The evangelist Marcus takes a lot of time to describe where it took place: “towards the Sea of Galilee. What unites these territories? Being mainly inhabited by pagans. It was not a territory inhabited by Israelites, especially pagans. It is Jesus and the disciples with Him, capable of opening ears and mouths. The phenomenon of muteness and deafness in the Bible is above all metaphorical and designates closure to God’s calls. There is a physical deafness, but in the Bible, he who is deaf to the Word of God is mute and does not speak the Word of God.
Another sign is indicative: the Gospel relates the decisive word of Jesus in Aramaic. “Effects”, what It means “open up,” open your ears and open your tongue, and it is not so much an invitation addressed to the deaf-mute, who could not hear it, but precisely to the disciples of that time and of all times. Also we, who have received the effeta of the Spirit In baptism, we are called to open ourselves.
“Open yourself,” says Jesus to each believer and his Church: open yourself because the message of the Gospel needs you to be witnessed and announced! And this also makes us think about the attitude of a Christian. A Christian must be open to the Word of God and to the service of others. Closed Christians always end badly, because they are not Christians, they are ideologues. Closure ideologues. A Christian must be open, in announcing the Word, in welcoming brothers and sisters. Therefore, this Effetá, this “open up,” is also an invitation to all of us.