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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany
February 10, 2023
The Invitatory
The Lord has shown forth his glory. Come let us adore him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Reading: Mark 7:31-37
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. 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 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.’
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
This has long been one of my very favorite passages in Scripture. There is an intimacy, kindness, and care here that touch me very deeply as Jesus encounters the deaf mute. That he takes him aside demonstrates extraordinary consideration for this man’s situation and he anticipates the possibility of how overwhelming the cure might be for this man. Given the potentially unique and highly unorthodox his means of cure may be regarded, Jesus eliminates the possibility that this man might be subject to further ridicule and embarrassment , or even more rejection. In one moment Jesus takes all this in and treats the full man in front of him. He lovingly and tenderly opens his ears, frees his tongue and renders him a new man who can re-enter society and establish and maintain relationships. Jesus gives this man a unique kind of freedom and with such dignity.
Jesus’ words “Be opened” are not just a matter of hearing and speech. His words recall God’s speaking the whole of creation into being, Let there be….and the proclamation that they were good. Consequently, Jesus’ words extend to the fullness of life. Unfortunately, on account of his physical impairment to date the fullness of life has not been available to him. He can now have a more abundant life. But more than anything, which he may or may not realize, is the gift made possible to him in the presence of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus has exercised divine power and its attendant absolute freedom to bring this man into being now without fear or anxiety and presents to us a new and different way of understanding human maturity and flourishing.
And the grand lesson to be learned here is that with his deaf muteness together with the abandonment by his fellow human beings everyone is rendered impoverished as a human being. For every human being needs others to bring him/her into full humanity.
If there are societal barriers that others pay attention to and adhere to,
they have little or no sway with Christ. If we take a step back and look at Mark’s profile of God’s kingdom throughout the Gospel, we find that it is something surprising and unexpected. The Kingdom of God plays by nobody’s rules but God’s, breaking into the world in the least likely of places.
The challenge of Mark’s gospel, embodied so powerfully in this story, is to perceive God who is active, breaking into the world, and in a way that does not conform to the norms of human institutions, be they religious, social, or political (to the extent that such things can even be separated from one another).
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
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