The Weekly Diner

Dear Weekly Readers! God’s Peace!

First of all, I want to thank you for your prayers for safe travels as we traveled for two months around the USA. We have arrived safely home. This was a time that was very blessed, and the visiting of the congregations was very heart warming as the fellowship was wonderful! The Christians in America surely are in prayer for each of you!
This week our article is written by a guest pastor.
May God Bless your week! JR


OPEN OUR EARS, LORD!

The Bible is full of stories in which God is involved in one way or another. And every story is full of meaning and purpose. One of these stories to taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark. It reads as follows:

“And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.” (Mk. 7:31-37)

At the beginning of this chapter, Pharisees were murmuring to Jesus that his disciples were not walking according to the tradition of the elders because they ate with unwashed hands. Jesus challenged them about the hardness of their hearts, closing with the words—“he who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (See Mk. 7:1-16 to read the entire episode!):

Jesus and his disciples, after traveling to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon where he healed the demon-possessed girl, returned to the area of the Sea of Galilee. Someone begs Jesus to lay his hands on a man who was deaf, because of an actual physical malady, Jesus, being all wise and all-knowing, takes into account this deaf man’s limitations. So to let him know what he is actually going to do, he took him away from the crowd. This man needed to understand that he was the special object of the Savior’s love; no longer just one in the crowd, but one to whom the Lord desired to direct all his attention. Also, this man’s condition required absolute isolation from anyone and anything that may have created a distraction.

Then Jesus put his fingers into this man’s ears and after spitting touched his tongue to let him know exactly what parts of his body he was going to be dealing with and the results of his action Because this man could not understand language, he needed “sign language.” Then Jesus looked up to heaven and sighed. This man needed to know that what was to transpire would be an act of God. In fact, it would be a re-creative act of God. Just as God at the beginning breathed and Man became a living soul, so by this breath of the God-Man, Jesus, this man’s creatureliness would be restored. He would become a full man.

Finally, Jesus spoke the word, “Ephphatha,” an Aramaic word meaning, “Be opened!” Here in an area that was a mixture of Greek and Jewish cultures, people would know that the mercy of God belongs to anyone, irrespective of their culture or condition. Physically hearing the instant this word was proclaimed, this man grasped the truth of God’s grace.

Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, may the Lord have mercy on us that we do not become dull of hearing. While it is true, as Luther has stated in the explanation to the Third Article of the Creed, speaking about the work of the Holy Spirit that “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him,” we do need to hear, read, and study the Bible so that we have the Word of God in our minds that the Holy Spirit can then use to draw us to the Lord.

The result of this miracle was immediate, as it is with any of God’s miraculous work in our lives. And this man began to speak plainly. His prior condition of deafness made his speech garbled. Now that he heard plainly, he could also speak plainly. And that’s how it is with us, as well. Until we clearly understand the message of our salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we will not be able to clearly and distinctly proclaim that message. So help us, God! Amen!