May only truth be
spoken and only truth received. Amen.
We
are in week three of exploring the Letter of James. Let’s review the lessons
from the first two weeks.
In week one, the lesson
was that to hear the Word but to not do the Word was to do a disservice to God;
that to show your true faith in God means to put action to your prayers, going
out into your neighbourhoods and declaring your faith by loving your neighbours
each and every day.
Last week, James told us
that discrimination of any kind against people is incompatible with the faith
of Jesus Christ. If we truly believe in Jesus Christ, if we follow the
commandment of Jesus Christ to love our neighbor as ourselves, then we would
treat all human beings equally, the way God would care for them.
In this week’s portion
of his letter, James writes about the taming of the tongue, and about the
damage and harm that careless words can cause.
Throughout our kids’
lives, we’ve had many talks at home about how our words can cause harm to others,
even if we don’t mean them to. Our reminder to them is always, “it’s not what
you say, it’s how you say it.” Even the smallest joke could do lasting damage
to another person’s spirit or psyche. Or someone could hear anger in your
words, even if that wasn’t your intention.
This is the lesson James
is leading us towards today, and really has been since the beginning of his
letter. Words are important, they can be either full of blessings or full of
curses, and they can be powerful. Remembering back to the 1st
chapter of James, he tells us to be slow to anger and slow to speak. Speech is
a small thing but can be very mighty.
He starts this chapter off
by saying that not many should become teachers because those who teach will
face stricter judgement. You could replace the word teacher with leader,
preacher, elder, or anyone else who has been given authority to pass on their
knowledge or wisdom. It might seem harsh to say that these folks will be judged
more strictly than others, but it makes sense because there is power given to
those speaking at the front of the room, at the centre of the circle, or from
the pulpit. And with that power comes great responsibility. Teachers, leaders,
preachers all must be careful about their words because anything they say will
be judged and remembered, for good or for bad.
Think about teachers you
had in school. There are probably one or two that have stuck with you
throughout your life. When you think about these teachers, is it the lessons
they taught that you remember? Or is it how they made you feel? Maybe there was
a teacher who made you feel like you could do anything you wanted, who supported
your choices, who was there for you in a time of need. Or maybe there was that
one teacher who made you feel like you couldn’t do anything right…
Teachers (and leaders
and preachers and elders) need to take their time with words, taking a moment
before deciding what to say and how to say it. There are teachers out there,
who we all know, who we could probably say never caused harm with their words,
who spoke slowly, gently, and with care. I’m thinking about people like Fred
Rogers, Bob Ross, and LeVar Burton who all spoke with calm and love in their voices.
Religious leaders such as Henri Nouwen and Richard Rohr also come to mind. Or
how about Ms. Frizzle or Mr. Feeny, if we want to talk about fictional
teachers.
This call to be aware of
the power of words goes beyond teachers, leaders, preachers, and elders. James’
warning to tame the tongue applies to all of us. This passage calls for us to
be accountable for the language we choose to use. James was writing to a
community that was experiencing heretical teaching, careless talk, and duplicity.
Can we deny that we aren’t experiencing such things today?
Communities and relationships
are being broken all over the place by mistruths and defamations. There is
destructive speech all around us in the form of racism, homophobia,
transphobia, islamophobia, antisemitism, vitriol against immigration, online
bullying, “trolling” on social media, and on, and on. The tongue is such a
small thing, but what kind of output do our mouths produce? Our words, spoken
or digital, affect our society, our families, our faith communities.
The tongue itself isn’t
evil, it’s what we allow it to do. We must question ourselves as to how the
same mouth could both bless God and also curse God’s creation? How does one attend
worship on Sunday, praising God, but then later in the week, speak against something
or someone that belongs to God? We must ask ourselves if we are to be an instrument
of blessing or of curses, because we can’t be both.
All of this duplicity
can feel overwhelming, but there is hope. Mistakes will be made for to err is
human. We can’t expect perfection. But there is a rhythm to our life of faith –
we try, we practice, we fail, we repent, we try again. James is calling us to
be aware of our words, to be aware of our duplicity when we bless God on Sunday
but curse our neighbour on Monday, to be aware that our words can cause immense
damage and harm if used improperly.
But at the same time, our
tongues, which both bless and curse, can also ask for forgiveness. Part of that
awareness is to acknowledge when we have caused harm and work to repent and
reconcile. To admit to our mistake and try again. For if we move only to silence
in order to never err, then we are exacerbating the problem, and our situations
will never improve.
If we dedicate our tongues
to the language of God, then our actions will follow. We are not perfect, we
never will be, but we must always choose our words carefully so that we can work
towards building up the body of Christ. In the power of words, there resides a
power through which God working through us can change both ourselves and the
world around us.
Amen.
