This miracle in Mark’s gospel sounds truly bizarre. What on earth is our Lord doing? It almost looks like magic!
But let’s use our imagination. That’s a good idea in any gospel story- you may have used the Ignatian practice of imagining yourself as one of the characters in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Or as one of the disciples in the boat when the Lord calmed the storm. Try it here. In this particular story we need to remember that the man who is being healed is deaf and dumb. We have to try and think ourselves into his silent world where communication is by gesture, sign and pointing.
Of course, we must avoid making assumptions about him. Just because he cannot speak, doesn’t mean he isn’t intelligent. I have a son who is wheelchair bound, he cannot speak. So often when people meet him they greet him in a singsong baby voice – ‘Hello Jonathan, so lovely to see you’. But he can communicate, he looks at letters on a board, and he’s very bright. A bit like ‘Lost Voice Guy’…We mustn’t make assumptions about people based on what they look like or how they communicate.
We shouldn’t assume either that everyone who lives with a disability wants it to be taken away. For some people, what society calls a disability is part of who they are. It is important for them to be accepted as they are. The technology and understanding that we have nowadays means that is possible. In the first century AD, being disabled like this man would have been a major problem.
So back to the gospel. Jesus leads the man away from the crowd, not just to keep a secret, but also out of sensitivity. Try to imagine what it would have been like suddenly being able to hear again after a world of silence. If you’ve ever had your ears syringed you’ll have an inkling what this is like. The contrast between spending several days with your ear canal full of olive oil, the rushing of the water, and then being able to hear the swishing of the nurse’s dress as she moves around.
Just healing this man suddenly would have been a shock. The hubbub of a crowd would be traumatic. Far better for this man to experience first of all the hushed birdsong and rustling leaves of the countryside.
And Jesus demonstrates to him what he will do. It’s a kind of sign language. Jesus hands go into the man’s ears, and he touches his tongue – the deaf mute begins to understand. Jesus then spits – apparently in the ancient world spittle was regarded as therapeutic – and that is a sign of healing. When Jesus looks up to heaven, we see that he is calling upon God and depending on him. Perhaps the deep sigh indicates power? Or the sacrifice Jesus made in making people whole?
Only then, when the man understands, when he can respond with his own faith, does the word of healing come. ‘Ephphatha’. What we see here is our Lord’s sensitivity in ministering to the man’s individual needs, and the communication which brings forth faith.
This reminds us that Jesus ministers to us as individuals. He knows each one and guides, speaks, helps in the way that is best for us. He can work despite, perhaps even through the challenges of disability, both physical and mental, and approach people in the way that they can understand and appreciate.
Undoubtedly he would wish his church to do the same. We ought to ask: are those of poor sight or hearing catered for in our church? Can a person in a wheelchair participate fully? How might a church minister alongside those with learning difficulties –that can be a very rewarding and they have a lot to contribute. People who live with disability can often be living with poverty too – but as the Epistle reminds us it is those who are poor according to the world that God chose to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom.
In the Diocese of Bristol we have been sharing conversations called ‘Transforming Church Together’. These are all about how we will share the love of God in future, what our strategy for ministry and mission will be. A significant part of that has been hearing from people who are on the edge of society.
Back to the gospel reading: Jesus wants people to be silent about it. ‘Them’ probably refers to the crowd that had begun to gather. How odd, that having restored someone’s speech, Jesus now commands silence. Why is that? Jesus often tells people to keep it quiet.
Does he want to avoid being overwhelmed with requests for healing, when he needs to preach and teach? He probably did not want to be labelled as the Christ too soon as that would have attracted attention from the authorities and restricted what he could do.
But the crowds do talk, and they draw the right conclusion: that God is at work. In v.37 they say ‘He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak’. This is a direct quote from our Isaiah reading: ‘Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed’.
But what is the ‘then’ – what is the event that leads Isaiah to say this? He begins the prophecy with ‘Look, your God is coming’. Your God. God himself will act. God himself will come as judge and saviour. Perhaps the crowd are beginning to understand. Perhaps their spiritual eyes are opening. Perhaps they see that Jesus is more than a miracle worker. Perhaps they hear more than the words of a prophet. Because he can heal the deaf and mute, They realise that God is has come to us in Jesus.
We can say the same. We can say: God is at work because we see him in Christ. In the Lord’s love and compassion we see God among us. Let’s make sure that everyone, whatever their needs, can have that free access to God’s love.
RevChristopherBryan 