Thoughts for the Day

Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 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. Then Jesus[i] ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I know a fair bit of practical stuff about deafness! My father went deaf quite early - probably through all his explosive work during the Second World War while in the SAS. A soft-spoken man his voice got quieter as the television got louder. But he would only wear his hearing aids to watch football on tv! Then there was my husband, who having finally been persuaded he needed hearing aids, promptly discarded them because everything was too loud and hurt his ears! Lastly, I got hearing aids, early, and they changed my life.

Now imagine what it must have been like to be deaf 2,000 years ago. The man in today's reading must have been extremely deaf as his speech was affected. But it's likely he wasn't completely deaf from birth for he would have been unable to speak at all. Just think, there would have been no speech therapy to teach him to speak clearly, and no hearing aid or cochlea implant available. Worse still, people in Palestine often covered their faces, whether because of the wind or sand or because of modesty, and this together with poorly lit houses, would have made lip-reading difficult. Deafness can make people isolated, and others can be impatient with them, since they show no obvious physical deformity.

All of this moves Jesus to act! We don't know why he healed the man in the way he did, but what we do know is that after a prayer his hearing and speech are restored, and Mark wants us to connect this healing with Isaiah's prophesy of the coming of the Messiah: 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy'. (Isaiah 35.5-6). Jesus, the Messiah, has come to initiate Gpd's Kingdom of love!

Lord Jesus Christ,
who healed a deaf man
and changed his life.
We come to You for healing today.
Heal us mentally,
Heal us physically,
Heal us spiritually -
according to our need -
or give us the strength
to bear what pain is given us,
and show us how to use it
in Your service.
Amen.