From Isaiah 35:
5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
From Mark 7:
They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
"Ephphatha" is pronounced "Ef-fa-tha". When you say it aloud (go ahead, if people think you're strange you can tell them why you're speaking Aramaic), you can feel your breath leaving your body, first controlled, then in total release. Mark tells us what that word means. When Jesus said it, when he did those odd things to the deaf and mute man, the power to communicate was suddenly uncorked! Then in classic Markan form, Jesus demanded they keep a lid on their experience. Yeah right.
The ability to hear, to listen, is rare these days. In this election season I get the impression that candidates and their parties have their fingers in their own ears, and they're saying "LaLaLaLa.. I can't HEAR you!" What will it take for our candidates to be opened, uncorked, so that the great responsibility of sharing life with one another can become easier and more abundant?
Really, God has given the ability to hear, to listen. God hasn't been selective or stingy with that gift. Not only is it part of creation.. it is part of the New creation.
May you have the ears of a cat. Each cats-ear has 31 distinct muscles with which to focus attention on the subject of choice. A cat can tell when you're opening the cat food cupboard, and when you're opening the meaningless cupboard next to the cat food. What's your subject? Tune in! Be opened. Ephphatha. I'm not much of a cat person, but this, I have deep respect for.
"Joy is a net of love that can catch souls" (Mother Teresa)
1 comment:
Yes, listening seems to be a lost art. Good post James!
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