When I was young, these sideshows occupied actual tents —canvas stretched high over wooden poles— but they were soon replaced by 18-wheelers with fold down platforms on one side. These makeshift stages served as advertising locations from which someone “hawked” whatever (or whomever) was concealed inside. They also provided a good barrier between the “show” and the “rubes” (us). Once we had forked over the price of admission, though, we were quickly ushered inside.
And what did we find there?
It might be a Bearded Lady, an even hairier Wolf Boy, a contortionist who could bend in unimaginable ways, a Strongman who could lift unbelievable weights, conjoined twins ... maybe even a woman who performed a “belly dance” (something not common in my part of the world). I even seem to recall a four-legged woman and a two-headed calf. Ours was a fairly conventional town, so, as strange as it may sound today, the teenaged me exchanged some of my money so I could experience some of these unusual attractions. I never did win that Teddy Bear, but I did see some real showstoppers.
I never saw a man with three ears, though.
To be upfront about it, I guess the number of ears depends on how you visualize the unfolding story. The scene in Luke Chapter 22: Jesus has been praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the crowd shows up to arrest Him, Peter (so says Matthew) cuts off the ear of a servant of the high priest. You have to read John to know the servant's name (Malchus), and you have to read Luke to find the overlooked miracle. After Peter cut the man’s right ear from the side of his face, Jesus said, "No more of this!" He then “touched his ear and healed him.” In my mind, that adds up the three ears. The left ear, the newly healed right side ear, and the one that Peter’s sword swept to the ground.
That miracle is unique, unless I am mistaken. I don't know of any other instance when Jesus either grew or reattached a part that had been removed from a person. However you count the ears, and however you picture this scene, one thing is certain, none of the people had seen such a thing, before. I am certain everyone just stopped and stared.
When Jesus healed the servant's ear, He performed his last miracle before the crucifixion. Also, even while being arrested, His concern was for an injured man. And He ensured that man was made whole before He allowed himself to be hauled off to "trial."
Pretty remarkable.
A three-eared man, though, is just one of the remarkable things in that Luke passage.
If we back up a few verses, we find what we pretty much universally call “The Last Supper.” This is where Jesus breaks the bread and declares it represents His body, and where he shares the wine, declaring it to represent His blood. I suppose you could also call it “The First Supper,” since it was the beginning of the millions of Communion “meals” that followed. From my perspective, though, I think it should be titled “The Feast of the New Covenant.”
Until Jesus took charge of it, Israelites had shared that Passover meal, annually, to commemorate their exodus from Egypt, to remember the night when Israelite families slaughtered a lamb and painted their doorposts with its blood —that blood being the only thing which would cause the Angel of Death to “pass over” their households that night. Jesus turned all of it on its head when he declared the wine was now “the new covenant in my blood.”
It was an astounding thing to say ... a real showstopper. I can’t help but think everyone just stopped and stared.
The covenant between God and God’s people had once been sealed by the blood of an actual lamb. From this moment forward, though, it was a covenant between God and all humankind ... and it was to be sealed with the blood of Jesus.
Not the last of anything. The beginning of the events and choices that eventually became “all things new.”
Remarkable, indeed.
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PHOTO: Steve Orr
Some portions of this reflection were drawn from a reflection published in April 2014 entitled Overlooked in All the Excitement.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Liturgy of the Palms (April 14, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=123
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Luke 19:28-40
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Liturgy of the Passion (April 14, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=124
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 22:14-23:56 or Luke 23:1-49
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We'll be feasting Friday morning at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant, getting our hearts and minds prepared for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and all that precedes Easter. Join us at 8:00 for Lectionary Breakfast if you are in the area. E&I has a great breakfast menu, and the spiritual food is the very best.
Swords will be checked at the door.
Enjoy the week!
Steve
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