Mk 7:31-37
7 September 2003
“Ephphatha”
When the show “Mad TV” came on the air a few years ago, Banu and I would watch it on occasion. We soon grew tired of it, though. It seemed to me that there was too much…junior high school level humor. Still, there was one recurring character on the show, played by Nicole Sullivan, that I found amusing.
This woman was known as the “Vancome Lady,” because the first skit in which she appeared presented her working at a cosmetics counter, selling Vancome cosmetics. (Some fictitious brand name.) Anyway, she had a predictable response when confronted by something she didn’t want to hear. Maybe you’ve seen someone (maybe a child) do this. She would put her fingers in her ears and loudly exclaim, “A-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…a-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…” Rather irritating, isn’t it?
You notice that I commented, “Maybe you’ve seen someone do this”? Actually, I think we all do this. We may not put on the display I just did, but we have our ways of ignoring, of shutting out, things and people we don’t want to hear. We even have our ways of ignoring, of shutting out, God. The constant blare of television, radio, advertising, and mindless conversation does the job quite nicely. (Note that I say “mindless” conversation. I’m not referring to the encounters in which we’re really sincere with each other.)
What’s led me down this train of thought is a single word from our gospel reading, a word that I’m using as my sermon title: “Ephphatha.” That’s an Aramaic word that Mark has inserted into his Greek text—a word that means, as he tells us, “be opened.” Aramaic is a language related to Hebrew. It was the language of the people in Jesus’ time; in fact, it had been spoken throughout the Middle East for centuries. But Aramaic has basically gone the way of Latin. I heard one time that today it’s only spoken in a single village in Syria.
Jesus speaks this word in the context of healing a man both deaf and mute. Apparently, the “impediment in his speech” that Mark mentions is due to his deafness, for when Jesus restores his hearing, his ability to speak plainly is also restored. We’ve all seen, and possibly known, people whose inability to hear made it very difficult for them to speak clearly.
There’s something about being able to hear that makes speech possible, at least, speech that can be understood. Maybe you see where I’m going with this. For us to speak clearly—for us to speak intelligently—for us to have any idea what we’re talking about, we first have to hear. We have to hear. And it’s real hard to do that when we’re doing the “a-la-la-la-la-la-la-la” routine!
Unfortunately, that’s exactly how vast numbers of people in our society see the church. They see us with our fingers firmly implanted in our ears, and if we do say anything, we come off sounding like the Vancome Lady—irrelevant and abrasive. And I’m afraid that perception isn’t too far off the mark.
Our gospel reading comes at the very end of Mark 7. But if we notice how the chapter starts, we see an all-too-familiar scenario. Jesus is being grilled by some Pharisees and scribes because he has failed to instruct his disciples in the proper ceremonial way of washing one’s hands. In response, Jesus scolds them for being more concerned about outer purity than inner purity.
The simple truth is: it’s not the folks society considers to be lowlifes who routinely give Jesus trouble. It’s not the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the town drunks, the rowdy partiers—it’s not any of these who give him grief. On the contrary, Jesus befriends them. It’s not the “trailer trash” (to use an unkind word) that oppose him; no, it’s the educated, the cultured, the religious establishment who fill that role.
What the nice, respectable people wind up doing is deafening themselves to the words of Jesus. They shut their ears to his message. As a result, their speech suffers. They have nothing more useful to say than the tired old slogans that pass for wisdom. Because of their stubborn resistance, the anti-Jesus Pharisees and their kind deprive themselves of the fresh air that Jesus wants to bring. They’re forced to rely on the buzzwords they’ve been repeating to each other.
Sorry to say, but that’s often the fate of those who find themselves in the dominant groups of society. I’m speaking of those who’ve been able to count on the culture at large as echoing their own assumptions and values—those who’ve never been in the minority, those who’ve never been seriously persecuted. Basically, people like us!
Globally speaking, we are people of privilege. We live like kings and queens. And it’s difficult for us to hear certain things. It’s difficult for us to hear the message of our Old Testament and epistle readings. We’d probably rather not hear Proverbs 22 when it says, “Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor” (v. 9). How many of us literally do this? I don’t mean donate money to a charity, as important as that is, but actually sit down and break bread with the down-and-out. I know it’s been a long time since I did that!
We’re also not too enthusiastic about James 2. That opening question, “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?”: that really smacks us in the face (v. 1). Will anyone here dare say that you treat all people equally? Again, I know I can’t make that claim.
We’d rather not hear about those arrested or tortured because they have non-violently opposed their government’s policies, defended the human rights of others, are gay, speak a certain language, or dare to practice their faith. We tend to live the motto: ignorance is bliss.
Just as with the Pharisees, when we deafen ourselves, our speech suffers. An Australian pastor has posed some questions that could apply to us in this country. On the matter of deafness, he wonders: “Could that be the reason why so many Christians appear to have no good news to speak in the face of our country’s rampant consumerism, [easy] cynicism, widespread anxiety, and insipient aggression? Do we listen enough to Christ to have something to say and do?
“Why is it when a colleague at work, or a neighbour, breaks down and tells us about their lack of purpose in life, or the mess they have made of personal relationships, that many of us remain silent about the resources of faith in Jesus Christ? Why do we allow Christian witness to be monopolised by the loud-mouthed, aggressive [groups], or self righteous, self promoting pastors? Do we hear Jesus? What is it that Christ says to each of us that we need to pass on to others with sensitivity and love?”[1]
I wonder, what is the “Ephphatha” that we need to hear? What will it take for our ears to “be opened”? What about this: how often do we really listen to what someone from the “wrong” political party has to say? And when our guy (or girl) says or does the same thing that their guy did (or maybe something even worse), do we make excuses for him or her? Why are we so willing to listen to one and not the other?
Or how about this: what amounts to a good sermon? Some of you have, at times, said to me after the service, “Good sermon!”—or words to that effect. I wonder, is a “good sermon” one that agrees with our own preconceptions, with our biases? Or can a “good sermon” be one that challenges us, rubs us the wrong way, or brings up some of that stuff we don’t want to hear? What is a good sermon for you? (And by the way, in asking this, I’m not fishing for a compliment! I’m well aware that there may be more than one reason why a sermon of mine isn’t considered to be good!)
“Ephphatha!” “A-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!” Which do we choose? Actually, we make that choice already by the way we live our life. Are we the kind of people who really listen? Do we pay attention to things like vocal inflection and body language? Or are we already making mental notes for a response? Remember, when we deafen ourselves, our speech suffers. And it’s not enough to speak; we need to speak clearly.
Next month, the Old Testament readings come from the book of Job. Now here’s a guy whose friends do a great job of consoling him—that is, until they open their mouths! They, like us too much of the time, feel the need to say the right thing. Unfortunately, the “right thing” may be the wrong thing when it shows that the person really hasn’t been heard. But we’ll look at them in greater detail next month.
“Ephphatha!” “Be opened!” Open up! Let us open ourselves up to what Christ would do in our midst. Let us open ourselves up, so that we may not be robbed of the power to speak the truth, and to speak it in love.