14B Pentecost Mark 7:24-37 September 6, 2009
Last Sunday I drew to your attention another one of those strange sounding Greek words found in our reading, “prautes”, which translated as either “meekness” or “humbly”, a word that really has no English equivalent, but might best be described as a one word summary of the characteristic of a “teachable spirit” a spirit that is docile and pliable and humble enough to learn, one which can face the truth, even when the truth is difficult to accept.
Today I want to introduce you to another word; the word is “Ephphatha” which is translated as “be open”. This is the word that Jesus spoke to the man who was deaf and could not speak. We are told that upon speaking this word, “Ephphatha” the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was free to speak, and you might imagine, the man’s life was changed from that point on.
Just to make things interesting I want you respond with the words “Be open” each time I say the word: “Ephphatha”, OK?
Ephphatha—Be Open
Ephphatha—Be Open
Ephphatha—Be Open
Very good, so much for today’s Biblical Greek Lesson! I think you now know what the word means, but from my own experience, I’d be willing to wager that simply knowing what the word means doesn’t mean it is easy to know how to do it.
Let’s continue and dig a little deeper into today’s Gospel reading.
According to Mark, Jesus is tired, one might even say, dog-tired. According to Mark, Jesus as been rejected in his hometown of Nazareth. He has learned that John the Baptist has been beheaded. He has feed some 5000 people with a few leaves of bread and some fish. He has walked on water and stilled a storm and if that is not enough, he has been criticized and berated by the Pharisees. He has had it. The guy wanted to take a break and simply get a way to a place where hopefully no one might recognize him. So he heads off to gentile territory, a place where no self respecting Jew would ever wander on purpose.
Well, as you know, word got out and a Gentile woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit, a demon, approached him we are told. And like any parent who has a child in need of help, this woman approaches Jesus and begs him to heal her daughter. On the surface such a request might not seem all that noteworthy, but this unnamed woman, a gentile no less, sets in motion a dialogue that changes everything, particularly, the mission and ministry of the church.
Let me explain. Jews disdained Gentiles. That might even be too soft. Jews were to say the least were prejudiced against these people who worshiped a multitude of gods. They were unfamiliar with things like dietary laws, and like dogs they would eat anything. In the eyes of the Jews, the Gentiles were seen as outcasts and unacceptable.
In the 15th chapter of Matthew’s gospel you will find a similar version of this story. And while the versions are similar, there are some differences, such as when this Gentile mother comes to Jesus and begs him to heal her daughter—Jesus is silent. He waits and watches to see how the disciples will react. They finally come and ask Jesus to send her way because she is so noisy and bothersome with her constant begging. Much to the surprise and shock of everyone, particularly, the disciples of both the past and the present, Jesus says to her; “it is not fair to take the children’s food and feed it to the dogs.” I remember the first time I read this text I could hardly believe that Jesus would call this woman a “dog’ as is certainly didn’t sound very Jesus-like! Since then I have read how some folks have tried to sugar coat this by saying that perhaps Jesus was referring to a “puppy” or maybe he had a smile on his face, as if he was teasing the woman. Scripture says nothing about Jesus joking or smiling and the Greek word is not puppy or a house pet, rather it refers to a mongrel, a cur, a wild, diseased, scavenging dog.
It would be easy to spin this in such a way as to give the impression that Jesus was using this encounter to test the woman’s faith, and who knows, maybe. I’m going to suggest another possibility, perhaps a more realistic possibility, that Jesus was using this situation to teach his disciples that his ministry was not just for the Jews, but for all people.
How many of you are familiar with the phrase, “Desperate times, require desperate measures”? This was one of those occasions. This woman, this mother, was desperate and this desperation led her to great faith.
At our Daily Discipleship study last Tuesday, Jan Brown was telling us about the hospital that her brother John Lunn serves in India. At this hospital they care for not only Christians, but also Hindu and Muslims, and Buddhists. And each week the hospital provides a service of healing, a service where Holy Communion is administered. Apparently this service is not exclusively attended by Christians, even the Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhist patience are known to come and even receive the sacraments. Desperate times require desperate measures. And desperate measure lead to great leaps of faith. Such is the case with the woman in our story. Most of us I suspect have never been referred to as a low down, dirty rotten, garbage eating dog as was the case with this gentile woman, and yet, this does not stop her and the results change her life, changes the life of her daughter and changes the world as well. No longer was the focus of who might follow and serve Jesus limited to the Jews.
How many of you are dog owners? At my home we have two dogs, Tibetan Spaniels, Buddy and Amber, I have often accuse them of being “cats in disguise”. Even though I might question their true origin I have noticed that they are, as are most dogs, great teachers when it comes to matters of faith, unconditional love, grace and hope. Buddy and particular is a wellspring of hope. If I open the fridge, I will no doubt hear his little paws coming from the other end of the house. I think he has an internal sensor that is triggered at the sound of the fridge. On top of that neither dog is never too far away when we sit down for dinner. Both are hoping against hope that someone will drop some crumb from the table.
