Dignity

"Jesus took him aside privately," Mark 7:33.

Took whom aside? A deaf guy. (Unsurprisingly, he also had a speech impediment.) Took him aside from what? From the crowd that had presented the fellow to Jesus to watch today's miracle side show. (Jesus asserted his dignity as a fellow human being, a child of God.) Then, with some weird actions and a word or two, Jesus rewired the guy's brain, ears, and tongue nerves and muscles: he could hear and talk just fine. People's amazement grew boundlessly.

Having had our own ears opened to hear God's word, we talk with a brother or sister today. And, together in thanksgiving, we speak openly of God's most excellent greatness.