Precious, Gifted, Unique, Whole
Rev. Lee Ann Bryce
Community Christian Church
October 30, 2011
Text: Mark 7:31-35
It might not surprise you that Rochester is considered one of the most deaf-friendly cities in the United States and for good reason. We have one of the highest deaf populations per capita in the country. Rochester is the birthplace of key historic events in deaf culture and just about every aspect of life is accessible for the deaf in our city. We live right in the middle of this hotbed of deaf culture. And still, there is so much I do not understand.
I can recall a couple of occasions in the last year or so when I encountered a group of deaf people, once at a nearby table at Panera and on another occasion, a group of college-aged deaf students late one night at, ahem, an adult drinking establishment. On both occasions, they were having a great time from all appearances and I remember being surprised about something. In my ignorance, I had assumed that a table of deaf friends would be pretty quiet, even if they were laughing and having a great time together (which they were.) Let me clarify – they were having a great time together. They were not quiet. They actually generated a lot of noise, just like every other table full of friends laughing together. It’s so interesting how our assumptions are challenged as we learn more.
We’re going to watch a clip from the 2001 film, Sound and Fury that also challenged my assumptions about deaf culture. I had always assumed that if a deaf person had the option to be a hearing person, they would do so. Not so. For example, cochlear implants can significantly improve the hearing of some deaf people, however, it is controversial in the deaf community. In the documentary Sound and Fury we meet a deaf family. The adult daughter is the only hearing person in her family though she has just given birth to a deaf newborn. Of course, deaf culture is a huge part of her family’s identity. The beginning of the clip is at a picnic gathering of the deaf community and you’ll see a bit of the beauty of deaf culture and how they relate to each other. But then, the adult daughter tells her mother that she and her husband have decided on a cochlear implant for their baby who is deaf.
(clip from Sound and Fury, 39:40-44:25)
Many within deaf culture see themselves as a cultural minority group sharing a common language, similar to Korean Americans or Mexican Americans. They have their own language (American Sign Language), values, and customs that are integral to their culture. They often reject the term “disability” in reference to their deafness because the term implies that there is something wrong that needs “fixing.”
On the other hand, many within deaf culture are very interested in a cure for their hearing loss, particularly those who became hard of hearing later in life. They have lost something precious, something they grew up taking for granted. They miss what they used to have and go to great lengths to get back as much hearing as possible with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive listening devices.
So, first of all, there is no shorthand, general way to talk about all people who have a hearing loss. There are so many factors (age at which hearing loss occurs, the tremendous range of audiological differences, from mild hearing loss to profound deafness, the variety of linguistic preferences, the array of cultural orientations, and the decision to use one’s voice or not). All these factors make deafness and hearing loss a very complex issue.
These complexities are not only part of deaf culture today, but they are also a part of the narrative in Mark, chapter 7 in which Jesus heals a deaf man. In the New Testament, this is the only text that tells the story of a person with deafness. We begin reading in v. 31.
Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.
The first thing we learn is that Jesus needs a better navigator. As you can see from the map, anybody going from Tyre to Galilee would not go by way of Sidon. Of course, the order of Mark’s gospel is based on piecing together various stories. It’s not historical reporting, so these journeying verses are merely the transitions between the stories, not precise geographical account.
They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.
We do not know who “they” were and we have no indication if the deaf man requested to be brought to Jesus or not.
Jesus took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.
This verse is somewhat controversial. Why did Jesus isolate the deaf man from the crowd? And next Jesus sticks his fingers in the man’s ears and touches his tongue with spittle. These actions are considered invasive by some, particularly since there’s no indication that the man asked for healing or granted permission. Remember those who had brought the man to Jesus asked that Jesus “lay his hand” on him, a much less invasive gesture. Mark’s narrative tells us that Jesus did otherwise.
Jesus’ use of spittle is significant in another way. Saliva was considered a bodily excretion that could cause a person to be ritually unclean according to Jewish tradition. But here Jesus challenges the purity codes. Instead of Jesus becoming unclean by his actions, the man is later healed. In fact, this method of using spittle was adopted by the early church as part of the baptismal rite. “The bishop or presiding officer conducting the baptism would spit on his fingers, then touch them to the candidate’s ears, eyes, and mouth, symbolizing the person’s new ability to hear the Gospel and witness to his or her faith.” (Don’t worry, we don’t do that anymore!)
Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
Why did Jesus sigh? What was Mark trying to communicate here? The traditional interpretation has been that Jesus’ sigh indicated some struggle with evil forces. Underneath that interpretation is an ingrained bias, that the man’s deafness must have something to do with evil. But the text itself doesn’t really support that connection. This story does not explicitly connect deafness and what they understood as demon possession.
This is the only place in the entire Bible that the Aramaic word ephphatha is found. As the text says, it means “be opened.” It conjures up magical phrases like “Open sesame,” or “abracadabra,” conveying a sense of magical power. And Jesus says this clearly not for the benefit of the man who cannot hear him. Is it for the crowd? Is Mark trying to portray Jesus with magical, mystical powers?
And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
Immediately, the man is cured and can speak plainly. And part of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming day when “the ears of the deaf” will be “unstopped,” is fulfilled. (Isaiah 35:5) Mark is telling us that this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus.
Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
It’s typical in Mark’s gospel for Jesus to tell people not to speak about what they have seen and it’s typical for the people to go ahead and speak about it anyway. It’s particularly curious in this text because the man has just received the ability to speak clearly and then Jesus tells him to be silent.
They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Here Mark is pointing to Jesus’ identity as Messiah. Mark is building suspense toward the next chapter, chapter 8, in which Peter confesses to Jesus, “You are the messiah.” Mark is laying a bit of groundwork for that.
What are some of the traditional ways this story has been understood? Some have said the man could not come to faith on his own because he could not hear and faith comes by hearing. Others have said the deaf man needed to have faith in order to be healed. Scholars debate the finer points of that interpretation. This notion that hearing is required for faith comes in part from Romans 10:17: So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. In the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther expounded on this: “God no longer requires the feet or the hands or any other member; God requires only the ears…The ears alone are the organs of a Christian man.”
It is this notion that hearing is required for faith that makes this text potentially destructive for those in the deaf community. Of course, today it should seem obvious that hearing is not necessary for faith, but if you look closely, preachers and worship liturgy often continue to perpetuate these hurtful concepts.
We often use language of deafness to indict those who refuse to pay attention to or intentionally ignore the call of God or the cries of those in need or those who refuse to work for justice. Surely that message can be communicated without using “deafness” or “muteness” to describe the condition of not being attentive to God’s call. In other words, it is not sensitive or appropriate to use words that identify the physical reality of some to describe the sinful behavior of others.
Perhaps this story can function to hold up a mirror to us - to the ways we presume to know the needs of others, the ways we ostracize those who are not physically considered “up to par” with societal standards. We isolate people because of who they are, not always by what they do. Maybe you identify with those who have been rejected or perhaps you see yourself as part of the privileged class who decides the boundaries and does the ostracizing. Whatever your context, this story invites you to consider: what does the healing touch of Jesus mean to you?
What can we do to better understand people who are deaf or have a hearing loss? We can work toward recognizing all people as precious, gifted, unique, whole, created by God – just exactly as they are.
Amen.
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