The apostle James writes in his epistle, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to him, “Depart in peace, be warmed and be filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”
James is deeply concerned about those who say they have faith in Christ yet still do not live in service to their neighbors. He uses the example of simply telling someone who is hungry to depart in peace, without ever feeding them. If we say out of Christian love that we care for the needs of our neighbor, but yet don’t act upon them, our faith is dead.
The friends of this deaf-mute man who brought him to Christ possessed genuine Christian faith granted by the Holy Spirit. For their trust in Jesus produces works as they bring the man to be healed. If they had not believed in Christ, they would not have done such an act to improve the life of their beloved friend, but they did seek Christ in true righteousness, and faith shows that they did not make a vain request; at their asking, the Lord Jesus healed this man. As a result of this band’s devotion for Christ and love for their own, the Lord laid His hands on the deaf-mute and healed him.
Although the man never heard with his own ears the things concerning Christ, it was his friends who prayed on his behalf that God would give him faith in the Lord, forgive all his sins, and save him by opening his ears and loosening his tongue. For Christian faith ought to possess concern for our neighbors’ physical and earthly needs, yet, with even greater urgency, our concern should be for the needs of their soul and spirit.
Yet, how is it that any work of ours can be considered good before the Lord, even while we are still sinners? Our works, please God, not because they are perfect, as they are always tainted by sin, but because they proceed from true faith in Christ; they are offered by His beloved children as our thanksgiving to Him. The works that we do are called good because we do them, not because we are perfectly good at them.
Think of this by means of an analogy. When a young child helps their grandfather with morning chores or their mother in the kitchen, more often than not, the child thinks they are offering a great deal of help, but in reality, the work is being done at a much slower pace on the farm, or there’s a bigger mess on the floor with wasted flour and broken eggs. Yet, if the adults did the work themselves, yes, things would be done sooner and more efficiently; still, it delights them to see children trying to imitate those they love. These are like our good works before God; it is not that we have done something that God cannot do Himself. Our good works still pleased Him as they came from a desire to carry forth His love and mercy.
So, Christ sees what these friends do for the man and then responds; the Lord Jesus first touches his ears for hearing, then his mouth for confessing. The Son of God’s compassion on this individual man is particularly noteworthy because it is through these two members of the body, the ears and the mouth, that we participate in believing in our Lord. For if you take away these two members, there is no distinction left between a Christian and a non-Christian. To trust and know Christ, we must first hear. As faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God, says Saint Paul.
We don’t first choose or decide that we want to hear about Christ, because when we do, it is because we have already possessed faith, the desire to be nurtured through the Word once again. Likewise, we do not choose what soil we belong to, as our Lord Christ cultivates us and our hardened sinful hearts so that we will be the good soil who will receive His Word with joy.
And then through the ears, the man hears the words of Christ that loosen his tongue: “Ephphatha,” be opened. Out of our Lord’s mercy, the man may profess and offer praise to God who has spared him from his ailments. Now, the tongue of a Christian has been loosened from idolatry and blasphemy and set free for the true worship of God. As Saint Paul writes in Romans, chapter 10, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
We are able to profess Christ with our mouths because when we hear the Word, we have received the Holy Spirit that creates faith that is not dead, but is alive and full of good works. For dead faith does not speak of God or to God, but the Spirit is placed into our hearts that we may cry to God “Abba,” our Father.
For this miracle also reveals the true purpose for God’s creation of mankind: to receive His Word and to offer the Lord due reverend and godly fear by worshiping Him. By this sign we see what the ears hear changes what the heart believes. And from what the heart holds certain comes forth in what the tongue declares. So if we let our ears and eyes absorb absolute filth and those things that work against God’s Spirit. Those evil things will make a dwelling in our hearts; from our hearts, they will proceed through the mouth and by actions.
Therefore, we must be vigilant over what we consume through our ears and eyes. If it is lying and gossip, those things that provoke the sin of lust, as well as falling into false doctrine, they will produce what is unpleasing to God, such as swearing, cursing, and bearing false witness, and other such evils through the body.
And so, the Holy Spirit does not forsake those who repent. By His mighty power, He has opened our ears to hear the Words of Christ that call us to repentance and receive the promise of the forgiveness of sins through His suffering and death. Let us use our members to seek the gracious God and Father to grant us grace and strength for Christ’s sake, that we never be found deaf or mute, but obtain God’s favor and blessing here in time and eternal life hereafter! Amen
St. John's and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Parish 