Opening Ears and Loosing Tongues :: Mark 7:31-37

Preached to the saints of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Bovey, MN and Grace English Lutheran Church, Marble, MN on August 22, 2021.

Taking him from the crowd to himself, Jesus put his fingers into his ears and after spitting He touched his tongue. And looking up into heaven, he groaned and says to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “be opened.” And immediately his hearing was opened and the restraint of his tongue was released and he began speaking rightly.

Silence - Although we sometimes ask for silence, it’s quite unnerving. Think of this man from our Gospel reading. Unable to hear and speak properly, he lived under a terrible curse of silence due to the sinful nature of all humanity. Imagine living in this silence.

On the one hand, we would finally have peace. We wouldn’t be bombarded with all the anger that floods the airwaves. We wouldn’t have to hear constant complaining, bickering, and arguing about restrictions, regulations, and recommendations. We wouldn’t hear the hateful words from other people and the shameful treatment thrown against others. But, we also would be missing out on over half of God’s created blessings. Imagine never hearing the birds chirping in the early morning. Imagine never hearing your spouse say “I love you;” your children never saying, “I need you;” Your friends, family, and pastor say, “I forgive you.” Without hearing, how would we ever be instructed in the knowledge and wisdom of God and his sacrificial love toward us?

Consider the fact that God’s creation is based on speech and hearing. Before anything was made, God spoke - God said, “Let there be light” and the nothingness of creation responded. The silence was broken and the beauty of his glory shone over all things. God continues to work through the spoken Gospel of His Son’s sacrificial death and glorious resurrection that ushers in a New Creation. He speaks life in the midst of death, rising again so that death and the grave do not have the last word.

The Holy Spirit’s Word over the Water causes a blessed flood of forgiveness in the gift that is Christ Himself, carrying you out of death and into life. Christ’s Word spoken over bread and wine communicates His very Body and Blood given for you, announcing His promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Without ears that hear it would not be blissful ignorance, but a life of anxiety, frustration, even anger and fear.

For this man in our text today, his life of silence reflected the curse of sin that we all live under - dead and deaf to God and His will, caught in the restraints of trespasses and sins. The man’s only hope was in others.

Thanks be to God that the people were not kept in silence. After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus again came through Sidon to the sea of Galilee up through the middle of the region of the Decapolis. And the people brought to Him a deaf and speech-impeded man and pleaded to Him that He place His hand upon him. The last time Jesus was in this region, in Mark 5, he had cast out the legion of demons from the man who lived among the tombs. This man was given the privilege of telling others how much the Lord had done for him. The people heard him; their ears were perked to Jesus. They knew Jesus to be someone marvelous; and their hearts went out to this man. They became his hope; they became the answer to his silent prayers; they became the ears and lips of this man as they brought him to Jesus and prayed for His help.

This is how we all came to faith. All of us have been - and are - this deaf and speech-impeded man. The devil has stopped our ears and snattched our tongues. He tempted Eve through speech, that she would turn away from God’s Word. The Devil continues to stop our ears to what is good in God’s Law and Gospel. The Devil speaks to us through the voice of the world. It is Satan who cancels speech so that you only hear what the world wants you to hear. It is Satan who twists words so that you hear from him what is life and love. Born in sin, our ears are deaf to God’s Law; our tongues become a restless evil; our hearts, born darkened in sin, become seats of pride and arrogance - we use our tongues toward vitriol, blasphemy, and derision. Even though we know Christ and His sacrifice for us to take away sin and death, we still desire him to be silent. We don’t want to hear from him what is right and wrong because His Law points out we are only in the wrong. We don’t speak of him as we ought. We choose to listen to the words of a world trapped in fear of death rather than listening to the word of life everlasting.

Thank God that someone knew of your bondage in sin. Thank God someone knew where Jesus was and brought you to Him by means of the Church and her proclamation of the Gospel. Someone prayed for you - still prays for you - that God’s Holy Spirit would touch your ears with His Word, enter your hearts, and open your lips to confess Christ - the hope of sinners and the Lord of Life who holds all things in His hand, the One who has conquered sin and death through His cross and empty tomb.

Someone you know needs help - maybe they haven’t heard the beautiful news of Christ’s death and life for them. Maybe Satan and the world have latched onto their ears, lips, and hearts and they are lost in depression, distraction, and despair. You have heard of Him who has compassion on the brokenhearted. You have heard of Him who opens ears and loosens tongues. Pray to the Holy Spirit that He would open your lips so that through your telling of all that Christ has done for you, another’s curse may be reversed.

That’s exactly what happened for this man. Taking him from the crowd to himself, Jesus put his fingers into his ears and after spitting He touched his tongue. And looking up into heaven, he sighed and says to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “be opened.” And immediately his hearing was opened and the restraint of his tongue was released and he began speaking rightly.

Jesus takes personal and complete interest in this man. Looking up into heaven, Jesus intercedes to His Father for this man. Touching his ears and tongue, the fingers of God show compassion on His broken creation. In a simple word, “Be Opened,” deaf ears hear and the tied tongue is loosened to speak what is good, right, and proper. Christ, your living Lord, has done this all for you, too.

Though the devil entices us through the ear and restrains our tongues from speaking the truth, our Lord Christ takes a physical and personal interest in your salvation. He took into himself all of your deafness and impeded speech; he suffered the affliction of not being heard by God as he sighed and died upon the Cross. Rising from the dead, he makes all things good – opening ears, hearts, and tongues to know of His majesty. Seated at the right hand of God, your Lord Christ is interceding for you. At the font of Holy Baptism, He called you by Name and announced you as His own, forgiving you of all of your sins. His Holy Spirit opens your ears to hear of the majesty of your God, leading you to repentance and opening your ears to hear of his mercy and forgiveness. He brings you to himself time and time again, removing you from the chaos of the loud world, and he touches your tongue with His Holy Body and Blood, proclaiming that your sins are forgiven, and sanctifying your lips to sing His praise.

Silence is not good, but when God speaks, the silence of creation responds. When God speaks, deaf ears are opened to hear of His majesty. When God speaks and touches our tongues, he loosens the devil’s restraints and grants us lips to speak rightly, sing his praise, and come to him in prayer, confessing that Christ has made all things good. Let us repent of our deafness to His majesty; repent of our twisted tongues; and be led to the goodness of speech that forgives sins and grants life everlasting in the Words of our crucified and risen Christ Jesus. Amen