He Opened Silence with a Sigh

Pentecost 16

September 13, 2015

Mark 7:31-37

He Opened Silence with a Sigh

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Many Christians are damaged. They can't see, they can't hear, they can't talk, they can't walk. And so they wait. They can do nothing else. They wait to be fed or to be led. And for Christians, they are waiting to be healed. They wait to see, to hear, to talk, to walk.

In Mark 7 Jesus made an unhearing and unspeaking man hearing and speaking. He performed this miracle with His own fingers touching the damaged ears and tongue.

Looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” (Mark 7:34)

With a sigh. And not just a sigh, but with a deep sigh. A deep sigh is a groan. A groan is a sound that comes up out of the depths. It surfaces, unbidden and unrequested, from suffering. He just groans. He knows this damaged man's silent world and He suffers, too. With a deep sigh. With a groan. Immanuel—God with us—groans with us in our suffering.

In His mercy He groaned for this one man. He did the same for us on the cross and gave up His life with a loud voice, with a cry of suffering.

When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:33-39)

Christians are Christians because of Jesus' last breath. And now they wait. The damaged man in Mark 7 did not know what was going on. Was he waiting to be healed? Would he even have the words to understand that?

How like him are we. We know we are damaged. But we are so deeply corrupted by sin we can't even grasp how damaged we are now or what our future life will be when Christ speaks us into everlasting life.

And He will speak. He spoke into a void, this man's silent world. Just as He had spoken in the beginning, He spoke again into silence. And He opened silence with a sigh and with a word. And it was. He spoken and heard plainly. Full understanding where before was a profound nothing.

For all families with damaged loved ones, this day of opening cannot come soon enough. Christ promises to all those deaf, blind, mute, and crippled souls healing. They will be whole. Until then we sigh, we groan. But He groans with us. We are not alone.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:22-27)

His will is to save us. And He has saved us with His last breath, with His groans, and with His words.

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord,

and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners―of whom I am the worst. Alleluia! Amen!