Be opened, and be open

 The gospel that I read today was filled with topics for me to reflect on.

"He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")  And immediately the man's ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly."  [Mark 7:31-37]

When Jesus opened the man's ears and removed his speech impediment, the man could speak plainly.

I imagine that we all can identify with the ways we’re deaf and unable to speak.  At least we have to admit that there’s so much 'noise' dulling our hearing, that it’s difficult for any of us to say we can hear clearly what Our Lord is saying to us, each day.  Do we know what He’s saying to us in the concrete choices we’re making, the relationships that shape us, and the way we use our gifts?  We do a lot of talking, and we find it easy to vent some of our deepest disappointments and judgements, and too often repeat the humorous, cynical and sad messages that surround us.  So, our speech faces impediments to clearly speaking a message of hope, of compassion, of challenge, of commitment that’s rooted in the Gospel.

How well do I listen?  Are there people around me that say I don't listen?  Can I say that I hear the 'cry' of those in need around me?  Am I aware of what the Lord might be saying to me, right in the midst of the choices I’m about to make today?  

And what would people say of my words?  Is what flows from my mouth, from my heart, in harmony with the message of Jesus?  At work?  At home?  Would others say that I speak with compassion?  With wisdom?  With light?  Of harmony, of mercy, of justice, on behalf of those who are different, who are powerless, who are voice-less?

One other thought on this Gospel.  Throughout the Gospel of Mark there’s a motif of secrecy.  Jesus tells His disciples not to reveal to others that He is the Messiah [Mark 8:27-33].  The demons cry out that He is the Son of God, and He tells them to be quiet [Mark 1:21-28].  When He heals a person, He warns them not to tell anyone what he has done.

I’ve read a lot of different commentaries on this question, but I wonder: could it be that Jesus simply wanted to minister to people and had no interest in making a name for Himself?  We see an example of this in the Gospel I read today.  A man was brought to Jesus who needed to be healed and they wanted Jesus to lay His hand on him.  What an opportunity it would be for Jesus to wow the crowd.  He could get everyone’s attention, wave His hands in the air, say some loud, dynamic prayer, and then lay His hands on the man, like some flim-flam televangelists have done over the years.  That would have made quite an impression.  Instead, “he took him off by himself away from the crowd.”  I can’t imagine that the man cared where Jesus healed him – in the midst of the crowd or off by himself.  But Jesus cared.  This reminds me of the story of Naaman who went to Elisha to be healed of leprosy.  Elisha didn’t even go out of the house but sent a message to Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman was upset about this for several reasons but one of them was that this was not the dramatic healing he thought he would receive.  Naaman left angry saying, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand there to call on the name of the Lord his God, and would move his hand over the place, and thus cure the leprous spot”.  An important man like Naaman needed an impressive healing that didn’t include immersing himself seven times in a dirty river [2 Kings 5:1-14].

Some have suggested that Jesus was using reverse psychology.  The text says, “He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.”  According to this view, He only told them not to tell anyone so that they would tell everyone.  He’s saying, “This is our secret, don’t tell anyone,” knowing full well that the secret would eat away at the people, and they just had to let the proverbial cat out of the bag, which is really what He wanted all along.

Back to the first chapter of Mark, I believe we get a hint as to why Jesus does this.  Jesus was ministering in Capernaum.  It says that the whole town was gathered at the door.  He cured the sick and cast out demons.  Early in the morning He went outside of town to pray.  Simon and the others went looking for Him and, on finding Him, said, “Everyone is looking for you” [Mark. 1:37].  In other words, they might have been saying, “You have this city in the palm of your hands.  You can make a name for yourself.” Jesus’ response was, more or less, “Let’s get out of here.  My purpose, my desire, is to reach out to the people, not to hit it big.” “For this purpose have I come” [Mark 1:38).

The time has come for Jesus to be proclaimed to the nations.  However, that’s our ministry by virtue of our baptisms.  It simply wasn’t what Jesus was about.