SERMON FOR THE 12TH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY (AUGUST 18TH)

Byzantine Mosaic of Christ Healing the Deaf and Dumb Man

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

COLLECT OF THE DAY 

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen. 

THE EPISTLE (2 Corinthians 3:4-9)

SUCH trust have we through Christ to God-ward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

THE GOSPEL (St. Mark 7:31-37)

JESUS, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; and were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. 

SERMON

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dearly beloved, today we gather to reflect on the profound and mysterious word spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel according to St. Mark: "Ephphatha," meaning "Be opened." This simple yet powerful command, uttered in ancient Aramaic, reverberates through the ages, calling each of us to spiritual awakening, internal reform, and dramatic renewal.

SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATIONS

In today's Gospel, we witness the miraculous healing of a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus, taking him aside from the crowd, put His fingers into the man's ears, spat, and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed and said, "Ephphatha," and immediately the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly (Mark 7:31-37). 

This act of healing, though physical, symbolizes the deeper spiritual reality of our need for divine intervention to open the ears of our hearts and loosen the tongues of our souls. St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, speaks of our sufficiency being from God, not ourselves. We are ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). The opening of the man’s ears and the loosening of his tongue reflect the work of the Holy Spirit, who breathes life into our spiritually deaf and mute souls.

A CALL TO AWAKENING

The word "Ephphatha" calls us to awaken from our spiritual slumber. The prophet Isaiah foretold a time when "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped" (Isaiah 35:5). The Psalmist, too, speaks of the need for God to "open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" (Psalm 119:18). 

Our spiritual journey begins not with our own efforts but with the grace of God. As Christos Yanaras reminds us, the Christian life is not a moral achievement but a response to the love of God that opens us to the reality of His presence. The word "Ephphatha" embodies this opening—a divine initiative that breaks through our hardness of heart, our deafness to God’s Word, and our inability to articulate the truths of the faith.

SACRAMENTAL LIFE

"Ephphatha" also speaks to the sacramental life of the Church, where the external signs instituted by Christ impart the grace that brings us to spiritual life. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are "opened" to the life of God, washed of our sins, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. Fr. Alexander Schmemann emphasizes that the sacraments are not mere rituals but encounters with the living God, where the material becomes a vessel of the spiritual. Just as the man's ears and tongue were physically touched by Christ, so too are we touched by God in the sacraments, especially in Baptism, Chrismation, and the Eucharist.

PATRISTIC INSIGHTS INTO THE TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE OF THE CHURCH

The early Church Fathers understood "Ephphatha" as a call to be open to the teachings of the Apostles and the life of the Church. St. John Chrysostom, in his homilies, often spoke of the need for the faithful to have their ears opened to the Word of God and to respond with the confession of faith. St. Irenaeus of Lyons emphasized that the Church, as the Body of Christ, is the context in which we hear the Word and receive the sacraments that open us to eternal life.

The Church, therefore, is the agent of this opening, guiding us through her teachings, her liturgy, and her sacramental life. The Church Fathers and the Apostolic Fathers, such as St. Ignatius of Antioch, remind us that to be "open" to God is to be in communion with the Church, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

CONTEMPORARY WITNESS

In our own time, the words of contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologians challenge us to remain "open" to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Metropolitan Kallistos Ware urges us to see the Christian life as a continual process of being opened to God, of allowing His grace to penetrate every aspect of our being. He speaks of prayer as the key to this openness, where we listen to God and respond in faith. Metropolitan Kallistos describes the sacraments as "doors of the sacred," where the visible and invisible meet, and through which we enter into the mystery of God's love.

Christ Healing the Deaf and Dumb Man by Fra Angelico

Patriarch Bartholomew, known as the "Green Patriarch," calls us to be open to the world around us, to see the environment as a gift from God and to care for it as stewards of His creation. This openness extends beyond ourselves to the world, recognizing that all creation is groaning for the revelation of the children of God (Romans 8:19-22). In his reflections on the environment, His All Holiness often speaks of the sacramental vision of the world, where all creation is seen as a means of communion with God. This vision is rooted in the understanding that God "opens" our eyes to see His presence in all things. As the Byzantine Trisagion prayers says, “O Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, present everywhere and filling all things, come and be among us and cleanse us from every sin and save our souls.” 

SUMMARY

"Ephphatha—Be opened." These words of our Lord resonate deeply with us today, mysteriously echoing within us in Christ’s own language. They remind us that our spiritual life begins not with our own efforts but with the grace of God, imparted through the sacraments and the life of the Church. They call us to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit, who alone can awaken our hearts to the truth of the Gospel.

May we, like the man in the Gospel, allow Christ to take us aside, to touch us with His healing hands, and to open our ears and our hearts to His saving Word. And may we, in turn, proclaim with our loosened tongues the mighty works of God, who "has done all things well" (Mark 7:37).

SERMON COLLECT 

Let us pray.

O LORD and Giver of life, who didst open the ears of the deaf and loose the tongues of the mute by Thy word "Ephphatha"; Open, we beseech Thee, the hearts of Thy servants to receive the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may hear Thy Word, and with our mouths proclaim Thy praises; Grant us evermore to live in the sacramental grace of Thy holy Church, that, being made worthy by Thy mercy, we may grow in the knowledge of Thy truth, and faithfully serve Thee in all holiness and righteousness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

I have said these things to you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, now, and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.