Twenty-Third
Sunday of Ordinary Time
September
1, 2003
What is the most beautiful
sound you have heard?
I
have been asking that question of people. There are a wide variety of responses.
From the sound of a well hit
golf shot to the crack of the bat on the baseball. Others will speak about a
Bach cantata or a Beethoven masterpiece. And there is something amazing in the
sound of an oboe and cello played sensuously against the backdrop of a piano.
Or, perhaps it is the sound of rain falling softly on aspen leaves. Or the endless
pounding of the surf as you walk along the ocean. One said it was the sound of
his girlfriend’s voice calling his name. One woman said it was the sound
of her 1st grade son’s voice, proclaiming the readings at a grade school
mass for the first time. “I heard his voice, ringing loudly in that church,
and suddenly, it was so beautiful, that I wept in joy and amazement.” What
is the most beautiful sound you have heard?
I spent a good part of last Friday in a hospital, with a family whose mother
was dying after a long bout with cancer. It was a large family, and one of the
things that they did for each other was to allow each other time in the hospital
room alone with their mom, so they could say their good byes. And at one point
I thought - this would be one of the more beautiful things to hear - a son or
daughter’s expression of sorrow, of thanks and of love for their parent/family.
What a blessing to be open to hear and speak clearly the expressions of love
and gratefulness for a lifetime that she had spent with them and for them. Ephphatha
- be opened to hearing the deepest expressions of love.
As I continued to ask what is the most beautiful sound my ears have heard, my
mind jumped to the gospel. Or rather, what might have happened when that man
returned home and his mother and father found out that he could hear again. What
happened now that the channel of communication was no longer limited to signs
and gestures. Wouldn’t be amazing for the man to hear - to finally hear
with his own ears what he had known all his life - and how important it would
have been for that mother to say “I love you.” And for the son to
say: “I know - but it is good to hear it...” And for the family to
hear him say how much he loved and cared for them. Ephphatha! Be opened to hear
the deepest down truth.
The gospels record simply about the deaf man that his ‘ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed, and he began to speak plainly. When we hear
plainly, when the deepest truths penetrate through the jumble of all the other
noises, we are also able to speak plainly. And sometimes it takes a hospital
bed at the end of a life to give us permission to say and hear the truths that
are there all the time. Sometimes, like in the gospel, it is the gift of a new
start that opens our ears to hear and speak clearly. And sometimes, it is all
of nature calling out to us, in the sounds of music and or rain or the ocean
surf - that open us up to the healing presence of God.
What is the most beautiful sound that you have heard? What I propose as the answer
is this: any sound that brings you face to face with the mystery of who you are
and whose you are - that is the most beautiful sound. Any voice, any chord, any
word that helps you to know you are loved by your God, embraced by your family,
and a part of the glory of this thing we call life - that is the most beautiful
sound.
So I challenge you with the word that Jesus used in the gospel today - Ephphatha
- be opened to hear the sounds that we sometimes miss. When you are in your car,
make one journey in silence. Leave the radio off in your dorm room first thing
in the morning, and listen for that sound within. Have a serious conversation
with a family member - in which you speak clearly the deepest down truths. However
you are able, spend more time listening this week - more time letting your ears
be opened to the deepest truths about who you are and (gesture toward altar/cross)
whose you are…