Bede On The Healing Of The Deaf Mute — The deaf-mute, of whose marvelous cure by our Lord we have heard, represents those members of the human race who merit being freed by divine grace from the error brought on by the devil’s deceit. Man became deaf, unable to hear the word of life after, puffed up as he was against God, he listened to the serpent’s deadly words; he was made mute and unable to declare the praises of his Maker from the time when he presumed to have a conversation with his seducer.
Rightly did God close man’s ears from hearing the praises of his Creator along with the angels– whose ears which the unsuspected enemy by his speech had opened to hearing denunciation of this same Creator.
Rightly did God close man’s mouth from proclaiming the praises of his Creator along the angels — that mouth which the proud deceiver had filled with his lies about the forbidden food, in order, as the devil said to improve upon the work of the same Creator.
And alas, the unfortunate rebellion of the human race which sprouted in a corrupt manner at the root, began to spread in a much more corrupt way in shoots from the branches, so that when our Lord dame in the flesh, with the exception of a few of the faithful from among the Jews, almost the entire world, now deaf and mute, was wandering away from recognition and confusion of the truth.
But where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more. Our Lord came to the Sea of Galilee where He knew that there was a disabled person whom He would heal. He came by his benevolent grace to the proud, disordered and inconstant hearts of the nations, since He knew that among them were some who would be receptive to His grace.
St. Bede The Venerable
