“He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” - Mark 7:37

There have been times where we have not felt whole. It’s as if there’s something missing. And for as long as we can, we look for that missing piece. We yearn for it.  But for those who cannot find it, they search for cures. Feeling incomplete can bring oneself so much doubt and pain and we need something or someone to remedy that.

In The Book of Mark, the Gospel usually ends with Jesus healing someone. Here, in Mark 7: 31-37, Jesus is seen healing a deaf and mute man.

That man wasn’t whole, as per human standards. He was, after all, deaf AND mute. People saw him as a broken man who needed help. That is why a crowd had brought him to Jesus to be healed. And healed he was.

I feel like we are all that deaf-mute man. I don’t know everyone’s struggles, but what I do know is that I have them too. We all do. There are times when I feel insufficient beside other people. It seems as though there’s a huge arrow pointing at me that reads, “She can’t do what they can!” and I don’t like hearing it. You try so hard to meet everyone’s expectations. Everyone sees you as something else, and not just who you are. I am never just Bea to everyone. I will be, Bea the Writer to my school paper staff mates, Bea the Studious to my teachers, Bea the (Sometimes) Annoying to my little brother and some other stuff too. It’s a good thing though that people don’t see me as one-dimensional. But those names stick, just like how the man Jesus healed was always The Man who was Deaf and Mute.

Until one day, he wasn’t anymore. He could no longer be called deaf and mute because, well…he was healed. Sight? Yes. Smell? Double yes. Touch? Pretty much. Hearing? Speaking? Yes and yes. And why was that? It was all because of Jesus.

“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. “

Jesus touched all of the man’s weakest parts, and healed him. He made that man whole again. Let us be that man. We should seek Jesus out and let Him heal us. We have to let Jesus touch all of our weakest and most painful spots. All our insecurities and doubts… let Him see them for He will make the pain go away. He will make us whole once again.

No amount of medication can heal the soul. Only the Father can remedy the brokenness that we are. Jesus is our saving grace and because of Him, maybe someday, we can all be opened and healed.

-Bea Doctor