Faith Impediments

At first pass there seems to be little comment that could be made upon this morning’s Gospel reading. It is a simple, straightforward miracle story. Jesus heals a man with a hearing and speech impediment. And you and I are left, as inhabitants of the 21^st century, to respond however we respond to these sorts of stories that appear often in the Gospels, whether that response is awe and wonder or skepticism or uncertainty. I will own up to all three reactions. I certainly know a profound wonder at the mystery and miraculous power of God’s grace in the world, a mysterious and miraculous power beyond my understanding. But I also feel skepticism about the veracity of what, for lack of a better word, I might call unscientific accounts in the Gospels. And there is definitely uncertainty about what this sort of story means for us today. I know what it meant in Mark’s day, but I don’t know how to interpret it our lives today. Maybe someday the Holy Spirit will offer me inspiration and clarity in the midst of this tension and ambiguity. If so, on that day I’ll preach it.

But in the meantime, this Gospel passage still lives and breathes for me with the Word and Spirit of God. Some of that breath and meaning come from hearing this passage within the context of our other Sunday readings, from placing this particular passage within the overall, broader context of our worship. And some of the inspiration of this passage for me comes from placing it within the broader context of Mark’s Gospel as a whole. Both of those things are important to remember as we approach Holy Scripture. It is always good to read the Bible, even if it is just an individual passage. But the Word of God can sometimes speak more powerfully, more currently, if read and heard in a broader context… the context of worship, or the greater breadth and depth of an entire book or a collection of books within Scripture.

First the greater breadth of Mark’s Gospel as a whole. Within the context of Mark’s Gospel overall, this story about the healing of the deaf-mute takes on a certain irony. We know little about this man; he is brought to Jesus by others; we don’t know if he is a follower or even interested in Jesus’ teaching and ministry. But he is healed. His hearing impediment is removed. His ears, Mark tells us, were opened. His speech impediment is removed. After Jesus touched him and spoke to him, the man was able to speak plainly.

Yet at this very point within Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ own disciples, men about whom we know quite a bit… men we know have chosen to follow Jesus, who have given up much to follow him, who presumably desire to learn from Jesus and receive what he offers… these disciples are portrayed as deaf to Jesus’ teaching, blind to who Jesus is, limited in their understanding and ability to act or speak the Gospel.

So in this broader context, this is a story about people with faith impediments. It is the story of everyone who is deaf to God’s Word. It is a story about all of us who find we have speech impediments when it comes to speaking God’s truth and proclaiming the Gospel. The disciples’ faith impediments are legion. So are ours. The ears of our faith are blocked; our tongues are stopped. Our faith-sight is also impaired. We often cannot see God in the world around us.

These sorts of faith impediments are hard to heal, very hard. Their origin is often willful, arising out of our own will. We choose to be hard of hearing or sight or speech when it comes to matters of faith. The disciples were blind because they did not want to see. They, and we, are deaf to God’s word because we would rather listen to other voices of authority in our lives. They, and we, do not act or speak the Gospel because we choose not to take the personal risk that would entail.

But do not be discouraged. Do not be discouraged. Because, if you read the whole of Mark’s Gospel, and also the Book of Acts and the Epistles, you will know that the power of God working in the disciples overcame their faith impediments. They became powerful witnesses for the faith. It took some time. It took quite a few failures on their part along the way. It took (and this is very important for us to remember) an ongoing process of struggle and discernment. But they got better; they overcame their faith impediments. Do you know this passage from the epistle to the Ephesians? Thanks be to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine… Even enable the disciples and us to overcome our faith impediments.

It is within the context of faith impediments that I hear again this morning’s reading from the Hebrew Scriptures. Isaiah writes: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water."

It’s a passage that almost literally bubbles and sings. The lame shall leap like a deer, Isaiah writes. Not just become able to walk and therefore maybe live more self-sufficient and productive lives. The lame shall not just walk, but leap like a deer. And the tongue of the speechless shall sing for joy. Isaiah does not say that the mute shall simply gain the facility of speech and basic communication, but that the mute shall sing for joy. I do not for a moment intend to make light of the basic needs of those who seek to overcome physical impediments. But think of this passage within the context of spiritual impediments. God offers not just communication, but song. Not just locomotion, but dancing.

Isaiah describes God’s offering, God’s gifts to those of us who are spiritually impaired, as extravagant, as well beyond what is just needed for existence, for functioning. Even speaking of the earth itself, Isaiah speaks of the exuberant extravagance of God’s gifts. The burning sands don’t just become tolerably not-hot; they become a pool. The desert does not just gradually come out of drought; the desert brings forth springs of water. Springs bubbling forth.

This is God’s desire, God’s offering to we who are faith impaired. That the Spirit of God may bubble within us and flow forth in living springs. That our voices may sing with joy. We have great cause for hope; those of us who so often cannot see or hear or speak the faith that is within us or the God that is around us. We have great cause for hope. We may hope, that, by the miraculous power of God’s grace, not only will we come to speak the faith; we will sing it with joy. Not only we will learn to walk the path of faith, we will leap along that journey like a deer. Not only will we find the strength to endure the times of dryness and desert in our spiritual, we will find those very places of desert dryness to be transformed into bubbling springs of living water. Thanks be to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.

AMEN