In St. Matthew’s miracle story today, we hear of Jesus driving a demon out of a man who was mute, a man who perhaps had never spoken his entire life, a man who could only listen to others. Because of his encounter with Jesus, however, the mute man spoke.
It doesn’t, however, mention what he said. Maybe, finding his voice, he cried out in rising tones: ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you!”. Or he danced around shouting: “I can speak!”, or he just looked at Jesus with wide eyes and said quietly: “Who are you?” Whatever he said, I think Jesus was smiling.
The other thing we’re not told is what this man did after the miracle. Did he follow Jesus and become one of his disciples? Did he go back to his home but never stop talking about this man Jesus and what he did for him? Was he silent for so long, that perhaps now he chose his words thoughtfully? He may have become a living example of Mahatma Ghandi’ famous quote: “Speak only if it improves upon the silence.”
After this astounding miracle, Jesus continues to preach, teach, and heal. The crowds were amazed; the Pharisees were appalled. It is when Jesus looks around at the spiritually starved crowds that he says: “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few...”
This is Jesus’ call to mission and discipleship; it is his invitation to carry on the example he has set. As he looked at the crowds with pity, he knew they were troubled and abandoned. The Lord was looking for laborers who had His heart, who see people with compassion and are willing to go and be servant leaders. This challenging invitation has echoed through the ages to all.
The saints of China we celebrate today, Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, a soldier turned priest, and 120 other martyrs, heard that call.
In the late 1700’s, Christians in China were being persecuted again during that regime. Zhao Rong was one of the soldiers escorting a French missionary, Bishop Dufresse, on the long journey to his execution in Beijing. This Bishop’s example of patience and peace in the face of suffering impressed this soldier so much that, after listening to this faithful man, the soldier asked for baptism, taking the name Augustine. After a while, he then asked for Holy Orders, thus becoming the first Chinese-born diocesan priest. In 1815, Fr. Augustine was captured, tortured and martyred for the faith.
For many centuries in China, Christianity was either free to grow or forced to operate secretly, depending on the country’s leadership. The 120 Martyrs we also remember today died between 1648-1930. Born in China, eighty-seven were children, parents, catechists, and laborers, ranging in age from 9 to 72. Four were Chinese diocesan priests. The remaining 33 were foreign-born missionaries, mostly priests (two of whom were Dominican Fathers) and women religious. They were canonized as a group by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 1, 2000.
We thank God today for the example of these courageous women, children and men, and ask for the grace to be better laborers in God’s harvest. May we, too, be not mute, but bold in our words and actions.
