We are living in a time of great contrasts and challenges. Many people follow the rhythm of pessimism, thinking that all is lost, that the world

 We are living in a time of great contrasts and challenges. Many people follow the rhythm of pessimism, thinking that all is lost, that the world will soon end, that the sun will stop shining, that the sea will swallow the earth, that the heat will dry everything, that the forests will disappear, that the animals will be exterminated, among many other things. We live in a culture of fear, a reality in which people no longer bend their knees in humility to praise, thank and invoke the presence of the Lord in their lives. Fear is leading many people to despair, to sell themselves for any illusion, to addiction, to discouragement. In a similar situation, the prophet Isaiah exhorted: "Take courage, do not be afraid! See, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, recompense is coming; he is coming to save you" (Isaiah 35:4). In fact, the Lord became God with us in Jesus Christ, and what Isaiah said was fulfilled through the Son of God: "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. The lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will be loosed. Waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will gush forth in the desert. The parched land will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water" (Isaiah 35:5-7a).

The promise has been fulfilled. God has made himself present in history. At the right time, he took us on, he became one of us among the Jews, so that, from Judea, he could enlighten all humanity. In addition to Jewish territory, Jesus also passed through the border area of ​​Galilee (Tyre, Sidon, Decapolis), a pagan territory, where he performed a miracle in the life of the daughter of the pagan Syrophoenician woman (7:24-30), who was satisfied with only the crumbs, with the leftovers of her children's bread, a tremendous demonstration of humility and faith. In addition to this, today also the miracle of the deaf-mute, through gestures that indicate yet another baptismal ritual. The presence of Jesus in this territory, according to Mark's theology, has the objective of bringing salvation to the pagans, granting them the grace of also being participants in the New and Eternal Covenant. In Mark's text, there is a universal sense of FAITH. When Jesus passed through this region, he made it clear that he does not show partiality, does not restrict his grace to the Jews, does not think like the leaders of Israel, but must make God known and capable of being loved everywhere. All creation needs the knowledge of the One who made it exist. This knowledge should especially reach the most limited, the most needy, the most despised by the dehumanizing logic of the world (cf. James 2:1-5), so that they may open themselves to God and close all the doors of their existence to the enemies of salvation. The way in which Jesus performs the miracle on the deaf-mute should not come as a surprise, since it is not the most important thing. Therefore, it is still curious, especially since it was not seen in other miracles performed by Jesus. Jesus' gesture is not a therapeutic action or even a magical action. He is not a Jewish healer or a Greek magician. He does not play with people, much less with the good he is doing for their salvation. Mark presents this gesture as a sign of man's openness to a new reality. It is a symbolic gesture of tremendous power. Here we see the fulfillment of the promises of Isaiah 35:5-6: "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing a song." Jesus touches the ear of the deaf man, allowing him to hear the Word of God, giving him the grace to deepen his knowledge of theology, of the science of God, to escape the voices of the world and be all for God. Then, with His saliva, He touches his tongue, a sign that the word that will be proclaimed by that man will not be his, but God's, it is Christ Himself, the Eternal Word of the Father, the Word of Salvation. Now that man can proclaim the Word that is not his, but God's, he can announce the Word that was given to him. The deafness and muteness of that man indicate the deaf-mutes of the faithless world, those who completely close themselves to the grace of God, who do not want to know the things of God. Therefore, a world without listening to the Word of God and, consequently, without prophets, is a world without faith, love and hope; a selfish, individualistic world without a horizon; a world of force, oppression and illusion. The deaf-mute, now healed, symbolizes those who have opened themselves and those who will open themselves to faith and, therefore, to baptism. Jesus' gestures indicate the moment of baptism. Through faith and baptism a new man is born, determined to listen to God and ready to proclaim Him. It is the mission of the Church to eliminate deafness and muteness from the world as soon as possible. This liberating mission is urgent in the power of the Spirit of God. A warm and loving embrace.