The Scripture readings we have heard recently offer us an invitation to become instruments of healing in Jesus’ hands by giving voice to the voiceless, the needy, and the marginalised in our society. We have been invited to open our ears to hear the word of God and to allow the Holy Spirit to loosen our tongues to spread the Good News of God’s love and salvation to others. God especially cares for “the frightened, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the mute,” and He encourages the powerless to “be strong and fearless.” Psalm 146 sings of a God who gives sight to the blind, raises up those who are bowed down and welcomes strangers. The Psalmist thanks God and asks us to rejoice because “the God of Jacob keeps Faith forever,” keeping His promise of peace and fullness of life for His people. In recent readings we have been given some basic, challenging principles of social justice. He exhorts Christians to show no partiality based on external appearance and to practice God’s “preferential option for the poor.” He warns the faithful against scorning or shaming the poor while showing special consideration to the rich. Recently the Sunday Gospel described how Jesus, by healing a deaf man with a speech impediment, “The eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” In another recent reading Isaiah listed conditions which are symbolic of our interior illnesses: blindness to the needs of our neighbour, unwillingness to hear God’s voice and the inability to speak words of praise, apology, forgiveness, and gratitude.
Through the readings we hear at Mass we are constantly reminded that no one can be a follower of Jesus without reaching out to the helpless.