A sermon by the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, written for and delivered at All Saints' Episcopal Church, Tybee Island, GA, on Sunday, September 8, 2024, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost (RCL Proper 18, Year B).
Primary Bible Reading
Mark 7:24-37
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.[f] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[g] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone. 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went by way of Sidon toward the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus[h] ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Don't Think About Elephants!
By the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, Program Manager for New Starts, ELCA
Don’t think about elephants!
What are you thinking about right now? (Probably elephants.)
I was introduced to this relatively common mind game through the 2010 film Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It comes up in a scene in which two characters are discussing the central idea of the movie: planting an idea in someone else’s mind. Inception is when you make someone think something to the point where they forget that you even told them and begin to think that it was originally their idea. The “Don’t Think About Elephants” game is the opposite, where the listener knows that you “made” them think about elephants.
I thought of this mind game when reading this week’s Gospel passage. Mark 7:24 says, “[Jesus] set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice.” Jesus proceeds to heal a woman’s daughter from demon possession and heal another man of his physical disabilities. That story has a strange ending, similar to how the passage started: “Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak’” (Mark 7:36-37).
Have you ever noticed verses like these before? They are scattered all over the stories in the four Gospels. Especially in Mark, Jesus is trying to keep a low profile. He doesn’t always want to be surrounded by crowds of people. Maybe Jesus was a little bit introverted. But with these two miracle stories, as with many others, Jesus wants to avoid being noticed. He orders people not to talk about what he has done, not to tell people that it was him.
And then they do the opposite! I find that so funny. I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me not to do something, that often makes me want to do it. Like being told not to think about elephants, all that Jesus’ listeners could do was think about and talk about the amazing things he did for them. Biblical scholars call this strange pattern of Jesus’ behavior the “messianic secret.” He is the Messiah, the Savior of Israel, but shhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone.
What do we make of Jesus trying to keep his identity secret? Well, my theory for today is that it’s like the elephant game. Jesus had a great sense of humor. He was playful. He told everybody not to talk about him, but maybe he said it with a wink. Maybe Jesus was using reverse psychology.
Because Jesus grew incredibly famous among the common people in his day. In a time before photographs, people found out it was him and they spotted him and crowds started following him wherever he went. They usually came with problems for him to fix, illnesses for him to heal, etc. But after Jesus leaves a place, having done good works of healing and preaching God’s Good News, people are pumped. People “zealously” and “eagerly” shared the good news of Jesus (7:36, NRSVUE and CEB).
They could not contain themselves from sharing what God had done in their life, the difference God had made, the transformation, the repair and healing. We often think of faith as a private matter, between me and God. But that’s not really what we witness in scripture. The Good News of Jesus is for the whole world, and we experience it and live it out in community. It was not something these Gospel characters could keep to themselves. Meeting Jesus changed their lives. Meeting Jesus made them into different people.
When I read stories like this in the Bible, I wonder what we might be missing in The Episcopal Church. Because my experience of most Episcopalians, myself included, is that we can be pretty shy about our faith. We are often hesitant to share good news with people outside the four walls of our church. Many of us don’t feel confident to talk about religion. Or we have seen really manipulative, harmful, or toxic examples of “evangelism” from other Christians, so we recoil at the thought. Sometimes, we have really good reasons to shy away from telling others about our faith. We have seen how religion has been used to hurt people and don’t want to be imposing or pushy. Or, we know the history of the Church’s entanglement with colonialism and conquest, and we are trying to repent and do better than our ancestors in the faith.
But this story reminds us that evangelism is not about telling other people what to do or how to live. It’s not about manipulation or control. It’s about testimony. It’s about sharing what God has done in my life or in our lives. Evangelism just means “Good Newsing.” I have Good News to share because of what God has done for me. I can testify to how God has changed my life for the better.
Personally, my faith journey began in earnest when I was a teenager. I had gone to church my whole life before then, gotten baptized, made a public affirmation of faith, the whole deal. But it didn’t mean anything more to me when I left the church building. But I always wrestled with low self-esteem and self doubt. I was a nerd, not a popular kid in middle school and high school, and I got teased and bullied a lot. But in the church, I found welcome, acceptance, and love from unexpected people and places. I discovered the same acceptance and love from God as I committed to regular times of prayer. And that has kind of been my story ever since. God has continually surprised me with love, acceptance, and forgiveness when I doubt myself or even when I sin by wronging others. With God’s help, I keep learning to find my voice and trust that I’m never abandoned or alone.
And to get really clear, I’m only partially talking about my career/vocation as a priest. Yes, God encourages and empowers me to preach, teach, give pastoral care, and the rest. But, I feel it much more acutely in the everyday things that are probably way more relatable. God shows me love and acceptance through the ups and downs of marriage with all its opportunities for personal reflection and growth. God shows me love and acceptance as I continue to adjust to life without two of my grandparents who died in 2017 and 2020. God has helped me work through that grief personally and in community. People at St. Matthew’s and throughout this diocese were there for me in the worst days of my grief. They made sure I was able to fly home for funerals and covered extra work and tasks I missed because of them. They showed me with their actions that they love me for me, not just for what I do for them.
I hope this is jogging your memory a little bit and helping you think of times when God has done great things for you. It might not be as big and dramatic as getting healed of a disease at the touch of Jesus’ hand, but I hope we all have some experience of God “astounding” us with grace, of being filled with awe and wonder at Jesus Christ who “has done everything well” (Mark 7:37). And if you’re not sure what that is, maybe take some time to think, pray, and journal about it this week. Or talk with a trusted loved one, who might be able to remind you of where God has shown up in your life.
And as you leave this place today, whatever you do, don’t tell anyone that story! Keep it to yourself. Whatever healing or wholeness or mercy God has provided, however God has transformed and improved your life, shhh! Don’t talk about it. Jesus said not to tell anyone, after all. Amen.
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