Looking up to heaven, [Jesus] sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Mark 7:34-35

This Sunday’s gospel reading (Mark 7:24-37) offers us two well-known miracle stories. And I want to look at them in the reverse order, starting with the healing of the deaf man in the region of Decapolis. 

But how do we find our way into this particular story? The first story is easier, in some ways. Most of us can relate to a mother desperate to find healing for her child. But what about the healing of the deaf man? Where do we find ourselves in this story? 

Maybe we are the friends who brought their deaf friend to Jesus. It is interesting to see just how many stories there are in the gospels of Jesus healing people who did come to him on their own, but were brought to him. Even in the first story in today’s gospel reading, the girl who was healed did not go and find Jesus, and in fact never even met Jesus. It was her mother who went to Jesus. In the story of the deaf man, it was his friends. So, maybe that’s us in this story – we are the friends. 

But I think that it is also important to see ourselves in this story in another way. I think it is important to realize that the deaf man represents something greater than just the lack of physical hearing. I think that there is a spiritual hearing, a hearing of the heart, that we all struggle with at times. And that Jesus wants to heal.

Harden Not Your Hearts

There are many times in scripture when people with perfectly good physical hearing do not hear God’s voice. Why? It is often described as a hardness of heart. Going back to Exodus, we can remember that the Pharaoh’s “heart was hardened, and he would not listen to God or to Moses.” 

But it is true of God’s people, too. In Psalm 95, God’s people are told not to harden their hearts, but instead to listen to God’s voice. That passage is important enough that the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews quotes it and reflects on it in some length. In Hebrews we read:  

As the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test … Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God … Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts (Hebrews 3:7-15).

We might be able to hear just fine, in other words, but still not be able to hear  God’s voice. Because we don’t hear God’s voice with our ears only, but also with our hearts. So, let’s think about how to listen to God’s voice with the ears of our heart. 

Hard to Hear the Gospel These Days

But first, let’s remember why this is so difficult. Now, as much as ever. It’s hard to listen to God’s voice with the ears of our heart, in part because there is so much competing noise in our world. 

We live in a noisy world, where we hear other messages all day long. On television, in social media, in the words that we read and the words that we hear, our world is filled with words, and this can make it hard to hear God’s voice. 

Jesus, the word who became flesh to live among us, was on a mission, and still is, to open the world’s eyes and ears, but also to open the world’s hearts, to soften them, so that the voice of God could be heard, with the ears of our heart.  

But Jesus knew what he was up against. He quoted Isaiah about this very thing, when he said: 

“This people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn—and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15).

Our hearts have grown dull, Jesus said, and our ears are hard of hearing. So, what do we do? What did Jesus do? 

In the case of the deaf man, it was pretty simple, really. Jesus took him aside, put his fingers into his ears, spat and touched his tongue. Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Simple enough, right?

But what about for us? When our hearts are hardened, it is more challenging, isn’t it? How can Jesus open our hearts? What does an “Ephphatha” moment look like when it involves the heart? How does Jesus open our hearts, so that we can hear his good news, not just with our ears, but with our hearts? 

Ephphatha Moments – Peter and Cornelius

Let’s call these “Ephphatha Moments.” What does an “Ephphatha Moment” look like when it involves the heart? 

Let me offer a couple of examples of ephphatha moments to show you what I have in mind. And let’s start with scripture. 

This is a story about Simon Peter having a significant ephphatha moment. It is recorded in Acts 10, when we discover Peter having his heart opened to a new path in his ministry, to sharing the gospel with gentiles. This had been Paul’s ministry, but now it was to become Peter’s as well. 

Peter was in Joppa praying one day when he had a vision of a large sheet coming down from heaven with all kinds of unclean animals. Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven. 

And then there was a knock on the door. It was messengers from Cornelius, a Roman soldier, who was a God-fearing man interested in learning more about Peter’s religion. 

Peter realized that this was his new path. He went to meet Cornelius and said to him, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him.” Peter’s ephphatha moment opened him up to sharing the gospel with Roman soldiers and other gentiles. 

Ephphatha Moment – Jesus and the Syrophoenician Mother

But that brings me to one other ephphatha moment from scripture, and that is from the first miracle recorded in today’s gospel reading. 

This story also involves a gentile, a Syrophoenician mother with a sick child. She heard about Jesus, and approached him to beg him to heal her daughter. Jesus said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” And by this he meant that his ministry at that time was only to the children of Israel, not to the gentiles. 

She famously answered Jesus, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And dare I say it? In that moment, Jesus had an ephphatha moment of his own. He realized that it was already time for him to share God’s grace and mercy with Gentiles. And I believe that in that moment, Jesus showed us something incredibly important. He showed us that even the Son of God had the humility to have his heart opened to a new path in ministry. 

Jesus was willing to have his mind changed, because he had an open heart. And he invites us today to do the same. Because these ephphatha moments do not just happen in scripture. They happen to us. 

Ephphatha Moment – Dr. Bill Davis and SOS Care

Let me share with you one modern-day example, and this is from my father-in-law. Karen and I were blessed to take him and his wife to Myrtle Beach last Friday for a very special celebration. It was the 35th anniversary of the founding of his nonprofit, called SOS Care. SOS Care is an amazing nonprofit that is doing some incredible ministry with many people, including those living with autism and intellectual disabilities. (You can learn more about it here: https://soscaresc.org/about-us/#company-history). 

But it all started with an Ephphatha moment that my father-in-law had while serving as a surgeon in Myrtle Beach. He came across too many people who needed healthcare but were uninsured, or underinsured, or could not afford it. He prayed about it, and received a vision. God was telling him to give up his surgical practice and begin SOS. So that is what he did. 

He simply took an ad out in the yellow pages that said, “Sick and need help? Call here.” And people began calling, and coming to his house, where his guest room served as his office. He used his influence in the medical community there to get people the help they needed. 

His motto was simple, and part of his initial vision. It was “Whatever is necessary will be provided.” He is retired now, but was invited back to Myrtle Beach to be honored as part of the 35rd anniversary. And it was awesome to see the lives that have been blessed by this ministry. It all started with an “ephphatha moment.” When his heart was opened to hear a new call in his life. 

What About Us?

We all need these moments, don’t we? For most of us, they won’t be quite so dramatic. But no less important. Moments when our hearts are opened to new paths in life, when our minds are changed, when we feel called to share God’s love in new ways. 

Let’s call these “Ephphatha Moments,” and let’s look for them, and let’s ask for them, and let’s not miss them when they come.

And, better yet, let’s pray to be an “Ephphatha Moment” for someone else. Let’s pray for the opportunity to share our hope, to invite someone to church, to do something for someone that opens their heart again to God’s amazing grace, mercy, and love. So that they, too, can hear with the ears of their heart and remember that they are loved by the God who is love. 

One last point to make about Jesus healing the deaf man. When Jesus healed him by saying “Ephphatha,” he did not just open his ears. He also released his tongue. And this man began zealously proclaiming what Jesus had done. 

When our hearts are opened to the gospel, our tongues are released, too. To proclaim the good news of God’s love in Jesus, the news that is far more important than any other news we will hear this day, or this week, or ever. 

Ephphatha. Be opened. May the ears of your hearts be opened, that they can be filled with God’s love. And may our tongues be released to share this love with all. To the glory of God. Amen.