Genesis shows Paradise lost, while the Gospel tells of paradise regained. Adam and Eve felt the need to cover up, each needing to hide from the other. Fear and mistrust inhibited the open spontaneity of their relationship. The man cured of deafness and dumbness seems to toss inhibition to the wind, dancing, singing, leaping, shouting and proclaiming the good news. While we lose paradise and will, hopefully,re-enter paradise as human beings who are both physical and spiritual, the Bible encourages us to a sense of gratitude to God, source of all our good.
There is a sense of paradise restored in the story of Jesus curing the deaf and dumb man. He put his fingers in the man’s ears and touched his tongue with saliva, then looked up to heaven with a groan of petition. Jesus’ words and compassion, even his distressed groan over the man’s disability, show how the dumb man was restored to full health. It is likely that Mark intends this scene as paradise regained. The phrase, “he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” is from a sparkling prophecy of Isaiah, that “those whom the Lord has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy.” The Messianic age is near. “Here is your God, he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared” (Isa 35:5).
In this cure, there is a hint of universal salvation. Just the two paradises, lost and regained. In Genesis, the man and the woman realised that they were naked and felt ashamed. In the gospel, once the man is healed, every other impediment is dropped. With spontaneous joy he forgets the order to tell nobody. Not only the man himself but the whole neighbourhood knows what Jesus has done. The gospel has almost a playful reference to the Messianic Secret, for when Jesus told them not to tell anyone; the more strictly he ordered secrecy, the more they proclaimed it.
On leaving paradise Adam and Eve covered themselves with leaves, each needing a barrier of some kind against the other. Fear and mistrust now spoil their former spontaneity. By contrast, the man who had been deaf and dumb now tosses inhibition to the wind, dancing, singing, shouting and proclaiming the good news. For this sense of Paradise lost and regained, we give thanks to God, source of all our good.
Jesus offers universal salvation, something already observed in yesterday’s story of the Syro-Phoenician woman. We can contrast the two paradises, lost and regained. In Genesis man and woman, once they had sinned, realised that they were naked and felt ashamed. In the gospel, once the man’s hearing and speech are healed, every other impediment is dropped. With joyful spontaneity he forgets the injunction not to tell anyone. Not only the man himself but everyone else announces the good news of what Jesus has accomplished. The gospel has almost a playful interaction here, for when he enjoined them strictly not to tell anyone; the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.