Image And Perception: A Reading From Mark 7:31-37

Later in vs.36, Jesus’ command of maintaining the “secrecy” was disregarded. The situation is intensified here. Although “the secrecy motifs” interrupts the narratives flow, yet in fact it actually counters those who over-whelmed with astonishment that attributes to the miraculous deeds, rather than to applause praise to the wonder-worker (God). Jesus’ role is always known to draw from the crowd. But on the contrary, Mark the narrator exhibits the futility of any attempt of Jesus to keep the low profile in the healing ministry.

However, the end of this pericope echoes the words of Genesis 1:31 regarding the God’s work for creation “He has done all things well”. This declares the fact that Jesus’ work is attributed to God that reflects the restoration of fallen creation. Instead of being a divine miracle worker, Jesus’ healing represents God’s work of doing “all things well”. It was the messianic age that was in motion. Reflecting from Isaiah 35:5-6, “He makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak”. It’s the age that proclaims “Good News” to those living beyond the socio-political territorial boundaries into the periphery. It is to them that “their ears” and “their tongues” are healed. Hence, they can hear and declare the salvific paradigm of the “Good News of God’.

The narration of this event denotes that fact that miracles restore the blocked communication between God and humanity. In fact, miraculous signs confirm God’s active presence of God’s claim, promises and words. Therefore, miracle shows the characteristics of God’s communication that is relevant and purposeful, since miracles are divine. It is God’s intervention into human history with a purpose to set right communicative relationship with the human. It is through miracle that God’s presence and action signs within the factor of humanitarian importance. It’s a proof of not merely God’s existence, but the intervention that challenges faith by invoking one’s communicative relationship and commitment to God.

James Ross states that image and perception are two basic elements of communication that links (associates) one with the other. The healing of deaf-mute person restored the blocked communication with others. Taking the incarnation of Jesus as an example, the image and perception is utmost importance, since it enabled the humanity to relate with God, thereby activating the good news of God in human history.

There are few factors that I see regarding image and perception in relation to the passage.

Firstly, thought and speech as fuel for image and perception. It is interesting to note that the process of encoding and decoding (it’s a communication module, where encoding process converts words into ideas and decoding process converts ideas into words) activates the process of image and perception s. The thoughts create perception through hearing and speech creates images through words spoken. When Jesus restored the deaf-mute person, he was affirming the life-giving module to the man the ability to image and perception. If Jesus was merely healing the deaf and mute without the ability to encoding and decoding, then such a partial process of healing would be like using certain language without really understanding its imagery meaning and listening to words that ascribe no meaning at all to the hearers.