September 5, 2021 Communion
First Lesson: John 9:4-7
4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.
Second Lesson: Mark 7:24-37
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
A few facts as we gather on this Labor Day weekend. Labor Day marks the end of summer and is a time ripe with BBQs and celebrations. But it grew out of the Industrial revolution where workers often labored 12 hours a day, seven days a week. This led to the formation of unions and the fight for worker’s rights. In 1882, one of two union organizers help to establish Labor Day: Peter J. McGuire or Matthew Maguire. The fight for workers’ rights worldwide created May Day or International Workers Day. May 1, 1886, laborers won an 8-hour workday. Then in 1894, President Grover Cleveland created Labor Day for the United States to honor the labors of all the working people in our country. We have 150 million workers in the US. The federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour since 2009, up from $.25/hr. in 1938. Today Washington DC has the highest wage at $15 with California second with $14/hr.
We have all labored in our lives, some paid labor and some unpaid. Some in good working conditions, other without benefits or breaks. So today we honor all the workers who have come before us to build this nation and the ones who are working now to maintain the social fabric of Social Security and the productivity of our country.
As I was thinking about Labor Day, I started pondering the work that Jesus did. Unpaid, yet priceless. He traveled the region providing for those in need and preaching the gospel of good news. I bet having an 8-hour workday felt a lot like good news!
Jesus valued people not for what they did, or how much they earned, but for their faith, courage, and willingness to act. The blind man washed in the pool, the woman argued her case for her daughter, the group zealously proclaimed Jesus’ labor of healing. Each took action and their action was met with Jesus’ healing labor of love.
But Mark tells of Jesus needing a break, not wanting anyone to know he was there. He had been working nonstop. John the Baptist, his co-worker, had just been beheaded, Jesus had just fed the five thousand, and calmed the storm. Then he argued with the Pharisees about what to eat and how. Jesus labored greatly and sought rest. But work called, duty called.
A Gentile woman needed help with her daughter who was possessed by a demon. She had great courage to approach Jesus because she was a foreign woman, impure and unescorted by a man. But she was also a devoted mother, a mama bear fighting for her cub. But she uses faith not fighting to win the day. She sees a God whose table is big enough for all to come. She challenges Jesus’ primary purpose of bringing the good news to the Jews and reframes it so that her daughter is included. One commentator writes, “Her words contain as much theological insight as they do wit or even humility. It appears she recognizes — somehow — a certain abundance about the things Jesus is up to. Go ahead, children, eat all you want. But what if your table can’t contain all the food Jesus brings? (Recall the leftovers when Jesus fed 5000, Mark 6:43.) The excess must therefore start spilling to the floor — even now. The woman also recognizes the potency of this “food.” She doesn’t demand to be treated as one of the “children.” Look, Mister, I’m not asking for a seat at the table. My daughter is suffering. All I need from you is a crumb or two. I know that will do the job.” (Working Preacher, Matt Skinner).
Then Jesus goes to work a second time healing the deaf man. In private Jesus touched the man, placing his fingers in his ears and touching his tongue. In this very earthy scene, Jesus connects with the places that need healing before looking up to heaven drawing our attention to God, much like he had done while feeding the five thousand (5:41). Both stories echo the abundance of God in both food and wholeness. Then Mark shares an Aramaic word, “Ephphatha” which means “to open.” (He does that several other times like “Talitha cum” and “Eloi,,Eloi, lema sabachthani” “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (See 3:17 ; 5:41 ; 7:11 ; 14:36 ; 15:34)).
Jesus opens what had been closed, bound, limited. He opens what had kept the man cut off from the world. The man’s hearing is restored, and his tongue is freed and functional.
In John we hear Jesus heal the blind man as part of a larger question about who sinned, the man or his parents. Jesus makes mud and spreads it on the man’s eyes. But before his does that Jesus declares himself the light of the world. He is the light that will bring this man out of darkness, who will bring all of us out of darkness. Jesus’ work is to respond to the needs of God’s people, of all people. Maybe that is why John describes Jesus with I am statements like I am the Gate, I am the Light, I am the Shepherd. Each one is part of Jesus’ job, but each one helps us live out our faith better. Jesus said, “We must work the works of him who sent me.” God sent Jesus into the world and Jesus is inviting us into the holy work. The work of spreading the gospel. The work of being the light of the world to our community.
As we think about all the ways Jesus labored for us, for our salvation, may we look at three parallels we have to these stories: our labor, our food and our openings.
First our labor. Our labor gives us purpose. It can be our vocation or our career. Of course, labor is more than what we do for a paycheck. Labor is how we care for our family, hobbies which bring us fulfillment or joy, our volunteer work within our community. We also know that keeping our bodies healthy can be a fulltime job, especially when we are sick or getting older. So we labor with love in caring for ourselves and those around us.
Secondly our food. The woman begged for crumbs for her daughter. Here food is more than what is used to fuel the body. She is seeking the healing presence of God. We do the same when we come to Christ’s table. Soon we will share the Lord’s Supper seeking healing and spiritual food. We often take this for granted. But as one commentator writes, For those of us who are used to having a place at the table, perhaps we need to be reminded that none of us has any right or privilege whatsoever to claim with God. We all come as beggars to the table, and it is solely by God’s grace that we are fed. Perhaps we need also to be reminded that God’s table is immeasurably larger than we can imagine.
For those who identify more easily with the Syrophoenician woman begging for crumbs, it must be said that Jesus does not leave any of us in a state of beggarliness. He seats us at the table and claims us as God’s beloved children — children from every tribe and language and nation. Even crumbs from the table would be enough for our healing and salvation. But Jesus has given more than enough. He sets an abundant, life-giving feast for all.(Working Preacher, Elisabeth Johnson)
Finally, our openings. The deaf man’s tongue and ears are opened, freed, renewed. The part of him that had been closed since birth is now released by the power of God. So I ask you, “What needs to be opened, loosed, healed, freed in you?” What feels closed and shut off, blocked from Jesus’ healing light? A part of the body that needs healing. A relationship that is stuck, jammed. A regret that limits you. A grief that has you trapped. Bring it to the table, taste God’s healing power, experience Jesus’ as the light of your world, with the drapes pulled back, the window flung wide, and God’s healing and comfort radiating all around you.
Come to the table with so that what is closed in your life can be opened by the healing power of Jesus, our light and our salvation. Amen.
