Pentecost 15
September 6, 2015
In Mark 7, in spite of Jesus telling the once-deaf man and
his friends to keep quiet about the healing, they cannot hold it in. In the Gospel of Luke, when some religious leaders
tell Jesus to quiet the cheering crowds as he enters Jerusalem for the last
time, he says, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out!” (Luke 19:40).
The last line of one of my
favorite hymns is “Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep
from singing?” (My Life Flows On In Endless Song, Evangelical Lutheran Worship,
Hymn 763). In the New Testament, it seems virtually
impossible for those who have encountered the life-giving, healing power of
Jesus Christ to keep it to themselves.
So why do we?
1. Fear. We are afraid that those we tell will reject
us. But John says, “perfect love casts
out fear.” (1 John 4:18) And whose love is more perfect than God’s? If our message of life-giving hope and
healing is an act of love that flows from Christ’s love for us, what do we have to fear?
2. Lack of words. We
are afraid we won’t say the right thing, or be able to respond to the questions
that may follow our sharing of the Good
News. In Luke 21, Jesus promises to give
us not only the words we need, but the wisdom to use them.
3. Lack of faith.
Maybe we just don’t think we believe enough. Maybe we struggle with our own doubts and
questions. On this side of eternity, doubt
is a normal part of our always imperfect faith. But faith is always gift, not something we
must manufacture for ourselves. Even
more, Christ is powerful enough to
overcome even our deepest doubts (and maybe even use them to tell his story). All the disciples doubted following the
Resurrection. But, Jesus gave them what
they needed to believe and promised to do the same for us. (John 20:29)
Like the man in Mark 7, Jesus, through the power of the Holy
Spirit, is still opening our ears and releasing our tongues and saying “Ephphatha!
Be opened!” to us. Jesus told the man and his companions to
be silent (even though they couldn’t), but, now, in this post-Resurrection
world, the time has come to speak! (Matthew
28:19-20).
Christ is alive! So, don’t
be silent! Dare to tell your story of God’s grace!
Peace,
Bishop
Mike
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