Speakers

Scripture James 3:1-12  (CEB)

3 My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers, because we know that we teachers will be judged more strictly. 2 We all make mistakes often, but those who don’t make mistakes with their words have reached full maturity. Like a bridled horse, they can control themselves entirely. 3 When we bridle horses and put bits in their mouths to lead them wherever we want, we can control their whole bodies.

4 Consider ships: They are so large that strong winds are needed to drive them. But pilots direct their ships wherever they want with a little rudder. 5 In the same way, even though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts wildly.

Think about this: A small flame can set a whole forest on fire. 6 The tongue is a small flame of fire, a world of evil at work in us. It contaminates our entire lives. Because of it, the circle of life is set on fire. The tongue itself is set on fire by the flames of hell.

7 People can tame and already have tamed every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish. 8 No one can tame the tongue, though. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we both bless the Lord and Father and curse human beings made in God’s likeness. 10 Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it just shouldn’t be this way!

11 Both fresh water and salt water don’t come from the same spring, do they? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? Of course not, and fresh water doesn’t flow from a saltwater spring either.

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Those of you who are in the Lectionary Study on Sunday mornings may have noticed that I am not preaching from the assigned lectionary text for today.  My apologies.  When I selected the scriptures for this month I somehow managed to skip a week, which I didn’t notice until we were talking about the October 7th scripture selection a couple of weeks ago - which was identical to the one I had selected for September 30.  I realized later that I had skipped a week in September somehow, so rather than redo the entire month, the reading that would normally have been today will be on September 30.  The rest of you probably haven’t noticed, unless you study the lectionary readings at home on Sunday mornings?  Yes?  No?  No?  Ok.

Today’s reading from James is a cautionary tale, about the evil that comes out of our mouths.  The tongue - untamable. A small flame of fire, a world of evil at work within us . . . . set on fire by the flames of hell.. . a restless evil, full of deadly poison.   Reading this passage it becomes easier to understand why some monks and nuns take a vow of silence.  If you are trying to avoid sin, best not to use that which James says “contaminates our whole lives.”

“Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth.”  Now, when we modern folks think of cursing, we tend to think of those words that are not acceptable in polite society.  You know the ones.  The ones that lead folks to respond with comments like, “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”  And indeed, we should try to always use only those words that everyone around us finds acceptable and inoffensive, and not the expletives that we tend to associate with bad behavior.  But when James spoke of cursing, it wasn’t that sort of language that he was speaking of.  He was speaking of actual curses - one person wishing evil upon another.   Saying, “Damn you to hell” was not just bad language.  It was a big deal, because the people of the first century believed that words had that kind of power.  “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest you,” may be a joke to us, but it was serious business then.  The victim of such a curse would go out immediately to find someone to break the curse.  And whereas we might say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me.”  (I will come back to that later), for the people James was speaking to, words had real power.  Blessings and curses were serious business.  Blessings and curses should not, indeed, come out of the same mouth.  

Jesus also spoke to the importance of words.  How can you speak good things while you are evil? What fills the heart comes out of the mouth.  (Matthew 12:34)    And certainly, what comes out of our mouths is a reflection of what we are thinking.   I attend a discussion group once a month where we talk about the issues we have in interpersonal relations and relationships.  At our meeting this week, the leader of our group said she was making a concerted effort to curb her tongue.  It had been brought to her attention that people often find her a bit abrasive and intimidating.  She does not suffer fools lightly, and tends to be a bit sarcastic, saying what she thinks without reflection or considering how it might be heard.  So, she said, she was focusing on taking a beat, on not reacting with her first thought, but responding after taking a moment to reflect.  She said she also needed to watch her face, because even if she managed to bite her tongue, her facial expressions tended to give her away.   And she said, “It’s hard!”  Throughout the evening we were entertained by watching her bite her tongue whenever a question or comment triggered a reaction, but she really did pretty well overall.    I confess, I have the same problem, and it really is hard to watch my tongue and facial expression sometimes.   

And I would just like to take a moment to point out that it isn’t just the spoken word that can be problematic - but also the written.  In James’ time not all that many people could write, so it wouldn’t have been a consideration for most.  Today, most can read and write, so we need to expand our understanding of “tongue” a bit.  Just as we might need to watch our tongue in spoken response, so too our reaction to a comment on social media need not be sent as soon as it’s typed, especially if we are reacting out of anger or hurt feelings.  Just as one, in writing a letter responding to something that upsets us, should hold on to that letter for 24 hours to consider our response, we should also do the same electronically.  Remember, that on social media there are no tones of voice or facial expressions to help us judge what the person meant  - and emojis do not do a good enough job reflecting one’s mood or intention, so don’t even go there.  

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me.”   The intention of this children’s rhyme was to persuade the victims of name calling to remain calm and non-reactive, not to retaliate in kind, but to be a good Christian child.  According to Wikipedia, it is reported to have first been published in The Christian Recorder of March 1862, a publication of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Today, although we do hope people will respond lovingly to evil words, we understand that words might break a person.  September is Suicide Prevention Month.   Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24. (2016 CDC)  Although, according to the CDC, bullying has not been proven to have a direct link to suicide, statistics do show that any engagement in bullying - as either perpetrator or victim - does increase the chances of suicide-related behavior in teens and young adults.   Reporting incidents of bullying - verbal or physical - is important, not just so that the bully can be “punished” but so that both bully and victim can get the help they need.   Teaching our children and youth about right speaking is a huge responsibility, and that responsibility lies with the parents, the schools and the church - all of us working together.  

Right speaking.  It’s one of those love things - loving our neighbor includes watching our tongues, speaking blessing only and not curse.  And we can’t just teach it.  We have to do it.    We can’t do that whole “Do as I say, not as I do” thing.  The Number 1 reason people don’t come to church?   That’s it, in a nutshell.  Hypocrisy!  Christians say one thing and do another!  They preach love and then talk trash about each in the parking lot.  They preach love, then reject this group or that one.   We cannot afford to do this!  We cannot say one thing and do another.   We must practice what we preach.  We must do and say the same things.  Not just so that people will come to church.  Not just so that our children will live longer, mentally and emotionally healthier lives.  But because it is the right thing, the loving thing, the Christian thing to do.

Yes, we will make mistakes.  We will mis-speak.  We will be tired or hungry or have just had it up to there, and we will say something hurtful, and even maybe untrue.   James knew that, and so he said, “We all make mistakes often, but those who don’t make mistakes with their words have reached full maturity.”   This is why I am glad we talk about growing in our faith, and not being grown. 

One of my favorite expressions in 12 Step meetings has to do with growing in this way.   “We can’t think our way into right acting, but we can act our way into right thinking.”  I can spend all day long thinking I can control my tongue and only say nice, loving things to people, but I will continue to say the wrong things until I am diligently working at not saying them.  And eventually, having worked at it constantly for some period of time, by biting my tongue and avoiding the oh-so-obvious eye-roll, the reactions that are normal today will not be my first thought.  By working at not saying the sarcastic, possibly hurtful thing, eventually, I will start thinking differently, and that will not be my first response.  As I continue to practice right speaking, I will make fewer mistakes.  I will become more mature in living my faith.    

In last week’s passage we heard James say, “everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to grow angry.”  And this is what we must do if we would be the kind of speakers that attract others to our faith, the kind of speakers who show the world what it truly means to be a Christian - speakers who take the time to consider the right response, the loving response.  Speakers whose words reflect only and always the love of Christ.  Speakers who have clearly given their lives to God.  

Sisters and brothers, would you stand and join me in asking God to accept our lives, our words, and our will, singing hymn #609, “Take my life.”