Sermon on the Green - Apple Festival (Sept. 9)

Grant us a vision, Lord, to see what we can achieve; to reach beyond ourselves; to share our lives with others; to stretch our capability; to increase our sense of purpose; to be aware of where we can help; to be sensitive to your presence; to give heed to your constant call. Amen. (David Adam)

Jesus put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” -- that is, “Be opened!” (Mark 7: 31-37)

The challenge from this second story of the Gospel this morning is to hear what Jesus might be saying to us not just someone who needs healing. Maybe its our ears (and tongues) that need opening?

A mother was planning a birthday party for her six-year-old son. She wanted to protect him from the social consequences of inviting Jason, an unpopular child, to the party. Jason stuttered, so he was constantly teased, often cruelly. But Mom realized that her son had to make the decision on his own.

Mom was pleasantly surprised to discover that her son not only could take care of himself but also stick up for his friend. When other boys at the party started making fun of Jason, her son confronted them, saying: “He doesn't talk funny. You listen funny.” [Kathleen Chesto.]

We often listen "funny." Fear and ignorance often distort our ability not only to hear but also to see the good in the midst of bad, the reasons to hope in the midst of despair. The words Jesus speaks to the deaf man in today's Gospel – “Ephphatha” – are spoken to us, as well: that our hearts and spirits be “opened” to accepting God's love from those who are “different” and “uncool”; that our hearts and spirits be “opened” to realizing God's presence in times and places that make us squirm; that our hearts and spirits be “opened” to realizing God's grace despite our difficulty to trust, to accept, to understand.

Because if we are not open, then it will affect our relationships…

A renowned marriage therapist and counselor says he can tell in five minutes of listening to a married couple's conversation what their relationship is like and whether it will endure.

Five minutes.

What he listens for is the way in which they are attuned or not attuned to one another. If they pay attention and actually listen to their partner before formulating their response; if their response is conveyed with directness and respect; if there is an underlying interest in the well-being of the other person of the relationship. If these things are present in the conversation, the relationship is strong and likely to endure, even when there are considerable differences the couple is struggling to overcome.  [Dr. John Gottmann, cited in "Tell Me about Your Day" by Patrick Thyne, The Living Pulpit, October-December 2003.]

Christ's gift of Ephphatha is the ability to put aside one's ego and wants and the need to control in order to as St. Benedict puts it “"Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.” Our self-centeredness can make us deaf to the presence of God, isolating us from God's compassion in the midst of conflict and anger, in the midst of brokenness and hurt - but Ephphatha, while not pretending disagreements do not exist, is to listen to one another with empathy: to love enough to listen from the perspective of the other and to seek the meaning of our lives in securing happiness and fulfillment in theirs.

May God help us to be open to the world that God has made that we may listen and that we may love. Amen.