Mark My Words. "Touched by God"

Readings: Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9,  James 1:17-27, Isaiah 35:4-7, Mark 7:31-37
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, September 5 2021

“Touched by God.” What does it mean to be “Touched by God”? Is it a moment of inspiration? Is it when a particular need is met? Is it a lifelong journey? Well.... yes... all of the above and a whole lot more. More importantly, what does it take for our lives to feel the influence and touch of God upon them?

Our gospel reading from Mark this morning gave us the story of a man suffering from a hearing defect that also gave him an inability to speak. Then his life is touched by Jesus and he is made whole. At the start the man is in a pitiful state.  He comes to Jesus, not of his own volition but is brought by his friends. They ask that Jesus lays His hands on the man. They seem convinced that to do so will result in some sort of blessing upon his life.

Here is one of the first things we need if we desire God to impact or lives. 

We need to trust that God has the ability to handle our situation

We run into problems in our Christian life because we see the intervention of God as a last resort, rather than our first port of call. We try everything else and then we pray about things. Prayer should come first because prayer is the listening side of our relationship with God.

What was this man's problem? He could not hear; he was unable to listen. Because he could not hear anything, he couldn't say anything. His speech was impaired. Unless we can nurture our faith through personal private prayer we become not "speech impaired" but "faith impaired."

In our prayers we are not always sure what to ask for. Right at the start of this account is a picture of how we can pray. Sometimes we do not have the assurance of faith to ask for direct healing or for a miracle. But we can always ask God to lay hold of the situations that troubles us. We can do that in the simple faith that God knows how to handle things.

When I watch a professional football game on the Television, I'm always impressed by the distance a professional can throw the ball. I'm even more impressed by the guy who manages to catch it at the other end. I've always been a useless catcher. If they gave "A" Grades for fumbling, I could win a scholarship with my skills. I can get hit by the ball on the nose, on the knee, I can flay my arms about and run in the general direction, do everything but catch the thing!

On the other hand, God is a great catcher. It does not matter how hard you throw your prayers, how off course they are, how out of position you are, when God hears your prayers, God doesn't fumble or stumble, but lays hands on the situation that is troubling you. "Ask" says the scripture, "You will receive."

Field your problems in God's direction and you will see some results. It may not be the result you expected, or even exactly what you asked for, but God will not let you down. The men who brought their friend to experience the touch of Jesus knew they could trust Him. That is why they came to Him.

But Jesus did not do anything right away other than withdraw far from the madding crowds and go off to some private place. You see that too is something important for our lives. 

A second thing this passage teaches us about seeking a touch of God, is that we have to make space in our lives to spend  personal time with God.

This man did not find his healing among the crowds or in the business of life. He had to withdraw and be alone with the Lord. He had a particular set of problems that needed to be dealt with in a specific way. It was important for Jesus to spend time alone with Him so that He could deal with him His way. There is an importance to being alone, having a quiet place, and a quiet time with Jesus. We are all unique creations of God. God does not deal with us all in exactly the same way.

Sometimes we try and solve our problems in another person’s way. We read a book about how “so and so” dealt with such or such a thing and think, "Yes, that's what I need to do, that's how I should be handling things." Oftentimes it's not. Because we are unique individuals, and our situations aren't those of someone else.

The insights of other people may be some help. I don't deny for one minute that we all have a great deal to learn from each other. But there are those times when we just need to get on our own with God and get our life sorted out. Maybe you recall that Old Testament story about Jacob wrestling with an angel.

Jacob is an inheritor of God's promises. He had a life that was on track, going places. But then he tries to cross a river and there is a man, described as an angel, who won't let him pass. He gets into a wrestling match with the angel. Somewhere in the middle of it, he realizes, that he is wrestling with God. His life had the ability to take on new possibilities and greater significance. But he's got to deal with his past and his problems before God can make that happen.

Until he had a very personal struggle with God, though he trusted in God, his faith was not his own. Yes, he knew of his father Isaac's faith. He had most definitely heard the stories of his grandfather Abraham's faith. But he was only living his faith vicariously through their faith; it had not been solidified in his life. It is only after this struggle that we read of God in Scripture being identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac AND Jacob.

It is the same for us. Our parents’ faith, our family’s faith, our friends faith, even our churches faith, won't take us where God wants us to go. We must make it our own. And that can be a struggle. It may leave us walking in a different way. And it takes place through personal time, one on one, with God.

If we desire lives that know God's touch, we need to trust that God can carry us through. We need to take the time for personal encounter with God. 

Thirdly, we need to be open to whatever God wants to do in and through our lives.

When Jesus prays for this man, he uses the words "Be opened"; in Aramaic; "Ephphatha" in Greek "Dianoigo" (pronounced: Dee-an-oy'-go). He doesn't say "Speak up" or "Be made whole" but "Be Opened," a phrase that could be used in a variety of situations. An old Scots translation translates this verse as "Be thou unbarred," using the imagery of a prison cell whose iron rods are removed to set the prisoner free. It could also mean to open your mind or to open your soul.

It sounds like one of those trendy expressions you hear on TV, "Free your mind." Jesus said it first. 'Ephphatha," "Be Opened.” But not open to anything, open to His touch, open to His love.

The way the man is healed is, well, different. Jesus puts his finger in the man’s ear, then spits on his hand and touches the man’s tongue with it. Saliva was regarded in days gone by as having some medicinal qualities. Still is. Have you ever noticed the way an animal will lick a wound or even a mom will spit on a handkerchief and wipe a child's face with it?

There was nothing magical about Jesus saliva any more than there is about mum saliva. But it meant something to the man who was being healed (just as it means something to a child) and through what was a very common action the man was touched by the love of God. We need to be open for God to act and move in whatever way God chooses!

In verse 34, before He heals the man, we read that Jesus sighed. Time after time He was confronted by people who had closed minds, who couldn't seem to see or hear or grasp the wonderful significance of who He was and how much and how deeply they were loved by His Father God.

Jesus sighed. In that sigh is contained the sigh of all people who feel "Ugh, it's just getting too much for me!" Good news. God knows how you feel. Jesus can help. Just open up and see what happens.

Such help is not anything we deserve. God comes to us in spite of who we are, not because of it. So often we are blind to the things that really matter in life, so useless in speaking out, so in need of a touch of God. Kind of like the man in our bible reading.

So remember what happened to Him. God met him right at his point of need. Why should He deal with us any differently if we come to God in humility and in faith? We have nothing to offer God but our broken lives. God will take whatever we can give. All God asks is that we get around to giving it.

I began this message by asking “What does it take for our lives to feel the influence and touch of God upon them?” This encounter Jesus has, with a man who needed healing, offers some great insights.

• We need to trust that God has the ability to handle our situation
• We have to make space in our lives to spend personal time with God.
• We need to be open to whatever God wants to do in and through our lives.

A wonderful place to know the touch of God is around the communion table. Many testify to this table being a special touching place for God to impact their lives. I am one of them. Food for the journey!

May we each, in our own unique way and within our own specific situations, be able to say that our lives have been touched by God. And, blessed as we are, may we, like the friends of the deaf and mute man, who bought him to Jesus, seek to be a people who bring a touch of God's love to others. To God be the Glory. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.