Mark 7:31-37:  31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

What a strange miracle. Sticking fingers in ears. Spitting and touching his tongue. Speaking a word you and I can barely pronounce: “Ephphatha,” using the original Aramaic, rather than Greek, emphasizing the actual words spoken. Why? And why such odd things? Fingers in ears, and spit on tongues? Surely our Lord could have done without sticking his finger in the man’s ear! At least without the spit, right? When Jesus called Lazarus from the grave He simply spoke, “Lazarus, come out.” And out came Lazarus. When he heals the Paralytic in Mark 2, He simply forgives his sins, and after a bit of fuss from the Pharisees, speaks simple words, “Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” Now, while all miracles are certainly striking, you’d think that raising Lazarus from the dead, or healing the paralytic, might be a bit more complex than healing a deaf and mute man, but there was no dramatic touch or spit – so why is it to heal this deaf and mute man that our Lord begins sticking fingers in ears, and spitting and touching his tongue?

I am not going to tend to the story so much today, although we will come back to this healing in two weeks when we look at the healing of a blind man in chapter eight. Rather, today I am just going to focus on the fingers in the ears and the spit and explore the idea of our Lord working his healing through ordinary means. The bodily presence of Jesus is no longer here to do speak the words and loose the ears and tongues, but His word is still here, and He attaches His word to means… ordinary, odd, crude sort of things… to offer healing and wholeness. In baptism it is the preached word, but also ordinary water. In communion, alongside the word are ordinary bread and wine. Normal things. Plain things. But accompanying these ordinary things He attaches His Word and promise.

When the Lord uses the means He chooses, be it a finger in the ear and spit on the tongue, or through the preaching of the Gospel, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the words of Absolution – his promise and word is with these elements. We call these ordinary means, a means of grace. Because when the water is poured out on us so is His Word of grace, “you are my beloved, I call you my own, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” And when the bread and wine are on our tongues there is no doubt that these also are His means of grace, and that they are given to us with our Lord’s loving word “remember me, and receive my body and blood, given for you for the forgiveness of all your sin.” These are the ways the Lord continues to touch us through something tangible yet ordinary. And these ordinary things are all around us so that whenever we see water, we may be reminded of our baptism. When we see bread and wine, we’re reminded of the Lord’s Supper.

While only a few of us are afflicted with biological deafness or muteness, the entire human race may be spiritually deaf and mute. Our ears are inclined toward lies, and our tongues speak blasphemies, or, even worse, nothing at all when what is most desperately needed is a prophetic word. But Jesus is still speaking His Word, “Ephphatha,” “be opened,” to each of us and attaching His word to plain things. When we read the Word or receive the preached word, into our ears He points with His finger, to open our ears. Through the Word, the discernment that happens in Christian community, the prophetic voices in our midst that embolden us in our faith, and the fellowship with our Lord in the sacrament of holy Communion, He touches our tongues, so that we might speak forth our confession of faith, and all abundance of praises and thanksgivings – so that we might boldly speak the gospel.

With the deaf and mute man Jesus’ word is “Be opened.” That is a word for us as well. By the grace and forgiveness we know is Jesus Christ, and of which we are reminded through the ordinary means of baptism and holy communion, let us receive Jesus’ word to be opened, through the ordinary means around us – the Word, Christian community and the prophetic voices in our midst - so that we too may have ears able to hear his voice and tongues loosened to confess his gospel. For we are called by His Word – and through His ordinary means of Grace – not to be mere believers, but confessors! Through these ordinary means, be opened!

-René Johnson

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