Be Opened

The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 8, 2024

Mark 7:31-37

 “Be Opened”

Even after the Olympic games finished last month, the eyes of the world continue to be on Paris. Every four years, the Paralympics follow in the same location where the Olympics take place, and these conclude today in a closing ceremony in the City of Lights. Some 4400 athletes from 168 delegations, including our own country, have taken part in this year’s Paralympics. These athletes have worked just as hard as those competing in the Olympics, but perhaps even harder as they had to overcome disabilities. One of the competitions in the Paralympics is wheelchair rugby. This was originally called “murderball” when it was first developed in Winnipeg, Canada in 1977 by quadriplegic athletes who were looking for an alternative to wheelchair basketball (history of wheelchair rugby - Search (bing.com). In spite of things that could hold them back and keep them down, these amazing individuals demonstrate to the world that people can triumph over disabilities. We hear about a man with a hearing and speech disability in today’s Gospel lesson – a man to whom Jesus brings healing and wholeness. That word which Jesus spoke, “Ephphatha” – be opened – becomes the theme for preaching today. May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

Jesus was on the move! Not only was he on the move, but he was on the move in Gentile country. He left the relative security among his own people to go out into the larger world where there were just as many needs. From the ancient Phoenician coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon, where he healed a young girl who was demon-possessed (Mark 7:24-30), Jesus then traveled to the area called the Decapolis, or Ten Cities, that was east of the Jordan River. There was no public transportation, of course. Except for Palm Sunday, Scripture doesn’t even tell us that Jesus had a donkey to ride, which means that Jesus got around by walking – lots and lots of walking. By going out into Gentile country, we understand that Jesus’ concern was and is not just for his own people, the house of Israel, or even for us today. Jesus’ concern is always for those who do not know him. Thanks be to God that Jesus’ concern extends to all people; not just a select few, but everyone.

Wherever he went, Jewish or Gentile country, people came to Jesus, looking for help, healing and hope. They came in all their need; with empty hands, waiting for Jesus to fill them. We do the same today. We come to Jesus with all of our needs, trusting that he will help as no one and nothing else can. We don’t know the name of the man who was brought to Jesus, but we do know that he was deaf and had a speech impediment. Mark here uses an extremely rare word to describe the man’s condition (μογιλάλον). This is the only place where it’s used in the entire New Testament. As one commentator has written: “He apparently suffered from a spasmodic condition of the tongue which can extend to the facial muscles as well. If the man had been born deaf and mute he would not have learned to speak and would possess no concept of language. This was not the situation. He had become deaf later in life apparently as a result of disease or injury and could speak only with great effort” (The Gospel According to Mark, by William L. Lane. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974; p. 266). We are blessed with technology and skills today that enable people with hearing loss to hear, and who have speech impediments to communicate. Things like cochlear implants and sign language enable this to happen. But who is able to restore hearing and speech entirely?

Today’s Old Testament lesson (Isaiah 35:4-7a) looks ahead to that day when “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” In Jesus, this is that long-awaited day! Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy of the Lord made hundreds of years before. In Jesus, true God and true man in human flesh, God has entered into our world of suffering, pain, brokenness and death to bring healing, restoration, and new life. Jesus took the man in need aside, put his fingers into his ears, touched the man’s tongue with his own spittle, and after looking up to heaven, Jesus then sighed (έστέναξεν). Why the sigh? Perhaps it was the burden that stood before him – the man himself in all his need. Perhaps it was how God’s good creation had become so fractured and marred by the effects of sin that made Jesus sigh. Whatever it was, Jesus then spoke that single blessed word: “Ephphatha,” be opened. No waiting here – immediately (εὐθέως) the Lord’s healing power was revealed in this man’s life. His ears were opened; he could hear. His tongue was set free; he could speak plainly. Then what? Don’t you wonder what happened next? Or what this man’s first words were? Scripture doesn’t tell us this, but I would like to think that he broke into a shout of praise and thanks to the Lord Jesus for this incredible gift.

Jesus commanded the people not to say anything about this. His own appointed time when he would be revealed would come at his cross, and that was already looming on the horizon. Jesus was steadily making his way to Jerusalem where he would suffer and die upon the cross, bringing about the ultimate healing for our sin sickness. In doing so, Jesus would fulfill yet another prophecy from Isaiah – one we hear each year on Good Friday: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). In our own lives, the Lord in his wisdom does not always give us what we ask for. We may not receive that incredible gift of healing as the man in today’s Gospel received this. Does this mean that God doesn’t love us, or doesn’t listen to our prayers, or is unable to help us? No, what it does mean is that whether we receive healing for our bodies, the Lord who loves us with an everlasting love has brought the gift of eternal healing, life, and salvation to our souls. Come what may, we are safe in the Lord’s care and keeping.

“Ephphatha” – be opened. What is it that needs to be opened in our lives today? What is it that Jesus needs to release and set free in us so that we can live more fully that abundant life which he came to bring (John 10:10)? Today, as we begin this new year of learning and growing in the faith that we share in Christ Jesus, I invite you to be opened. Be opened to the presence, the power, and the peace of the Lord as this comes to you in a Bible study, a small group, a huddle, that will encourage, enrich and strengthen your faith in the Lord. Through this, we say with those people who were eye-witnesses of Jesus’ healing: “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” (Mark 7:37b). Amen.