Be Opened: Listening for God and Neighbor
Mark 7:32–35
There is no shortcut to deep listening. No app can truly tell you what your neighbor needs or how God is already at work around you. Just like there is no “Guthook” app for your spiritual journey, there is no one-size-fits-all guide to your community. The only way to truly know people is to slow down and listen.
In Mark 7, a man who was deaf and could hardly speak is brought to Jesus. Rather than perform a public miracle, Jesus takes him aside. In an intimate and almost uncomfortable moment, Jesus touches the man’s ears and tongue, looks to heaven, and says one powerful word in Aramaic: Ephphatha: “Be opened.” With that, the man’s ears are opened, and he is able to speak clearly for the first time.
That story is more than just a physical healing. It’s a spiritual invitation for all of us. Before we can speak clearly into the lives of others, our ears must be opened. Before we can proclaim God’s love in ways that make sense, we must first be quiet enough to hear what God is already doing around us.
Listening is not passive. It is a choice to be present, to hold space, to seek understanding without rushing to speak. It is about paying attention. Asking better questions. Slowing down enough to walk a neighborhood or sit in conversation without needing to be the expert.
Jesus modeled this. He spent thirty years in obscurity, listening before He ever began preaching. And if that was His example, it ought to shape our ministry too.
So this week, I invite you to open your ears. Listen to someone’s story without interruption. Take a prayer walk and ask God to show you what you’ve been missing. Sit quietly with Scripture and resist the urge to rush. Let Jesus speak that same word over your life: Ephphatha: be opened.
May we be a church that listens deeply, loves boldly, and joins God in the places where hope is already taking root.
Grace and peace because grace always goes before peace, Pastor Sharon