Proper 18
6 September
2015
Mark
7: 31-37
"EPHPHATHA!
- Be Opened!"
Hear him, yet deaf;
His praise, ye dumb
Your loosen’d tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior comes,
And leap, ye lame, for joy![1]
Lord, You have done
everything well. Help us also to see the
depths of Your mercy and grace, that we understand them as gifts meant for all...
Last week's Gospel placed Jesus in Galilee as
He was disputing with the Scribes and the Pharisees. He leaves Galilee. And
this week. Having been in Tyre and Sidon, we find Him in the region of the
"ten cities". He’s entering a new territory. He enters a pagan
land. But, wherever Jesus goes. His
reputation precedes Him.
Jesus
heals another person. This time in a Gentile region. Further emphasizing Jesus’
love for every race and kind of people.
This serves as yet one more example of why we
need to avoid the temptation to narrow the scope of the mission and ignore
opportunities to reach out to those who are different from ourselves. Jesus' healing of this man, immediately after
He restored the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman, underscores that He
desires to love, cleanse, and heal all people.
Sometimes it is good to look at the end of
the reading to start things off. The original translation of verse 37 literally
reads, "Well! All things He has
done!" A standard of excellence has been stamped on everything Jesus
has done. He is able to make the deaf hear. This should not surprise us.
Everything Jesus is doing is what the Father had promised to do when Jesus came
to redeem His people.
“And
they carried to him a non-speaking one...begging Him to lend a hand. Because of the deafness he had difficulty in
speaking.” Instead of making a display of the unfortunate man. Jesus took
him aside. And dealt with him in private. In the man's own language. “And
taking him from the crowd, he cast his fingers into his ears and spitting
touched his tongue.”
Notice Jesus’ actions. He's going to do what
he's going to do. But the pagans won't get
it. This is why Jesus takes the man aside. Refusing to draw attention to
Himself.
Why do we pay athletes and entertainers
millions? Because they do what most of us can’t. The pagans would always take
the credit. And that makes sense. The better the miracle the greater the power.
The Nobler the action. The Higher the praise. Miracles meant magic.
And Magic meant power. And power meant respect,
praise, adulation, and admiration. It’s what this world seeks. Not Jesus. Jesus
never performs a miracle for His own glory. He never takes the credit for
Himself. The pagans will always draw attention to themselves. They want the
recognition. Always claiming their own success. They covet the admiration and
the stardom.
T
hat's how Jesus dealt with the man then.
This is how He chooses to deal with you today. He speaks to you. According to
your need. And in a way in which you will understand. He comes to you. Exactly
when you need Him. Through His Word He speaks to you. And tells you exactly and
precisely what you need to hear.
Mark tells us "He put His fingers
into his ears and spit and touched his tongue, and looked up to heaven". It's
hard to miss our Lord's message even for the deaf man. Jesus says, "I
understand your problem! You've got ears that don't hear and a
tongue that doesn't work. I'm going to do some-thing about
it! I'm lifting up eyes to heaven 'from whence cometh our
help'. That's My Father's home. But I've left it to enter the world
of the deaf and the blind and the dead in trespasses and sin!"
And looking
up into heaven, he sighed and said, Ephphatha!”
"Be opened!" Why
the Aramaic? It is the voice. It is a
word accomplishing something. Not that
it was magic. It was the original.
He groans. As He carries our misery...see
Romans 8 Paul reminds us “...the entire
world groans...we ourselves groan wanting to be freed from this world...and the
Spirit…groans for us with words too deep for words.” Its same verb. Je
takes your misery to Himself and bears them.
This is what makes Jesus our Lord and Savior.
John reminds us: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
(John 1) Jesus came into our world to
combat and defeat those forces, which held us captive. The devil. Our
world. And our sinful flesh. He came to
forgive us and to set us free of all of these deadly forces.
It is this proclamation of the life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit in the Word and
Sacraments continues to speak to the deaf and mute in spirit and the dead in
trespasses and sin. There lies the power of God to open ears to the Good News
of the kingdom and to loose tongues into a glorious confession that Jesus
Christ is Lord.
You might ask, "What is the point of all
of this?" As Jesus spoke that word Ephphatha "be open" back then, there is one
mighty Ephphatha yet
to be spoken. On "that day" cleansed by your baptism in Jesus' Name,
you will stand with a robe washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. You will hear
Him say, "By virtue of the merits of My blood-bought redemption, these
have done all things well. Now, come and inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world!"
The
church has a name for this. It’s called "grace." And we are called to proclaim it. To celebrate it. Each
day of our lives. And to believe it. Rejoice then this day. For in Jesus Christ your sins have been
forgiven! You are redeemed! And heaven
is now your home.
Once
this man is relieved of his inability to speak, what speech is he now given to
speak? It is none other than to proclaim Christ. And what other words are you
given? None other than to speak and tell others of what Christ has done.
Jesus
commands them not to tell. He knows the road He's on. He doesn't need to push
the cross. It will come. When it’s time. But even more greatly they preached.
They
were doing what is natural. What more could they do other they to sing the praises
of Jesus? If they kept silent. Even the
rocks would speak out! But He doesn't
want their speaking to get in the way of the cross or the gospel. Jesus must
still face Jerusalem. And as for you. May your speaking be positive and
productive. Don’t let your words complicate or compromise the Gospel. Don’t let
your words stifle or suppress the story of salvation.
They
were completely amazed! Well...all things He has done...the deaf hear. And the
mute preach.
He speaks, - and, listening to his voice,
New life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice;
The humble poor believe.[2]
New life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice;
The humble poor believe.[2]
______________
Words-1,285
Passive Sentences- 8%
Readability – 83.8%
Reading Level-3.7
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