Sunday Services

Sunday School - 9:30 am

Holy Communion - 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays, 10:30 am

Morning Prayer - 2nd and 4th Sundays, 10:30 am

Thursday Services

Evening Prayer/Bible Study, 7 pm

Reaching out to the least, the lonely, and the lost

Holy Communion Service at Friendship South

2nd and 4th Sundays, 2:30 pm

Thoughts from the Lectionary: The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

From the Gospel Lesson: St. Mark 7:31- 37

In this passage we read of Jesus returning to Galilee from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon (Him having cast a devil out of a woman’s daughter there). Nearly as soon as He arrives a man is brought to Him who is deaf and incapable of speech. Those who have brought the man entreat Christ to heal him. Taking the man aside, Jesus places His fingers in the man’s ears and spits on His finger and touches the man’s tongue. We are not told why our Lord does these things. Some have speculated that He was communicating His intentions to the man. Irrespective of why He does these things we are told that He sighed (likely with pity for his patient) and commands the ears of the man to open and his tongue to be loosed with His statement, “Ephphatha.” (Aramaic for “Be opened”). Immediately the man’s hearing was clear and his speech unimpeded. The people were so pleased and amazed with the results that, even though being told not to, they begin spreading the news of what Christ had done.

Oh the compassionate sigh of our Saviour! Oh the immutable power of His word to command deaf ears to hear and silent tongues to speak! Lord, open our ears we pray, that we may hear and understand Your word. Loosen our tongues as well oh Christ, that we may spread your Gospel to the world.

Blessings,

Fr. Duane+