Proper 18 Yr B
Ephphatha! Be Opened!
Comments on this post:
September 3, 2021: Regarding Wayne Saffen’s comment, his point of healing privately is well taken however, while I understand his point, I feel his taunting others added nothing to his summary. The incident of Lazarus’ healing surely was public and Jesus later sent His disciples forth to do the same. As Episcopalians, Our priest would lay hands on anyone wanting to receive individual healing at our altar during our Sunday services.
Today I tried to cull some of our files containing volumes of cards and letters we had accumulated. I intended to spend an hour but it stretched to six! In my Religious file I read an old email you had sent out about a teacher who asked his 10th grade class to write a creative paper. A young girl selected the topic “I wonder why things are the way they are?” I had been looking for it to ponder while writing my condolences to the wife of my nephew, and God child, who recently died.
Instead of answering the title, the young lady submitted a paper that only had questions; the first was, “Mommie, why are the roses red?”
Unexpectedly, she was asked by her teacher to read the paper to the class. She saw a tear running down the teacher’s face (me too) when she finished and observed, “It was then that I realized that life is not always based on the answers we receive, but also on the questions that we ask”.
I am so grateful for your sharing this story. If you have more, I sure would like to read them. God Bless,
Introduction
Ephphatha! Be opened! Away from the "maddening crowd", Jesus opened the deaf man's ears—by putting spittle on his fingers and into the man's ears! Be honest. How confident would you have been that Jesus could open your ears using this method? But, you see, it was so much more. Jesus' reputation had preceded him—so much so that the Syrophoenician woman sought him out, and the deaf man, and the lepers, and the lame, and the infirmed, and on and on. Don't you see? Jesus is IT! What we have been looking for! We too can "lose our deafness" (see "Ephphatha! Be Opened!" by Wayne Saffen in Brain Food below). It's really easy! It's another way to define who you are. Let me know how you're doing here.
Mark 7:24-37
. . . Then he [Jesus] returned from the region of Tyre, . . . They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 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.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
From sermon4kids.com: “These friends [of the deaf and mute man] cared for the man so much that they wanted him to see Jesus. We, too, can help our friends to know Jesus.”
Scripture: September 5, 2021 (Proper 18)—Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 (image); Psalm 125 (image); Isaiah 35:4–7a (image); Psalm 146 (image); James 2:1–10 (11–13), 14–17 (image); and Mark 7:24–37 (image). A video/audio journey through the scripture.
Collect: Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of yo ur mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflection: Try to recall the first time in your life when you did not retreat in the face of opposition. How is your experience like that of the Syrophoenician woman putting her case to Jesus? Where in your life today is that same courage calling you to speak out? What could you do this week to take steps in that direction?
Coloring page (all ages): A new feature for your study each week; the focus is on Proverbs.
Eye Candy:
“Christ healing the demon possessed” by Rombout van Troyen;
“Deaf and dumb man cured” by Ian Pollock;
"Healing of the deaf and dumb man" (2017) by Julia Stankova (read her bio)
see first entry under “Brain Food”.
Ear Worm: “Heal me” by Alpha Blondy, a little reggae; “Do the right thing” by Ages and Ages, intergenerational; “Holy Mystery” by Pepper Choplin, sung by SSSJ’s youth choir, 2013.
Brain Food: This week’s lessons may be described in one word—liberation—from possession and illness and any other evil. Here’s a page of illustrations (by Solomon Raj) and commentary about Jesus’ liberation of us.
"Ephphatha! Be Opened!"
Now listen to this, You hucksters of religion, All you faith healers, Gatherers of crowds, Who come to smite the populace With miracles, spectaculars;
When Jesus healed a deaf man, He took the man aside, privately, away from gawkers. Jesus did not yield to crowd promotion, As do some who appear in his name (in vain?). He took the man aside, apart, away From the multitude. He put his fingers Into the deaf-mute's ears. He spat And touched his tongue. Does Jesus' Spit offend you? He looked into heaven. He sighed and said, “Ephphatha! Be opened!”
Do you think you know his secret now? Do you think method is the key to power? Repeat the procedure exactly. Try the sequence in proper order. Isolate the experimental subject. Stick finger into ear. Spit on finger. Place finger on tongue. Look heavenward. Sigh. Say the magic word. Got it? Try it.
When his ears were opened and his tongue released, the mute spoke plainly. Of course. Now that we have rehearsed the event, Do we understand it better? Of course not.
Let's start with something easier. Try listening to what others say. Experience the loss of your own deafness. Say how you feel, and watch your tongue come untied. Get somebody you can trust to practice on. Try it on your wife or husband, Father. Mother, brothers, sisters, children, friends.
You already know how to sigh. Now learn to open up. Ephphatha! Be opened! See, that's all there is to it!
©Wayne Saffen
Parables: “The Bone Collector” (1999), “Healing can happen when disease/disability remains”; “The Green Mile” (1999), “John Coffey (J.C.?) restores health and life”; “Patch Adams” (1998), “. . . heal the whole person, not the disease . . .”
For families: Study guide, group activity; snack, kid video
For children: activity; bulletin games; crafts;
For middlers: activity; bulletin games; crafts.
For youth: The gospel of Mark tells us about two healings this week—one a woman who is begging Jesus to heal her daughter and one a deaf man who can hear because Jesus says, "Ephphatha!" That means "Be opened", so Jesus was commanding the ears to be opened. But is that what Mark is saying to us? It seems Mark is asking us to "Be opened"—to the world around us, its suffering, our place in it. How, then, can you be a healer in this world? Share your thoughts here.
The Gospel reading today contains two healing stories. In the first, Jesus astounds the disciples by healing the daughter of a Gentile woman, an act unheard of in his day. Then he heals a man who is deaf and mute. These healings, like the others in the Gospel, is for Mark a sign that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus’ attempt to prevent the healing being made known, and the crowd’s amazement at this event, is a characteristic of Mark’s Gospel. Also characteristic of Mark is that the people healed are in every case people who were rejected by traditional religious leaders.
Using Proverbs: In our first reading, we continue to read portions of the Wisdom writings. Proverbs is one of the more important of those writings. Today we are reminded that the wise person is concerned for a good name more than for riches. To do good for those in need is the way of Wisdom.
Using Isaiah: The Old Testament reading is chosen because in it Isaiah foresees the coming of the Messiah characterized by healing and new life.
Today we continue reading the Epistle of James. This brief letter, ascribed to Jesus’ brother, is strikingly similar in tone and content to the Sermon on the Mount. James is particularly concerned that belief in God be accompanied by conduct congruent with that faith. Above all, James is concerned lest we settle for faith which does not produce good works for others, especially the poor and helpless. Faith without good works is an empty faith.
The People of God gather, week by week, to meet Christ, dying and rising in our midst. His presence is revealed in our liturgical gatherings in Word and Sacrament, and in us, as members of his Body, by our daily lives of ministry to others in concrete acts of love and caring.
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.