at the First Congregational Church of Stoughton

United Church of Christ

I spent the better part of last Monday morning in the dentist’s chair as he fixed my broken tooth. For two hours I lay there, unable to feel anything (thank goodness!); unable to move, unable to talk, and unable to swallow. Just about the only thing I could do, besides drool all over myself, was follow his commands: “turn your head toward me, please;” “turn your head to your left, please;” “now bite down hard;” “now tap tap tap;” “now grind, please.” And the command he gave most often: “Open, please.” Because with my mouth open was the only way he was going to be able to work on things in here.

In our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus says “Ephphatha! Be opened!” to a man who is deaf and cannot speak, because being open to God is the only way he will be able to lead a healed and whole life.

The man’s friends have brought him to Jesus and he is open to allowing the Spirit of God work in him and through him to change his life for the better.

What must life be like for someone who can neither hear nor speak in a tradition which is oral, and in a time before sign language? Imagine his childhood. What did his parents have available to teach their child, to show him how to live, to keep him from danger? How could they help him communicate in a hearing and speaking world?

What about his sense of self-worth? Without being able to hear and speak, can he interact with others and develop meaningful relationships? Can he avoid isolation and become part of a social network? Can he find gainful employment and be a productive member of a society?

And what about the deaf man’s relationship with God? Even if he does go to temple, how much can he understand and believe about an unseen God?

His companions beg Jesus to lay hands on the deaf man. But instead, Jesus takes him aside and, away from the crowd, he is able to communicate to the man what he is doing through his motions. Jesus puts his fingers into the man’s ears. Then Jesus spits, touches his tongue, looks heavenward, breathes a deep, visible sigh, and says “Ephphatha,” which means “be opened” – not “be healed,” but “be opened.” The next phrase, when translated literally from the original Greek, reads, “The hearing is opened and the bondage of the tongue is loosed.” In other words, the tongue is freed from what has been holding it back.

The first sound the man hears is Jesus’ voice, and the first word he hears is “Ephphatha.” Be free of your bondage, be opened to new life, be opened to new possibilities, be opened to living life in the fullness God intends. We can imagine that suddenly the man’s ears ring with the cacophony of life. He can hear the shouts of merchants in the marketplace, the bleats and barks of animals, the music of the shofar calling the faithful to prayer. He can now respond and interact with people around him, to share his thoughts, express his love, hear the lilting rhythms of the Hebrew prayers.

With his actions, Jesus does not just open the ears and the mouth of the deaf man – he opens the eyes of the witnesses, who recognize in him the power of God. This miracle fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of what the Messiah would be able to do, a prophecy made many centuries before Christ's birth. In this morning’s Old Testament lesson, the prophet says, "the ears of the deaf [shall be] unstopped; and the tongue of the speechless [shall] sing for joy." This miracle of Jesus fulfills both predictions, showing him to be the long expected Son of God.

And God wants us to be opened, too. If we are truly honest with ourselves, we are all like the deaf man in some way; each of us has some part of ourselves that is trapped, closed, or stopped up. Maybe we’re blocked by an illness or an addiction, maybe we’re clogged by fear or confusion, gridlocked by grief or guilt, shackled by shame. Whatever it is that has closed you up and held you back from living a life of joy, from living life in its fullness, Jesus says “Ephphatha,” be opened. Because like the dentist who told me, “open, please,” that’s the only way Jesus will be able to work on things in here.

Worship is one way we can be opened to Christ. Whether he comes to us through the reading of scripture, or the singing of hymns, or the saying of prayers, or the sharing of communion, here in this place, we risk being touched by Christ, for his hand is on each of us. That touch is our invitation to be opened -- to healing, to forgiveness, to new possibilities. Be opened -- to God, to one another, to neighbors and strangers. Be opened – to love, to acceptance, to opportunities to grow in faith. Because simply showing up is not enough. We must come to worship being willing to be opened, being willing to make room for the presence of God and God’s transforming touch, being willing to be present to others, to the community, to our own hungering spirits.

Next week is Homecoming Sunday, a day when we celebrate a new church year and the blessing of coming together as a community of faith. Coming home to this place and to each other as God’s family, coming home to share the joys and sorrows of our lives through all the stages of our lives. Jesus has promised that whenever we come together in his name, he will be right here in our midst. This is a place where we catch now and then a glimpse of heaven, because this is the place we can experience the peace of Christ and the love of God, who is our home.

As we enter this new church year, Jesus invites all of us to be opened to God; be opened to reaching out to others in compassion and love; be opened to journeying with others in exploring your faith; be opened to joining a bible study or participating in a small group or getting involved in any one or more of the other ministries and programs we offer.

The dentist said to me, “Open, please” so he could work on things in here. Jesus says to the deaf man, and to all of us, “Be opened,” so he can work on things in here.

And so, may our ears be opened to God’s holy word. May our mouths be opened to sharing Christ’s love. And may our lives be opened to the movement of the Spirit, which can release us from whatever is blocking us, stopping us, or holding us back from becoming the person God wants us to be, that we may live life in the fullness that God intends. Amen.

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