The faculty of speech distinguishes humans from the other creatures. Their heavenly Father communed with Adam and Eve and spoke with them in the Garden in the idyllic days before the fall. They shared a theological colloquy in the afternoons while they strolled in the Garden. He shared Himself with them, disclosing Himself to them in speech. They glorified Him in return by saying back to Him what He was saying to them in the divinely directed catechesis. Their speech was, like His own, a making-so. When the other creatures were brought to Him Adam named them as God directed him and "Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name" (Gn 2:19). His speech had the power of proper naming. The animals were incapable of naming themselves. Adam had been endowed with the power of communing and making speech. So God required of man that he should use his mouth to bless and not to curse, to forgive sins that they would be forgiven in heaven, to speak life to a fallen world, to proclaim the Word of God, that those suffering from the fear of death would be granted peace.

There is no way to silence this Word. The enemies of the Word made flesh tried to shut Him up by seeking His death. They thought that His power to open the mouths sealed shut by impediment or political pressure could be snuffed out by crucifixion. They wanted to show His power over life to be a sham by taking power over His life. When His body was found to be missing they whispered about the tale that his mortal remains had been stolen by the frightened disciples. Is there no end of political spin? The living Lord came to breathe into the frightened disciples the office of saying away sin and death, so that after the Pentecost they proclaimed a life so indestructible that they were able to speak away death; raising the dead, healing the sick, and preaching the good news to the poor. No one was able to silence them. Now the One who spoke of the divine peace had multiplied Himself on the lips of uncountable disciples, all taught by the apostolic Word. The Lord reestablished the edenic colloquy, so that each would say to his neighbor, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know Him, from the least of them to the greatest. For He will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more. (Jer 31:34).

Killing the Word of God spread the Word of God into the world. For the mouth whose spittle loosened the tongue of the dumb poured forth the saliva which would loosen our tongues to speak for Him. From the hand that touched into sight the blind man, there poured blood to mud Calvary's dust, which would be forever placed onto the eyes of those who came to look upon life. And they would see God. What drooled and dripped onto that barren hill caused life to spring up. The mudslide caused by the torrent of water and blood opened death's havens which could no longer hold their dead. He who cried out in dereliction gave us the power to sing the praise of His death. Now our mouths long to kiss that body, with which He feeds us in the Supper of His body. How we long to kiss the Son, and take refuge in Him.

Ephrem the Syrian