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We had beautiful weather this past week, didn’t we? After all those hot and humid days, When the hum of air conditioners seemed to be our constant companion, It was wonderful to open up the windows and let the fresh air in! I opened up the windows in the house, in the office and let the breeze blow through. This morning, I drove with my “255” air conditioner – Roll down the two windows and go 55! There’s a sense of new beginning, new freedom, and new possibility with everything opened up. That same spirit of openness is at the center of our Scripture lesson today. Be opened! Jesus says. Ephphtha! Can you say it with me? Ephphtha! Jesus utters – or groans according to some scholars this healing word and what was closed opens up. What had been closed – In a man’s ears and lips, In the hearts of his friends, And perhaps in Jesus himself – Is now open and lives are transformed. We move to this place of openness, Mark tells us, After Jesus has gone off to the city of Tyre in the Gallilean territory. This means that our Savior has left his homeland, his Jewish community and crossed the border into a new territory. Mark also tells us – In chapters previous to the one we hear this morning – That Jesus has had several run-ins with the local religious leaders; His neighbors haven’t appreciated his message and preaching, And more and more people are coming to him for healing. Jesus has been having a hard time, And he heads off for a little break, A time to be renewed and re-energized, Looking to shut off the world for a little while, To close himself off to all the demands that accompany him. But Jesus is called out of this closed space almost immediately, when a group of folks find Jesus, And bring their friend for healing. The man, we are told, is unable to hear, and he stumbles and stutters in his speech. The group presses upon Jesus to lay his hands upon the man, calling out for some relief and renewal for their friend. And then, in what I find is one of the most tender scenes in the story – and maybe the most tender scene in all of Mark’s gospel - Jesus takes the man aside, away from the crowd. Mark doesn’t say why this is; Many of Jesus other healings are public and in the midst of many people. Perhaps Jesus saw something in this man’s eyes that said “I’ve had enough of being the center of attention. I’m tired and afraid. They’ve tried this before, and it hasn’t worked. I’m embarrassed. Please, not here in front of everyone else.” And so Jeus goes off to a quiet place with the man, And lays hands on him. Friends, perhaps Jesus is calling us to a quiet place, So we might be healed, So we might be opened up – in heart, mind, soul and spirit. Even when we have can physically hear, we have selective listening, don’t we? Too often, it seems, we listen only to those things that we want to, Or to those people who sound like us or think like us, Or the world’s call to wealth, power, and greed. We cover up and cut off words we need to hear, Words of challenge, Even words of comfort, Words that can help us grow as disciples of Jesus. We only need to watch the news or read the paper to know that in our country right now, We are not listening to each other. In fact, we are shouting over one another so that no one else can listen. And in the church, if we’re honest, we can acknowledge the times when we have become deaf to new ideas, new ways of living as the church of Jesus Christ. Friends, Jesus wants to touch our lives, our hearts, our spirits just the way he touched the man in the Mark’s gospel. You see, Jesus doesn’t shy away from touching – He’s a hands on healer. Jesus puts his fingers right into the deaf man’s ears. He takes some of his own saliva and puts it on the man’s tongue. Ugh! Spit! I can see some of you scrunching up your faces. But this is not the first time we are told that Jesus has used it. You might remember that in John’s gospel, he puts saliva on the eyes of a blind man as part of a healing ritual. Jesus’ actions may seem strange to us; against what we call common sense and certainly against all our contemporary warnings against sharing and passing of germs. But this action was not so strange to previous generations of Christians. Martin Luther, one of the leaders of the Protestant reformation almost 500 years ago, sought to change the prayers and sacraments of the church so they were more open to God and rooted in Scripture, at least from his perspective. When Martin Luther outlined how a baptism should be done, He said that the pastor should take of his (and there were only “HIS” in those days!) own saliva and touch the ears and lips of every child getting baptized. (Okay, I’m seeing some of that same scrunching up of the faces!) As the pastor was touching the lips and the ears of the child, He was to repeat the same words that Jesus utters as he looks up to the heavens. The pastor was to say: Ephphatha! I don’t know when they stopped doing baptisms that way, But I do know we don’t do baptisms here at RHCC in that manner – And I’m not advocating that we start! In fact, I’m not sure how many people would bring their children to be baptized – or how many pastors would be willing to use their fingers or saliva in the sacrament! But if you think about it for a minute, Martin Luther’s idea is a good one, a powerful one. The sacrament of baptism is the one, As we say here in church, the beginning of our full journey of discipleship. And what is discipleship but hearing the word of God, listening to the words of Jesus And speaking and proclaiming the good news of our faith to all the world? But let’s face it, Many of us – young or old (although I suspect it’s more true for those of us who are older) are tongue-tied about our faith. We hesitate to speak to others about what God has done – and is doing – in our lives. One of the true joys of being a pastor – being your pastor – is hearing your witnesses, your testimonies, your “plain talk” as the Scripture says – about moments of healing, the moments when you knew God’s love in your life in a new and powerful way. Some of you have sat in my office – Or told me at the back door – Or on the stairs, Or in a hospital bed, Or in the aisles of the Big Y – when you’ve developed a new understanding or insight about the Christian faith or discipleship, or how this church and the people in this community have been instruments of God’s grace in your life. It is a blessing and honor to hear these witnesses and testimonies– And I think Barbara would concur with me – because they deepen our faith as well. But today, friends, Today I want to encourage you to share these experiences not only with the pastors, But with each other and with others you know! Think for a moment this morning. Think for a moment who In your family, in your church family, your neighborhood, your school, your job - Needs to know about the good things, the blessings that God has brought into your life? Who might you invite to church, to walk with us the journey of knowing of discipleship? Friends, I sometimes hesitate to share my witness; Maybe you do, too - because we fear we don’t have the right words, or that we’ll say something wrong, or that we’ll offend someone. or maybe we believe that our actions speak louder than words. And yet, let’s not forget the man and his companions in today’s gospel lesson. They are insistent. Their lives had changed – And they can’t wait to tell the world about it! They even go against the curious command of Jesus – to be silent and not say anything to anyone. But they couldn’t stop! Friends, All of us can speak – Be it in verbal language or in sign language – About the glimpses of God’s love, mercy, and truth we have seen and touched and heard and experienced. Ephphatha! Let us pray this day to be opened – In heart, in mind, in spirit, and in voice. Let our whole lives be opened to surrender to God’s will and wisdom. Ephphatha! Amen. |