Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
We need to be aware that we have an enemy, that the Devil, is a real being who is set against our flourishing. We do not dwell on this in order to frighten ourselves but in order to be properly prepared when he tempts us. It would be one thing to live in a world where were merely contending with the imperfection of of circumstances and of our flesh. It is another thing to contend with an intellectual being set to bring about our ruin. This means that compelling suggestions are sometimes actually acts of conniving intended to deceive us.
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
God, of course, said no such thing. But the devil is always quick to insinuate that God's commands are not based on love, but are rather holding out on his creatures some goods which he doesn't want to share. We need to believe in the goodness of God's commands, that they come from a place of love, and are designed to help us live our best lives. If we don't believe this a subtle shift from trust to doubt which is hard to detect at first may begin.
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’
Did God say that? Earlier, we read "From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die" (see Genesis 2:17). Was Eve already conceding ground to the serpent without realizing it? And what was Adam doing while all this was happening? We later read that he was close enough for Eve to hand him the fruit to eat. But why did he shrink from his duty to guard the garden? Why did his wife have to face the tempter on her own? Perhaps the simple act of Adam reminding Eve what the command of God actually said would have been enough to break the serpent's spell. Was he afraid? Was he also succumbing to the same lie? Either way, he offered no resistance.
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
When we know that we have an enemy set against us it is easier to be on guard against outright lies. When we think that there is nothing actively and cleverly trying to destroy souls we have a sort of naive ignorance that makes all clever lies all too easy to accept. It could have been enough for Adam and Eve to see that this serpent spoke in contradiction to the God who created all things. From there they could have correctly categorized all else he said. Yet, they chose to entertain his questions. Why was there a tree that was forbidden? Why was a serpent who would speak lies even present? They did have countless reasons to trust God. But this really was an occasion where they needed to intentionally choose that trust.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Their eyes were opened, but the eyes of their minds were darkened, henceforth contaminated with the mistrust that marked their act, a mistrust that would be the default mode of their offspring. They now knew evil by experience and not merely by intellect, and now more understand good, as by their act they were deprived of their supreme good. This was not the way God intended it. Yet it was certainly known to him in advance. The fall was permitted because he would use it to bring about something greater, something so good that it could be one day known as a "happy fault" and a "most necessary sin".
By refusing to listen to God Adam and Eve became spiritually deaf. By refusing to speak out against the lies of the enemy their ability to speak the truth with impeded. Jesus, as the new Adam, always listened to the Father, and always spoke in conformity with his will. Therefore he was able to open the ears and mouth of the man in today's Gospel. And therefore he can do so for us as well.
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
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