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The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2006
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The 14th Sunday after Pentecost (B)
[Pr. 18] Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. In our gospel for today we have the story of Jesus' healing of a man who was deaf and mute. It was another one of Jesus' miracles that made a great impression upon the people. But at this point, instead of looking at the healing itself, I would like to take a look at the MAN WHO WAS HEALED...who he was...and what he was like. To a casual onlooker, this man was no different than anyone else. He did not have a visible handicap. He dressed in the same way as others did, he walked in the same way, he ate and drank in the same way. If we saw him from a distance, we would not think that there was anything wrong. But yet we know that this man had a very great handicap, even though it was outwardly invisible. He was different because he could not hear. He was cut off from the world of human speech. His deafness made it much more difficult for others to communicate with him. And not only that, it was also hard for HIM to communicate with others due to his speech impediment. The normal lines of human communication which most of us take for granted did not exist for this man. His handicap made it impossible for him to be a full part of regular, day-to-day society. Here most of us may assume that this man must have led a very lonely existence. We can visualize him as being very unhappy with his handicap...earnestly praying and yearning for the day when he could be healed! Oh, how much he must have wanted to be able to hear and talk like other people! But yet, this was not necessarily so. As a matter of fact, I personally think that he had probably gotten rather used to his condition. He had probably learned to accept it as almost being normal. Oh, there were times every once in a while when he did wish that he could hear and speak like others did...but they passed. His desire to be healed was for the most part not an obsessive one. Most of us who are here today are in many ways just like that man. Of course, we do not have the same physical handicaps...we can hear and speak...we can communicate with each other very well. But most of us...even though we are here in church...remain spiritually deaf and mute when trying to communicate with God! If we are honest, most of us will have to admit that we do not know God all that well. We do not hear His voice and feel His presence during each and every moment. And we do not know how to talk with God very well either, except through using a few ritual and formal prayers. In spite of our professions of faith, how many of us can honestly say that we truly have an intimate PARENT-CHILD relationship with our Heavenly Father?! We Christians say that we have been given power to become children of God...but how many of us truly FEEL that power in our lives? Most of us are just like that man in today's gospel lesson. We are spiritually deaf and mute as far as our relationship with God is concerned! Of course, there are some times in which we do yearn for better communication. From time to time we wish that we COULD fully know and trust in God and experience His loving presence, as we know we should! Especially during times of distress! When faced with a major sickness or disaster, suddenly we want to become very religious! Five years ago tomorrow – on September 11, 2001 – our nation was in shock as we suffered the terrorist attacks of that day. Suddenly, everyone was feeling the need to pray and to be connected with God. I remember that the Sunday following that day, churches throughout the land were filled to overflowing as people were seeking God’s comfort and strength. Several weeks later, however, attendance levels began to go down to more normal levels. It is unfortunate but true that most of us desire to communicate with God only when the going starts to get rough! Getting back to our gospel text, we hear that one day Jesus came into the area. And some people, probably some friends, decided to bring this deaf and mute man to Jesus to be healed. Although it is not explicitly stated, I personally believe that this man was not all that keen about the idea. He did not really want to go. It was like many of us not wanting to go to the doctor when we are sick. The man did not want to have his handicap revealed before the whole world! HOW EMBARRASSING! And besides, he was extremely nervous about what might happen! Except for the prodding of his friends, this man probably would have been content to remain in his deafness and muteness. Better that than to have to face the unknown! If it had not been for his friends, his fear probably would have on out over his desire to be healed! The same thing is also true about us today. It is FEAR that keeps most of us from being healed of our spiritual deafness and muteness. We may say that we want to have the kind of a new life with God that we have heard about, but we are afraid of what it might be like to really EXPERIENCE it. We are also afraid to do the things that we are asked to do in order to receive this healing. We are embarrassed to admit to our sins...not only to each other...but also even to God! We are afraid of what we might have to give up and what changes we might have to make if we really put God first in our lives! We want to have a truly intimate PARENT-CHILD relationship with our Heavenly Father...but too often our FEAR is stronger than this desire. And so therefore we are usually content to remain in our present situation of knowing God only from a distance. We realize that this situation has a lot of drawbacks, but at least it is familiar to us. It is precisely this kind of FEAR that keeps most of us from receiving the spiritual healing that God offers to each one of us through Jesus Christ! As I mentioned before concerning today’s gospel, I personally am quite sure that this deaf and mute man would never have come to Jesus all by himself. During his ministry Jesus encountered a few persons who wanted to be healed by him so much that they would do almost anything to get his attention. They were even willing to embarrass themselves before the crowds in begging for his mercy – as the Syrophoenician woman did in the first part of today’s gospel text. And in each case Jesus would heal them and say, "GO IN PEACE, YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL!" But this was not so for the deaf and mute man of today's gospel lesson. It was not HIS faith that made him well, because it was very weak. But thank God for the faith and concern of his friends! In a very real sense it was THEIR FAITH that made him well...because if it had not been for them, he probably never would have come to Jesus. This has a couple of very important things to say to us today. First, it shows us why we are called to be WITNESSES for Christ. This does not necessarily mean “hard-core evangelism” – in fact, I personally am rather uncomfortable with that. But it does mean inviting others in a simple but sincere way to come with us to worship or to other church activities – like we have encouraged our members to do especially today for our “Bring a Friend” Sunday. Not pushed – mind you – just invited to come and experience Jesus’ love with us. Secondly, this also shows us why we need each other. In my children’s sermon this morning, I showed how one pencil by itself could be easily broken – but when joined together with a number of other pencils each can receive strength and support from the others so that none of them could be broken. In the same way, our faith TOGETHER is much stronger than it is individually. It is much easier for us to receive Jesus’ healing love when we are seeking it together than it rather than trying to do it alone. We need each other if we are to get to know Jesus better, just as that deaf and mute man needed the support and encouragement of his friends. Today, Jesus continues to invite us to receive his spiritual healing, so that we can experience of God’s love in real and powerful ways. He encourages us to invite each other to come to him and to help each other to overcome our fears, just as the friends helped the man who was deaf and mute in today’s gospel. And then to ALL of us here – both as bringers and receivers – Jesus says, "Ephphatha - Be opened!" May it be so for us today, Lord! May it be so! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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