Waiting for streams in the desert

Sermon Notes, Sunday, Sept 5, 2021 Proper 18 Waiting for streams in the desert Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; Isa 35:5-7 This week we watched the ending of America's 20 year war in Afghanistan, an ending that left far more pain than satisfaction. That our last troop withdrawal included 13 coffins means there will be no tickertape parades, no welcome home celebrations. And we recall the event 20 years ago that brought us into Afghanistan in the first place, the attack on the twin towers in New York City. This too is a painful reminder. Those wounds are not forgotten and a long way from being healed. We look at that dry, barren and God-forsaken country and ask, Is it worth it? Is Afghanistan worthy of the blood we left there? Isaiah looks at the desert through the eyes of God and sees something totally different. . "For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water..." How can Isaiah's desertscape be so different from ours? Obviously for Isaiah the desert is more than a place. Isaiah opens our eyes to see people and nations of people as deserts waiting to be refreshed and reawakened. For Isaiah deserts exist wherever life's springs are stopped up. Where God's word is not seen or heard or pronounced, it is a desert. There are deserts of the heart, deserts of the soul, and deserts of the mind. Deserts are also formed when national purpose gets lost. When ideals worth dying for actually cause people to die, we enter a desert. We believe that blood spilt in pursuit of freedom is not wasted. It is the rain that causes liberty to rise up and flourish. When that doesn't happen, we are left to wonder what kind of desert is this where the ultimate sacrifice makes so little difference? But deserts are never meant to be the final landscape. God's plan then as now is to redeem the desert that it may spring to life. Mark gives us another desert story today. Jesus and his disciples leave the Mediterranean coast and return inland to the desert country surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Jesus not only comes into the desert, but the desert comes to him, in the person of a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. His desert is one of profound and unrelenting silence. Nothing comes in, nothing can get out. His speech impediment prevented him from speaking understandable words. Let's consider his situation. He receives the same sensations from sight, touch and smell that you or I do. But he has no way to express his delight or distaste. It must have been a frustrating existence. We gain some insight into his life from the writings of Helen Keller and others who acknowledge the anger that builds up inside when senses are stopped up and emotions cannot be expressed. Before we look at what Jesus does for him, let us consider those nameless friends who bring him to our Lord. "They" bring him to Jesus and implore Jesus to lay hands upon him. They act on his behalf. Where his ability to communicate ends, theirs begin. These nameless friends are a part of a great uncelebrated cloud of witnesses that we find throughout the Gospel story. They cut a hole in a roof for a parapalegic to be healed by Jesus. They plead with Jesus to save the life of a child, or a servant, or a friend. We don't know anything about them except what they do for others. Undoubtedly, some were pharisees and some were zealots. Some didn't want to rock the boat and some wanted to turn the boat upside down. Who they were or want they believed in didn't matter when they came before Jesus on behalf of someone else. They were the good Samaritans and laboring vineyard workers who fill Jesus' parables. Jesus took encouragement from them, and he marveled at their faith. They are the hearers and doers whose righteousness James commends. When they bring their friend to Jesus, he does a very compassionate thing. He takes the man aside, out of common sight. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. These private moments of Jesus, interspersed throughout his ministry, reveal just how much Jesus understands our very human need to be personally loved. This is just how God loves us. Jesus is fully God and fully man at all times, in everything he does. These intimate moments aren't examples of Jesus' humanity breaking through his other- worldly divine persona. They are the full expression of his Godliness, touching us in our humanity. His "Be opened" is a command to so much more than facial muscles or stopped up tongue. It is to be open to who he is. To the relationship he wants to have with us. To be open to his living water coursing through the desert of our lives. Again and again Mark reminds us of people's response to Jesus. They are amazed. God with us is not something we could ever have imagined or hoped for. His healings are amazing to be sure. But his invitation to us, to be open to him, goes beyond our wildest dreams. Does that mean the desert disappears? Is the desert itself a mirage and the oasis surrounds us? Hardly. There's no denying the pain of loss. We hurt as a nation at the sight of the flag draped coffins coming home to rest. We are reminded by voices that still quiver that what happened to them and us on Sept. 11, 2001 was terrible and scarred us for life. The desert is real and we are still in it. Isaiah speaks to those with an anxious heart and says, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." Isaiah says to his people endure the desert you are in and be strong. God is coming to save you. Jesus says Epaphatha. Be open. Your God is here. In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.