then jesus left the vicinity of tyre and went through sidon, down to the sea of galilee and into the region of the decapolis. there some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.
after he took him aside, away from the crowd, jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. then he spit and touched the man's tongue. he looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "ephphatha!" (which means, "be opened!" ). at this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. but the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. people were overwhelmed with amazement. "he has done everything well," they said. "he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
mark 7:31-37
i love this seemingly innocuous story from the life of jesus. i see so much of his heart in the way this goes down. notice the details mark shares. some people bring to jesus a man who was deaf and could hardly talk. what does jesus do? he takes the man aside away from the crowd. he does not make a spectacle of this man. the miracle is a personal encounter with jesus. jesus opens his ears and loosens his tongue.
why does his put his hands in his ears? why does he spit? we will talk about that sunday.
the thing that really gets me is that jesus pulled the guy aside and made him new again. jesus still is in the business of making things new, of doing everything well. he is into re-creation...not just recration.
what about us? is our faith about re-creating the kingdom here? is it about doing everything well? is it about meeting people as individuals and having god make them new? or is it more about recreation...hanging with a group of people who like the same things we like...believe the same things we do?
things to mull over until we meet on sunday at 4...see you at fude.
peace to you,
scott
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