completely astonished and said "he has done all things well; he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak" 

If I pull a fish out of the water and put him in a different habitat, he will always leap to find his way back. If I place one bird inside the cage, she will find a way to reconnect with nature and her own life. If I took a baby out of his mother's arms, she would scream and want to be alone with her. This is due to the fact that both humans and animals suffer from the loss of communication or communication deprivation. A fish converses with water and brings life to it, a bird converses with nature and brings life to that too, and a human converses with his or her own inclinations. 

    We have seen interactions amongst people involving Jesus, the Father, Man, and Jesus' followers in Today's Gospel which is narrated by Mark. The essential point is that A dialogue brought a separation back to life. It's likely that Jesus was concerned about the man, which prompted him to perform a miracle. "For the openness, he raised his head, drew the man, touched him, and commanded it". Which I call "A conversation has changed a life, changed the condition of the living values". 

What conversation or encounter, when blended with my own experience, has stemmed in transformation for me? Back to my teen dream of being a nautical lawyer, however, events and stories had conversed and transpired that already had separated me from my earliest yearning. A beggar came and instilled in me a dedicated vocation, a loving relationship also intervened, conversed, pulled me out of the water and took me a time for discernment, God's presence strengthened myself and also doubted moments in which I leap to find my way back. And, of course, the formation made me aware of my disorders, most likely the bird being placed in the cage, after which it finds way back to nature by realizing the giftedness within. 

So, how is my heart doing right now? what is the condition of my heart? The man came to believe that "The Lord had done wonderful things for him" after Jesus healed him. He is unlikely the fish being pulled out of the water, yet he leaps with excitement. He has had a "Ecstasy encounter" with Jesus' love and beauty, and he is overwhelmed by it. My dear brothers and sisters, when an encounter with Gos is called "ecstasy" it is because it takes us out of ourselves, lifts us up and overwhelms us with God's love and beauty. Yet, we can also experience ECSTACY when we recognize in others their hidden beauty, their dignity and their grandeur as images of God and children of the Father. 

"God has done great things for me". And the important is not God does more miracles in life but the eyes that opens to see the miracles. 

Joseph Nguyễn Lê Thế Vương, MSC.