This woman had even greater faith. She was desperate because her daughter was ill. She didn’t know what to do about it, but she loved her little girl enough to be open to do anything that would help her. If it required, she would have crawled across broken glass, she would have given all the money she possessed, and she would even endure being called a dog.
Jesus used that faith to help his followers to become open to a mission and ministry that encompassed not just Jews, but all people. It changed the world because suddenly the followers of Jesus discovered that all people are God’s children—that faith in Christ knows no boundaries or obstacles.
We can give thanks for this gentile woman. Her desperate situation drove her to have such a dogged faith that she would stop at nothing to get Jesus to help her. In the process she helped Jesus ‘ followers understand he was to be a Savior for all the world and not just their little corner of it. In other words, Jesus came to save even poor, pathetic, sinful puppies and mongrels like you and me.
That was healing #1 in our Gospel, now let’s look at healing #2.
Mark tells us that Jesus encounters a man whop is deaf and has a speech impediment. Unlike the previous healing where Jesus more or less heals the little girl telepathically, this particular healing is up close and personal. In an environment where we are being told to be consistent in our washing of our hands, Jesus sticks his fingers into the man’s ears, spits and touches the man’s tongue and says…”Ephphatha” (be open!) and the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was released and he was able to speak plainly.
So what can we learn from all this? Might I suggest that we are called to be open, and having said that I know that being open to either changes or something new is rarely easy. It wasn’t easy for Jesus disciples and it isn’t, easy for us, especially when it goes against every thing we know, believed or understood.
Just as Jesus’ disciples learned that Christ’s mission wasn’t only to the Jews, but that it was to all the people of the world, so we too might benefit from last week’s Greek word of the week--Prautes—a teachable spirit. I can’t help but believe that there isn’t anyone of who could not benefit from having our eyes and ears and hearts opened just a tad more to hear the good news that God loves them—and their neighbor as well.
A couple of weeks ago, I quoted Bob Dylan, and I find myself going to him again as he reminds us “The times they are a changing”. For some this is good news and for others, not so much. Whether we are enthusiastic or not so enthusiastic about any sort of change, the reality is if we are going to answer God’s call and accomplish the mission God has given us we need to be open. We need to be open to different races and cultures. We need to be open to different ways of to reach and teach. We need to be open to change.
The only thing that doesn’t change is the fact that there will always be change. As one sage once said, life is like the price on the gas pump—it can change in an instant. One moment you assume that you are reasonably healthy and the next the doctor tells you other wise. One moment life is going along just fine and then the unexpected changes everything.
I talked to someone recently who had been working at the same place for the past 15 years. One day a new manager shows up and begins making changes right and left. One can only hope they will be for the better, but until that becomes apparent, the changes are hard.
As of Tuesday, all the rest of the state’s students and teachers will back in school. Some are entering for the first time. Some are going to a new school. Some are encountering new teachers and new students—most everyone is encountering change.
Some parents have sent their children off to college; I am told that this is a bittersweet change. It is bittersweet because it is both thrilling to watch one’s child step out and expand their horizons—and it is scary because we don’t always know what those horizons might entail. I still have five years before I have to face that change—I’ll let you know how I am holding up to that change when it comes.
Suffice it to say, change is difficult, but we will all face it all the time. There is no growth without change; there is no change without loss and there is no loss without pain. If we are going to survive change we have to be open. We have to be open to it at work, in the lives of our children and family members and we have to be open to it here in our communities of faith as well as every aspect of our lives.
The gentile woman in today’s Gospel caused the mission and ministry of the church to change. She caused the followers of Jesus to be open to not jut Jews, but all of the people of the world.
When Jesus healed the man who was deaf and dumb he said, “Ephphatha” (Be open). And the man’s life was changed forever.
Jesus has the power to open us up to change also. God knows that change is hard and that not all change is good, simply for the sake of change. God also knows that we need help to deal with the change that comes our way. Therefore, God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us to comfort us, strengthen us, and uphold us. He assures us that the Spirit will always be with us even amidst the changes and chances of life.
He promises us that there is noting in all creation that can ever separate us from his love.
Faith in that rock solid, never changing love can give us the strength to be open to and embrace all the changes that come our way.
Change is going to happen.
There is no stopping it.
What we can do is have a good attitude about it.
We can be open to it knowing that the one thing that will never change is God’s love for us.
So the word for today is Ephphatha (Be open). Amen
Pastor Stephen Blenkush(Sermon Archive)
