Ephphatha?

Ephphatha?

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.

This is one of the many healing miracles found in Mark’s Gospel. We are so distracted by Jesus using spit to heal that we might miss the wonderful image buried in this scene. Did you see it?

“Then looking up to heaven, he sighed…”

Webster’s Dictionary defines “sigh” this way… 1. to let out one’s breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness. 2. to yearn or long. In that one breath Jesus seems to look to heaven and cry out in sorrow and weariness, “This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be!” Jesus is in agony here. God yearns and longs to make all things new and to wipe away every tear from our eyes. So, where is God in our pain and our suffering?

In his book “God Came Near”, Max Lucado puts it this way, “And in the agony of Jesus lies our hope. Had he not sighed, had he not felt the burden for what was not intended, we would be in a pitiful condition… That holy sigh assures us that God still groans for his people. He groans for the day when all sighs will cease, when what was intended to be will be.”

If you have ever been in pain; if you’ve ever wanted to cry out “This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be!” Know that God is with you. Your pain is his pain. He has never left you and he knows exactly how you feel. May you ‘Be opened’ to the reality of Christ’s undying love for you. In him, may you find the comfort and strength for this day. And in that comfort and strength may we all join together with Christ to make all things new.

See you Sunday!
Missy