"Let
the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be
acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."
....................................................................................Psalm
19:14
The
Sermon: A Ministry of the Word
We understand the meaning of the Bible by the help of the
Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in the true interpretation
of the Holy Scriptures. We call them the Word of God, because
God still speaks to us through the Bible. The preacher proclaims
the Word, by the help of the Holy Spirit, as God still speaks
to us today.
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The Lectionary
Year B: Proper 18
Old Testament: Isaiah 15:4-7a
Psalm: Psalm 146: 4-9
Epistle: James 1:17-27
Gospel: Mark 7:31-37
Sermon
Ephphatha
Fourteenth Sunday After Pentacost
September 10, 2006
"Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha,"
that is, "Be opened."
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"Ephphatha," 'be opened'. What does that mean to you?
Is it a magic word that caused the deaf-mute man to hear and
to be able to speak clearly? Were those who witnessed this
astonishing event correct to be proclaiming, "He has done
everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute
to speak?" Why did he order them to tell no one? If we know
the answers to these three questions we will know why this
story is told.
"Ephphatha," 'be opened.' Did the deaf-mute man hear that
word? Did he hear that word in the Aramaic that Mark was so
careful to quote when the gospel itself is written in Greek?
Or did he wonder with an aching heart what Jesus' moving lips
had just said in the split second before the noise of the
world rushed into his opened ears and he could hear his own
tongue shout with joy?
I wonder what it would mean to Diana, my wife, who lost her
hearing fourteen years ago to be 'opened up'. To restore hearing
to the deaf-mute man, Jesus didn't merely restore his hearing,
he opened his life. I can't imagine the frustration and heartache
Diana feels sometimes when she's among people chattering away,
laughing at jokes, interacting with each other, while she
is left out because people forget or don't know how or are
too preoccupied to include her in what is going on. I can't
imagine the emptiness she must feel when beautiful music is
being played and people are singing songs she knows and loves.
I can't imagine how isolated she must feel at times like that.
Can you imagine a life shut in, an existence closed off from
what's most meaningful? In today's scriptures we hear of the
deaf and the blind, the lame and the oppressed, the hungry
and the prisoners, the deprived and the bowed-down. Do they
long to have their lives opened, to be rescued from their
isolation and want?
On Thursday night during the course of our conversation about
today's scripture with the kids at AJC (Arrowhead Juvenile
Detention Center) a girl who was asking some very fundamental
questions about God and faith and forgiveness, asked what
hell was like. I said that hell has been depicted in many
ways, but for me, and for many others even from other faith
traditions, hell is being separated from God, from our Creator
- being isolated, being shut out, being closed off from God's
presence, from God's grace.
"Ephphatha," 'be opened.' Jesus was not uttering a magic word
to give a deaf-mute man hearing and speech. He was opening
that man's life, and ours, to a new reality. He was unveiling
the Kingdom of God through his presence and his power. That
brings us to the next question: "Were those who witnessed
the astonishing event correct to be proclaiming, 'He has done
everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute
to speak?'" Yes, Jesus had 'done everything well.' And, yes,
he made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. But, what
they witnessed was much more than that; they witnessed an
apocalyptic act.
When we think of the 'apocalypse' we often think of 'end times,'
'four horsemen,' etc. The word 'apocalypse' comes from the
Greek word literally meaning: the lifting of the veil. It
came to mean in the biblical sense the of Apocalypse (with
a capital 'A') as referring to the unveiling of God, as the
Messiah. And not just meaning all the destruction of the world
which will accompany God's Revelation of Himself in Christ,
the Messiah, to Humankind. In the broadest sense, the whole
gospel of Mark is apocalyptic or a revelation of Christ and
the coming Kingdom of God, the reign of God on earth as in
heaven, the fulfullment of what Jesus taught us to pray: "Thy
Kingdom come, Thy will be done."
In today's scripture we hear it. From Isaiah: "Say to those
who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here
is your God; He will come and save you.' Then the eyes
of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the
speechless sing for joy." And from today's psalm: "Happy are
those; whose hope is in the Lord their God; who keeps his
promise forever; who gives justice for those who are oppressed;
and food to those who are hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners
free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts
up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous;
the Lord cares for (watches over) the stranger; he sustains
(upholds) the orphan and widow, but frustrates (brings to
ruin) the way of the wicked."
It is the unveiling. God in Christ is being revealed. He is
saying, "Ephphatha," 'be opened'. Be opened to the Kingdom
of God. Do you not see it? Do you not hear it? Do you not
feel it?
Diana does. Does she need hearing to be open to God's loving-kindness?
Does she need hearing to know the power of God's gifts of
the spirit? I feel her faith every day in my life together
with her. She gives me strength. She helps me to know and
understand God's gift of power as a humble servant in Christ.
That brings us to the third question I asked at the beginning:
"Why did he (Jesus) order them to tell no one?" Some of you
may remember me asking you a couple of months ago, "Do you
want power? Are you a powerful person?" I saw a lot of ambivalence
out there when I asked those questions. Even when I explained
that God has blessed you with power in the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, and in our relationships to God and one another in
the body of Christ, I still saw a lot of hesitation. Why is
that? Are you afraid of power? Are you not open to the Kingdom
of God in Christ?
"He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put
his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.
Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, 'Ephphatha,'
that is, 'Be opened.'"
"Then looking up to heaven, he sighed." Jesus was praying.
We pray also - as he taught us: "Thy kingdom come, thy will
be done." That's not exactly a power grabbing statement, is
it? Yet we open ourselves to recognizing the presence of God's
reign, and in surrendering ourselves to God's will we open
ourselves to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the greatest power
of all.
In today's scripture - in James' letter - he says: "Every
generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is
no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his
own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that
we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. You
must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to
listen… and welcome with meekness the implanted word
that has the power to save your souls. Be doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who deceive themselves." Let us teach
our children well, and remember that, as we celebrate the
new Sunday chool year with the children this morning. And
let us remember the tragedy of 9/11 and pray for peace in
the world. And let us be ready to open our hearts to the deaf
and the blind, the prisoners and the oppressed, the widows
and orphans, the hungry and the poor.
Why did Jesus order the witnesses to his opening the ears
and bringing speech to deaf-mute man to tell no one? He ordered
them to tell no one because they were not ready. They were
not open. They did not comprehend. The unveiling had not yet
come to them. They did not see the Holy One with the power
of heaven to act on earth. They saw a mere wonder worker who
has done "everything well." They could hear, but
they did not listen. They wanted power, but they were not
ready to accept it as God's gift. That is why Mark told today's
gospel story. When would they be ready to listen and would
they be ready to accept; when this world listens and when
this world is ready to accept, all will know God's reign.
__________________________________________________________________
Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done. Amen.
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