David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 7:35

And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

How many times have you thought, “If I could just get a better paying job my life would be so much better.”? Or have you heard someone say, “If he would just stop complaining our marriage would be better.”? This one-simple-solution approach to life is seldom truly helpful. There is more to the solution of most troubles than one quick fix.

The other side of the coin, however, is very often true. One new ingredient in the recipe of life can change things  dramatically. This was certainly the case of this man who was deaf and unable to speak. Jesus opened his ears, loosed his tongue and he began to speak clearly. One thing brought another. Once the man could hear and once his tongue was loosed he could speak clearly.

If you’ve ever encountered a person with severe hearing troubles you know their own speech can be difficult. If I cannot hear myself I won’t be able to speak as clearly as I could otherwise. So when Jesus heals the man, he takes care of the hearing first, then the speech. Then the man speaks clearly.

I wonder whether we might sometimes suffer from a hearing impediment more often than we realize. It’s easy to be off-key if we don’t clearly hear our own voice. It’s easy to be strident if we don’t have a clear assessment of our own tone.

Our plight may not be as outwardly obvious or difficult as the man in this encounter experienced. But his healing path, and its outcome might well point us to clean out our own ears so we can hear what we’re saying before we open our mouth and speak. It is also essential to listen carefully to others before speaking into their lives.  Speaking clearly was the outcome of this man’s hearing restoration. When our ears are opened to the Good News of Jesus’ love, our tongues can be loosed, and speech can be clear and grace-filled.

Mark 7:31-37

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.³³ And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”