PART I

Mark 7:31-34
"Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is,“Be opened!”). 35 Immediately his ears were opened, his speech difficulty was removed, and he began to speak clearly. 36 Then He ordered them to tell no one, but the more He would order them, the more they would proclaim it. 37 They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well! He even makes deaf people hear, and people unable to speak, talk!”"

Jesus sighed. . . .because no one should ever be dehumanized and treated like an object. No one should ever be politicized and treated like an agenda. So look at what Jesus did. He led the man away from the crowd to affirm his dignity as a person to be embraced, rather than a project to fixed.

So Jesus sighed. . . .because ears were meant to hear and mouths were meant to speak. He sighed because those parading the man around like an object had ears that did not hear and eyes but did not see.

Sometimes Jesus needs to draw us away from the things that are harming us. . . .

Sometimes Jesus will need to touch the very places of our lives that makes others shy away. . . .

Sometimes Jesus will need to expose the very thing others exploit in order to heal us. . . .

The reality is that we are often led by our wounds. These wounds create needs—real, valid, needs—that, when unchecked and without an awareness of the presence and power of Jesus, can lead us to grasping for what we need. It is what I call, “The Cycle of Wounds.”

So let’s not be surprised if Jesus wants to pull us away from the persons, places or things that are leading and guiding our lives. . . .

Empathy is what happens in the mind that allows the imagination to see a shared sense of humanity. . . .solidarity.

Compassion means to care from the depths of your gut. . . . moves Jesus closer to us.

Hospitality is when Jesus welcomes us into God’s life He will lead us away from the things that threatens our willingness to welcome God’s welcome.

This empathetic compassion come together with hospitality and creates what we could call, gracious hospitality.

Sometimes it is hard to believe, so we are giving these stories like these to remember. Sometimes it is hard to believe, so we are given a community of faith where we can lean in together and remember. In other word the experience comes by living like we believe it is true.

PART II

Romans 15:1-7
Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even the Messiah did not please Himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me. For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. Now may the God who give endurance and encouragement allow you to live in harmony with one another, according to the command of Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice. Therefore welcome one another, just as the Messiah also welcome you, to the glory of God.

Beloved, God is at work in our city, our neighborhoods, our campus, our workplaces. Let’s join God there. Let’s trust that we will find God at work in unexpected places through the lives of unexpected people. Our obligation is to be faithful and submit to Jesus when he wants to draw us away from the persons, places or things that could lead us away to our God-given purposes and assignment, both as individuals and as a church family.

Taking Jesus seriously and pursuing gracious hospitality is hard. But by God’s grace and the power of God’s Spirit working within us, among us, and between us, we can grow together and look a little more like God’s beloved community.

“The world isn’t hungering for theology. It is hungering for God. The early Church did not offer people a theology of the Holy Spirit. They theology would come later. First [they] offered the Holy Spirit, the experience of the Spirit’s power. The hungry man wants real food, not attractive pictures of food. And a humanly man certainly doesn’t want words instead of food.” ~ Tony de Mello

The world needs to see what the Lordship looks like in tangible, actionable, real-life ways. WCC, we can be who God wants us to be as individuals and a church family. We can because it is God’s will for us. So let us receive the benediction from Paul in the same text read:

Romans 15:13
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

"The greatest need of the Church today is not new legislation, new theology, new structures, new liturgies — all these without the Holy Spirit are like a dead body without a soul. We desperately need someone to take away our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh; we need a fresh infusion of enthusiasm and inspiration and courage and spiritual strength. We need to persevere in our task without discouragement or cynicism, with new faith in the future and for the people we work for. In other words, we need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit."
~ Tony de Mello