This Sunday’s readings prepare us to reflect on Christ’s identity and our own identity as a Catholic as well as on our faith in general and the cost of being a follower (disciple) of Christ in the world around us.

Each reading this weekend is replete with symbolism, especially the Gospel, which should help us to dig deeper into the meaning—the why behind the thou shalt nots of our faith. When we understand the meaning of our faith teachings, then we are able to delve more deeply into them and to experience the true love of Christ for His people and His Church.

Let’s look at the symbolism today and see how we are to apply them to our life and the world in which we live, hopefully recognizing the applicability of our Catholic faith and its relevance in the modern world.

Today we hear of the preaching of Jesus in the Decapolis, an area that was heavily populated with Gentiles, not just Jewish people, which is meant to reinforce that Jesus who came to preach to and save the House of Israel is now preaching and expanding His message to the Gentiles. This is symbolic of the universality of the message of Christ to all peoples, not just Israel. Here we come to see the message of the Catholic Church, from Christ Himself, as a universal faith—a Divine Love that is meant for all peoples. For us in the modern world, we are called to be proclaimers of the Good News. Let us hear in Sacred Scripture, Matthew 28: 19-20, as Christ says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We also hear of a deaf and mute man being brought by others to be healed. The fact that others brought him to Christ, due to their faith, is symbolic of the communal aspect of our faith and of intercessory prayer. We pray together in public worship, as we are strengthened when we share in Communion and in Word with one another. Our faith is meant to lead others to Him. The deafness is also symbolic of the things that might stop us from hearing God’s Word, perhaps the fear we might have when we challenge myths, lies and falsehoods about our Church or the faith itself. Fear to lose friends or family members over an issue of teaching. Muteness can be the other side of the “coin” of fear, maybe the failure to stand up to defend the Church is due to fear of being left out or considered different, i.e., “here he goes again with that faith talk…”

The physical touch of Jesus with the deaf man (his tongue and his ears) is symbolic of the fact that God’s grace is tangible in our lives, through His Son Jesus, and that this illustrates that the grace of God is available to us in everyday life, that Christ’s love is Divine Love and that this highest form of love is meant for the search of the excellence of our souls and the souls of all. We are called to be part of that search, a search that asks us to be bothhears of God’s Word as well as doers of His Word. The Catholic faith, while the height of intellectual discovery and debate, is also a faith that is meant to impact day-to-day life: feeding the hungry, caring for he sick, praying for the lost and the wondering, educating the ignorant and being kind and compassionate to all, no matter their station of life, color of their skin, faith professed or anything else. Simply because we are all children of God.