Mark 7:24-37

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

‘First let the children eat all they want,’ he told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’

‘Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.’

She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means “Be Opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,’ they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Let us pray,

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer…

This week we’re back in Mark’s gospel. After a summer of exploring some letters to various early churches. As summer gives way into fall. We’re transitioning from learning how-to live-in church community with one another. To learning who Jesus is, and why Jesus matters in church community.

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus is on the move. Traveling from town to town. Healing the sick, driving out demons, and proclaiming that the Kingdom of God has come near. All while refusing to let any of his disciples tell anyone about what they saw or heard. Because Jesus doesn’t want these healing miracles to distract from the healing miracle that’s about to happen on the cross.

Our Scripture reading for this morning is one of the healing stories in Mark. Both stories focus on unfortunate people suffering from illness that isolate them from society. A Syrophoenician woman begs Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. A deaf man begs Jesus to allow him to hear again. When Jesus heals the demon possessed girl and the deaf man he performs a miracle. A miracle is when Jesus does something for someone that the person cannot do on his or her own.

Jesus heals them. But Jesus seems a bit preoccupied. He insults the woman before he heals her daughter. He heals the deaf man then tells him not to use his newfound voice to tell anyone what happened to him. Even as Jesus heals more and more people, Jesus is always on the move. Because Jesus is headed to the cross where the real healing will take place. Jesus is on a mission to restore creation to its intended glory. And that kind of healing can only take place through sacrifice, death, and ultimately resurrection.

In this healing story, if you want to Jesus to heal you, you have to make your request known to him. Jesus doesn’t just show up at your door and heal whoever is there. You have to elbow your way through a crowd, state your case, and trust that Jesus will heal you. And once Jesus heals you, you have a responsibility to make the most of the new life now available to you.

As I read through our text for this morning, I was reminded of the ways that the kingdom of God plays by nobody’s rules but God’s. Breaking into the world in the least likely of places- through howling demoniacs and deaf men. These healing stories take place when Jesus is trying to get a break from the crowds. Even as he withdraws, he still encounters people in need of the healing only he can provide.

As I was reading this morning I was also reminded to look for ways that I might see the inbreaking of God’s kingdom happening in our world.

One place where I always experience the inbreaking of God’s kingdom is when the community gathers to celebrate communion. As we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the saving death of our risen Lord until he comes again. The crackers and the grape juice we partake of help us enter into the greatest healing story of all time. When God became man and dwelled among us. So that he could do something for us that we can’t do on our own. Defeat the powers of sin and death once and for all.

But the real miracle of communion is watching the body of Christ come forward to receive it. As I administer the elements, I am always reminded of the miracle of God calling us to be the church in this time and for this community. It is beautiful to watch men and women come forward to receive the elements who haven’t always gotten along. It is beautiful to watch elders serve communion to folks who need help receiving the elements. It is beautiful to release the elements into the congregation knowing that we get to bear witness to God at work in our community in a way that we can see and touch and taste.

I will say though, my favorite part of communion is the way that it beckons us back out into the world. From the table we are called to go out into the nooks and crannies of our life and of our world and proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. Communion always starts at the table. But it continues as we leave this place and head out into our everyday lives.

How we do this will look a little bit different for each one of us. When God invites us to work with him and participate in the inbreaking of a new kingdom. Sometimes that will mean volunteering our time for a cause we really care about. Other times it will mean doing what we feel is right. Instead of what feels easy or cool or popular. But most of the time God’s invitation will surprise us. It will force us to trust in God in ways we haven’t in the past. It will ask us if we’re willing to follow Jesus into the unknown.

I know I talk a lot about this idea that God is always at work in our lives and in our communities. And our job isn’t to be God. Our job is to get in on what God is already doing. As we head into the fall months there will be so many opportunities to see what God is up to in our lives and our communities. We will see communities ravaged by hurricanes, tornados, flash flooding, and extreme heat. We will see families struggling with the effects of Delta as they try to head back to school and the workplace. And our challenge will be to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. Even when we aren’t exactly sure how it’s all going to work out.

Friends when so much feels big and scary and outside of our control, we have to trust in God and control what we can. We cannot heal every disease and stop every community from flooding. Only God can do that. But we can do what we can to acknowledge human suffering and alleviate it. Sometimes that is as simple as showing up each month to receive communion. Oftentimes it is as complicated as following the still small voice of God as it beckons us to leave the familiarity of our routines and to follow God into the unknown.

However we find ourselves trusting in God and controlling what we can this fall, know that we do not do this alone. We do this in community with one another. In community we all bear each other’s burdens so that no one has to face their burdens alone. We also do this with the help of God’s Spirit. In those moments when we don’t know what we should do we lean upon the Spirit’s promptings. Trusting that God will reveal the way forward in God’s time.

Thanks be to God,

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.