Pentecost+15/Proper 18B (Mark 7:24-37)

The overarching theme of the two stories in today’s gospel lesson is the divine unfoldment that liberates us from oppressive exclusion and self-isolation. The key is to be opened up to the reality of God in which we see ourselves deeply connected. (For this purpose, the Eucharist is that very reminder, outward sign/symbol, and the way itself to enter the divine reality.) 

Jesus in the lesson is depicted as a person of his time that views gentiles as unclean. He doesn't face any consequences for calling the woman a “puppy.” The woman, her egoless, thus kenotic, response pulls him out of the box of cultural exclusion that he probably hasn’t yet examined. She helps Jesus by asking him for help. This is one of the examples of the divine unfoldment which is always mutually beneficial. 

What about the second miracle story? We see “they” bring to Jesus a deaf man with an impediment in his speech. “They” even beg him to lay his hand on him in the story. Who are they? They might be family members or friends. These nameless people go out of themselves, take the deaf person to Jesus who they beg for the sake of their friend. Their compassion toward the deaf person frees them from their world of ‘me, my, mine’ and leads them to experience the divine unfoldment. They are out of their comfort zone. In doing so, Jesus is once again invited to get out of himself and become the channel for another divine unfoldment for the deaf person. 

“Ephphatha.” Be opened. This can certainly be considered as one of the core teachings of Jesus. Without being opened by the Holy Spirit who inspires curiosity, wonder, and compassion in us, the love of our neighbors is impossible. This openness has many names: kindness, compassion, hospitality, acceptance, forgiveness, hope, and so on. I assume you get my point on openness. How can this teaching become the spiritual practice that reminds us of our collective call to the divine unfoldment and helps us be open deeper and wider? I would like to suggest a simple exercise of clenching and opening your hands simultaneously.

There can be two ways to look at the act of clenching fists. One is, as we clench our hands hard, we cannot hold much. The more we try to hold onto something, the more we lose. We lose ourselves when we try to hold onto ourselves. The more we attach to our self-images, the more we become lost and secluded. The other way to understand clench fists is to consider it as a way to charge our spiritual energy to unfold and spread further. We can clench our hands just to open them wider. Reflecting on these two ways to look at our clenched fists, the act of opening our hands is to let go of our clinginess and attachment to our ego or any objects, feelings, and thoughts and also to hold and embrace as freely as we can. This spiritual exercise of closing and opening hands can go with breathing meditation. As we breathe in, we close our hands. As we open our hands, we breathe out. 

This simple spiritual practice of opening and closing our hands, which can be named “Ephphatha,” ought to help us be more open, forgiving, and compassionate, far from uptight, stuck-up, or judgmental of ourselves and others. In this state of divine openness, we are no longer self-enclosed. This spiritual transition away from self is the key to the divine unfoldment. Perhaps too often, we are mistaken to think that we need to defend ourselves to strengthen who we are. This misconceived understanding of self is not merely limited to human psychology but easily shown in materialism. Our culture of consumerism is based on this psychological and spiritual insecurity of self that we’re tempted and compelled to believe material goods can help us secure and recreate who we are. Those who are opened up by the Holy Spirit, however, can see through this illusion and instant gratification that doesn’t last. It’s like we can buy a luxurious watch but can’t buy time, or we can buy a house but not a home. 

Again, this is just like clenching our fists without ever relaxing our hands. The tighter and stronger we close our hands, the more we lose the sense of who we are to the point we hold nothing but sweat. Realizing this nature of the divine unfoldment in turn leads us to a deeper level of the reality in which we see the entire world differently. The goodness of Jesus in the gospel of St. Mark, “RepentThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!” (Mark 1:15) can be comprehended as “Ephphatha! Get out of the kingdom of ‘me, my, mine’ and enter the kingdom of God.” Which kingdom are we living in right now? Let’s not get ourselves in the way of living in God’s kingdom here and now. Amen.