Many years before South Africa was liberated from apar tide when Nelson Mandela was a student Lawyer in Johannesburg, he had a friend whose name was Paul Mahabane.  Mahabane was a member of the (ANC) the African National Congress and had a reputation of being a radical.  One day the two of them were standing outside a post office when the local magistrate, a white man in his sixties, approached Mahabane and asked him to go inside to buy some stamps.  It was quite common in those days for a white person in South Africa, to call on a black person to perform a chore.  Paul refused.  The magistrate was offended.
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Voice from the Pew Reflection
​Sr. Phyllis Jaszkowiak
September 5, 2021

​In the gospel of today, Jesus cures a deaf mute through touch and prayer.  Jesus cures his deafness, “opens his ears” by putting his finger in the man’s ears.  Jesus cures his speech impediment by touching his tongue and praying.  The man’s deafness and speech impediment went away.  He could hear and he could speak plainly.
 
Jesus took him away from the crowd so both Jesus and the man could focus on what was needed for the cure.
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