Ever wonder if you’re enough? I know the question comes up for me all the time. Do I pray enough? Am I enough as a friend? Do I serve enough? At the end of the day, I don’t stop work because I don’t have enough things to do, but because I feel I don’t have enough time or energy. Do I accomplish enough?



I feel I’m in good company here though; we all have similar questions because no matter how much we do, regardless of how much time, energy or resources invested into any part of life, there’s always more that can be done. A loving husband or wife may wonder if they are enough for their spouse or family or if they may be reserving a little too much for themselves. A parent may wonder if they give enough for their children. A single person may wonder if they have enough strength to make it on their own. Maybe someone here wonders if they’ve saved enough to happily retire or if they’re available enough for their friends. Some are perhaps unsure if their faith is enough or if they are kind enough. Let’s not even talk about doing enough for health; that’s another set of questions. When is it all enough?



For the next bunch of weeks we’ll take a look at the question of enough and we’ll start with the Gospel for today. It recalls a moment in the ministry of Jesus, when a group of people brought forward a deaf man, begging that Jesus heal him. We can picture the concern these people had. We might imagine the people feeling as though they didn’t have enough to offer the unfortunate man. I’m sure they had worked out their own ways of communicating, maybe some form of sign language. But there would always remain a barrier that no one had enough to overcome. But then came Jesus.



Now, in other miraculous healings, we witness how Jesus, with just a word, could heal someone in front of everyone. With a word, Jesus brought the daughter of Jairus back to life before her parents. In front of a large crowd, Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus with a word. But, there’s a couple unique features in the healing of the deaf man we heard about today. Instead of healing the man with a word in front of everyone to see, Jesus takes the deaf man aside, alone, and touches his ears and tongue.



We know Jesus doesn’t have to do those extra things, but he did because God meets each of us where we are. The deaf man couldn’t hear, so instead of using just words, Jesus used gestures and touched him; he met the man where he was. The deaf man and those who brought him to Jesus for healing didn’t have to be enough, because God is more than enough and meets each person where they are.



Jesus also took the deaf man aside. With all those loud people begging Jesus to do something, it’s easy to imagine how difficult it could have been for the deaf man to communicate, how easily his voice might have been drowned out by the voices of others. God meets his people where they are. The man didn’t have to worry about his voice being enough. Jesus took him aside to hear him, away from the noise of the crowd.



We don’t have to worry about being enough for God because God is more than enough and meets us where we are. But receiving his healing work does take a little effort on our part. The deaf man had to agree to be taken aside, he had to trust and go be alone with Jesus. That may be a similar challenge for many of us because life is filled with all kinds of noise that works to drown out our own voice and prevent us from hearing the words of our saviour.



So, a couple challenges for the week: first, maybe take a moment in the week to see in what areas feelings of not being enough arise. They could be brought up through thoughts about relationships or career, health, finances or really any area of life. Where do you feel you aren’t enough?



Next, find a moment to go aside to be with Jesus, find a place and moment to shut out, even briefly, all the noise that makes it difficult to hear him. For those who can’t find such a place at home, the chapel is available here most days of the week and it’s very quiet. On Fr. Erwin’s return it will go back to being open every day. I know some come here in the week to meet Jesus in the daily Mass too and are touched by the sacrifice offered here. Wherever it is, find a place where you can ask Jesus to bring healing into those places where you feel you’re not enough. We trust that God meets us where we are and there’s no need to worry about being enough because our God is more than enough.



God of all goodness, as a group of people begged Jesus to heal their deaf friend, we too come asking for your healing touch. In the face of evils and those powers that work to tear down, we are not enough and turn to you. Through your Holy Spirit, open the ears of our hearts to listen for your word and may the sacrifice of your Son, made present at this altar, renew our trust in you, who are more than enough. We make this prayer in his name. Amen.

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