In this week’s gospel, before Jesus heals the deaf man we are told that Jesus groans and then says the word, Ephphatha – be opened! What are we to “be opened” about? And why can’t we just spend our life groaning? And how can Rosa Parks and the late Cardinal Martini help shed light on all of this?

1. 09 September 2012 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Princeton, NJ
“What the heck is this rabbi, Jesus doing? Is he out of his mind? It would be so much better if
he simply stayed close to home and to the synagogue and focused his energies on the rules
and regulations found in books of Leviticus and Numbers.”
Most likely this is something akin to what some of the first century Jews were saying about Jesus. For we hear
in today’s Gospel that he left the district of Tyre where he violated a handful of Jewish rules by entering the
home of a Gentile woman in order to heal and exorcise her daughter from unclean spirits. From Tyre Jesus
traveled to Decapolis, a region comprised of ten cities, grouped together because of their language, culture,
location, and political status. The population of the Decapolis was chiefly pagan, was under Roman control and
never on good terms with the Jews.
So, once again, we find Jesus breaking down the barriers and boundaries formed by societies. For Jesus was
dealing with honor-based cultures where all persons were viewed by the social status they had at birth which
they were not allowed to rise above. Yet time and time again we find Jesus reaching out to those on the fringes,
those who were broken and battered, those at the bottom and raising them up.
This time the people bring Jesus a deaf man who had a speech impediment and beg him to just touch the man
so that he may be healed. Jesus responds by taking the man aside and placed his fingers in the man’s ears
and after spitting on his finger, touched the man’s tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, Jesus groans. He
groans.
Clearly the human nature of Jesus is evident here. Perhaps he is groaning over the way this man has been
treated, or groaning over the pain and suffering around him, or groaning out of frustration and weariness. We
don’t know why – but what we do know is that he did not stop with just groaning. Rather he moved beyond the
groaning and praying to God he said to the man – Ephphatha!
Here the gospel writer is so taken by what happens that he records the actual Aramaic word that Jesus used in
healing the man – Ephphatha - translated, be opened! And with that, the man could hear the voice of Christ
and could speak praises of the one who healed him. And while this story only takes up six lines of Mark’s
gospel, it carries a deep significance for all of us.
Beginning with the earliest recorded Baptism Rites from the 1st and 2nd centuries, right through today, they all
carry this combination of touching the finger to the ear and mouth with the corresponding prayer, Ephphatha.
All of us who have been baptized have received this prayer of Ephphatha – which can be overshadowed by the
rest of the Rite. The focus of the baptism is often on the removal of original sin and the pouring of the water
over the head while the Trinitarian blessing is spoken. But once baptized, what direction are we supposed to
take?
It is the prayer of Ephphatha that answers that, for as baptized Christians we are called to be disciples who are
opened and who open others. We are disciples who are free to groan - groan about travails, circumstances,
family, Church, life, work, whatever – but then, we are called to be like Christ and move beyond the groaning
and to take action, through prayer.
Many of us walk around plugged into our Ipods or with our cell phone glued to our ear and thus we hear, but do
not listen. We spend an average of over eight hours a day looking at electronic screens, but can be blind. We
hear the pleas of those near and far and we turn away. We see the marginalized, we see the inequities, but we
do not act. But by virtue of our baptism we are called to be “Ephphathized” people.
1 Deacon Jim Knipper

2. This is why Christ was spending so much of his time in the pagan regions. Why his focus was not on the rules
and regulations. Why he loved, and healed and forgave others. He was giving those following him and giving
you and me a way to live - one that challenges us to open our senses and our minds to and for others. Later in
Mark’s Gospel Jesus even asks his disciples, “Are your minds closed?” He knows that we need to remove what
is blocking us from loving and serving others. We need to be open to God’s love.
There are many examples of people who have followed this call to be open and to open others, but let me leave
you with two.
It was December 1, 1955 when after a long day at work a woman boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus in
Montgomery Alabama. She was an African American and thus took her seat in the first row of the “colored”
section. But being rush hour, more white passengers boarded than there was reserved room for. So the bus
driver moved the “colored” section sign back two rows thus enlarging the seating reserved for whites only. He
then demanded that the four black people vacate this newly reserved space and move their seats to the back.
Three moved, but one did not. Rosa Parks kept her seat and stayed her ground. The driver called the police
who then arrested her for breaking the law – the law of segregation.
This incident led to a 381 day boycott of all buses by all black residents of Montgomery, at considerable
personal sacrifices. Scores of buses stood silent as the transit system came to near financial collapse. It
wasn’t until after the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional did the city of Montgomery
repeal its busing laws thereby ending the boycott.
By her refusal to move to the back of the bus Rosa Parks opened the eyes and ears of the entire country to the
stink of segregation and racism. In essence her cry was, Ephphatha! – be open to what is happening, be open
to the injustices around you – and make a change. And a change she made.
Recently I came across a more current, modern interpretation of the word Ephphatha, which is, “To be opened
and not judgmental….to extend your comfort zone in order to attain the maximum perspective.” And I think that
is exactly what Cardinal Martini did when he gave his last interview before he died this past week. An interview
that has caused much discussion and some controversy due to his frank views about the Church.
After commenting that he thought the Church was tired, he was asked, “How do you advise against the
Church’s weariness?” He said three things: First the Church has to recognize its own errors and has to travel a
radical journey of change from top to bottom. Secondly, Vatican II opened the bible to all of us and thus we
need to use the Word of God which seeks as its companion an open heart that is listening. And thirdly we need
to reach out to divorced, remarried and extended families and ask how the Church can come to the aid and
support of complex family situations with the power of the sacraments. For we are all unworthy – but God’s love
is gift and grace for all.
Cardinal Martini, a Jesuit who has always been bold and forward thinking, knowing that his life was at its end,
gave his own Ephphatha story. His call is for all of us – including the Church – to extend our comfort zone – to
gain a maximum perspective and to be open to a change fixed in God’s love.
My sisters and brothers, many go through life with a closed mind, defining through rules and regulations what
God loves and what God does not love, and miss the point of Christ’s message: God loves you and receives
you as you really are, and not as you think you should be. Today’s Gospel reminds us of the need to answer
our baptismal call of Ephphatha so that we can be open to that great gift and thus move from mere religion to a
spirituality rooted in the love of our good and gracious God.
2 Deacon Jim Knipper