杏MAP导航 to Papuans: God draws close to those who feel far away
By Joseph Tulloch
On Sunday morning, 杏MAP导航 Francis celebrated Mass for the faithful in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
It was an early start in the Papuan capital, with Mass beginning at around 8am local time. According to local authorities, around 35,000 people were in attendance, including the nation's Prime Minister, James Marade.
Distance from God
In his homily, 杏MAP导航 Francis reflected on the day鈥檚 Gospel reading, which describes Jesus鈥� healing of a deaf man with a speech impediment.
The 杏MAP导航 focused in particular on two elements of the story: the "nearness" of Jesus and the "distance" of the deaf man.
The deaf man was distant, the 杏MAP导航 said, in that he hailed from the Decapolis, a land inhabited by pagans far from the religious centre of Jerusalem. He was 鈥渃ut off from the world, isolated, a prisoner of his deaf and mute condition.鈥�
Jesus鈥� closeness
杏MAP导航 Francis stressed that God鈥檚 response to this distance 鈥� which, he noted, we have all felt at some time or another 鈥� is nearness. The Gospel shows Jesus travelling out into the peripheries and meeting with those on the margins of the society, in order to 鈥渢ouch [their] lives and remove every distance.鈥�
鈥淭hrough his nearness,鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥淛esus heals human muteness and deafness. Indeed, whenever we feel distant, or we choose to keep ourselves at a distance from God, from our brothers and sisters or from those who are different from us, we close ourselves off, barricading ourselves from the outside 鈥� However, Jesus draws near and, as with the deaf man, says to us, 鈥淓phphatha鈥�, that is, 鈥渂e opened鈥� (Mk 7:34).鈥�
Distant yet united
The 杏MAP导航 drew his sermon to a close by suggesting that the day鈥檚 Gospel held a particular message for the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea:
鈥淎nd you, brothers and sisters 鈥� being in the Pacific, perhaps you feel that you are separated, separated from the Lord, separated from others, but that鈥檚 not right: you are united, united in the Holy Spirit, united in the Lord, and the Lord says to each one of you: 鈥極pen up!鈥�. This is the most important thing: to open ourselves to God, open ourselves to our brothers and sisters, open ourselves to the Gospel and make it a compass for our lives.鈥�
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