Matthew 9:32–38: When the Mute Spoke Again.

• When the Mute Spoke Again” — A Unique Homily on the Silences That Jesus Breaks  in Matthew 9:32–38 ( 8-7-2025)

Praise be to Jesus Christ 

There was a young man who grew up in a house where no one ever said, I love you. His father worked hard. His mother prepared food every day. But the house was full of silence. No anger, no arguments. But no warmth either. He said once, “I didn’t know I was starving until someone once asked me, How are you, really? and waited for an answer.”

In the Gospel today, Jesus heals a man who was mute — unable to speak. The passage says, “A demon made him mute.” He wasn’t born that way. Something shut his voice down. Something inside him kept him silent. And Jesus, by His presence, made him speak again.

Now we could pass this by as just another miracle. But here lies something deeper — something that speaks to our world today. We are surrounded by people who are mute, not because of physical illness, but because their voices were stolen. The voice of truth, the voice of conscience, the voice of longing, the voice of prayer, the  voice of appreciation is muted. Shut down by fear, by ridicule, by oppression, by wounds no one sees.

This mute man, in many ways, stands for those who are afraid to speak the truth in a world of noise. People who carry words in their chest but dare not say them. Children who are never asked their thoughts. Wives who cry in silence. Men who bury their grief in alcohol. The mute are all around us. And sometimes, we are among them.

And notice something strange — when the man begins to speak, the crowd is amased. But the Pharisees are angry. He drives out demons by the prince of demons, they say. In other words, they refuse to believe that goodness can come from this healing. It unsettles them. Why? Because when the mute begin to speak, systems of power start to shake. When the voiceless speak, truth emerges  and not everyone wants truth.

We often admire saints because they spoke with courage. But let us remember: before they spoke boldly, many of them lived through seasons of silence. Saint John of the Cross spent months in a dark cell, alone and unheard. But it was in that silence that a deeper voice awakened in him and the words he later wrote still set hearts on fire.

Jesus, more than  casting out a demon He gave back a man his voice. And with it, his dignity.

What harvest does Jesus speak about in the Gospel? Perhaps it is the mute who are waiting to speak. The lonely who are waiting to be heard. The tired who are waiting to hear even one true word from someone who carries God’s voice.

You don’t need to be a preacher to be a laborer in this harvest. Sometimes, you just need to sit beside someone and say, I see you. God still sees you. And your voice still matters..

Today, the Church doesn’t need louder voices. It needs deeper ones. Voices born from prayer, from silence, from compassion. Voices that can name pain without bitterness, and speak truth without pride.

If your voice has been quiet for a long time, perhaps Jesus is standing near you, like He stood near the mute man. Not to force you. But to touch that silent place and gently say, Speak again. You are heard.

Lord, break the silence in me with Your gentle voice. Amen.