Ephphatha!
At this, the man’s ears were opened,
his tongue was loosened.
Mark 7:34
Deaf and mute from birth, Jeremiah
never used his disability as an excuse. Always laughing and pranking
his classmates, Jeremiah had graduated Valedictorian of his High
School Class.
Proud of his brother’s
accomplishments, and wanting to understand his brother’s ability to
rise above his disability, Justin decided to spend an entire week
without speaking while wearing earplugs. The first three days of
silence brought a deeper understanding of Jeremiah’s character and
optimistic attitude. Refraining from talking was difficult for
Justin. He couldn’t imagine the frustration of never being able to
express himself verbally.
By day seven he was being left out of
conversations and excluded from many everyday activities he’d taken
for granted, which shed even more light on his brother’s
determination to rise above the unfairness of life.
When the time came for the exercise to
end, Justin asked Jeremiah if he would like to be the one to remove
the earplugs. As Jeremiah did, Justin was startled by the loudness of
his own voice. For a moment he felt guilty for being able to hear.
But the same love that compelled him to experience Jeremiah’s world
was looking back at him. He had a new appreciation for Jeremiah.
The biggest benefit from the past week
had come when he realized the disability was not in his brother’s
limitations, but in the hearts of those who allowed Jeremiah’s
disabilities to define him as a man.
†
What began as an exercise born out of
love for his brother, ended in Justin’s delivery from bondage; the
bondage of self.
When we see disabilities there is
something within us that screams there is something desperately
wrong…“This is unfair! No one should have to go through life this
way.”
In other words, we focus on the
disability. And in doing so, we totally miss the person; not
realizing the truth is that we are unable to see past the surface.
And then it hits us: we are blind! We are the ones with the
disability…
In today's text, the word 'Ephphatha'
means “Be Opened”.
If we are someone who defines others by
their disabilities, we would do well to act as Justin did, and ask
Jesus to speak ‘Ephphatha!’ over the eyes and ears of our heart.
Prayer
“Open the eyes and ears
of my heart as You did the deaf mute’s ears, Lord Jesus. Help me
see people as You see them. Not as defective, but as someone who
deserves my respect and not my sympathy. Amen.”
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