Speak Life: James 3:1-12 - Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

swing by Thelma Felix.  Creative commons image on flickr.com

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ² For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. ³ If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. ⁴ Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
  How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. (NRSV)

You don’t have to know me well to know that I have allergies.  It only takes a little bit of dust, pollen, or animal dander to start me sneezing…

Even while I take two medications, people are always giving me advice on how to manage my symptoms: “Sleep with a humidifier in your room.”  “Drink tea with local honey.”  “Buy a Neti-Pot.”  “Take Quercetin.”

But there’s one piece of advice I’ll never forget: one of my former co-workers suggested hypnosis.  His brother, who owned a landscaping company, suffered terrible outdoor allergies that made his work miserable; the worst being his allergic reactions to bee stings and poison ivy.  After a few sessions with the local hypnotist, his allergies were gone. 

I’m happy for his brother—but the thought of hypnosis absolutely scares me. 

Words are tremendously powerful—more than I ever think we realize. 

Whether they are spoken or written, words influence our beliefs and convictions.  They influence our behavior. 

There’s nowhere you can go to escape the words of advertisers, convincing you that we can’t be somebody without their products. 

The words of parents, teachers, friends, and role models go a long way to shape who we are.  So do the words of bullies and adversaries…

For better or worse, words move history forward.  They give birth to political, economic, social, and even religious movements.  Words get politicians elected.  Words may even take them down. Words start wars; words end wars. 

Words create life; words destroy life. 

Sadly, as a fallen humanity, we use our words for evil instead of good. 

James writes that the human tongue is aflame with the fires of hell; a deadly force that cannot be tamed. 

None of us need any reminders of this. 

Every day, our souls bleed from the wounds inflicted by others’ words.  They adhere themselves to our minds—because you can’t unhear them.  Once you speak them—you can’t unsay them…

You don’t have to be a vile, hate-filled person to speak deadly words.  You need only be stressed, exhausted, and in pain.

Right now, there are bitter wars of words being waged among political candidates and movements, all vying for power.  Wars are being fought along lines of class, race, and religion. 

Boldly, we defend the freedom of speech even when it denies the humanity and dignity of those persons it is spoken against. 

Even while we’re all guaranteed freedom to speak, not all possess the freedom to be heard. 

All told, we’re not saying what God wants us to say—nor are we hearing what God wants us to hear.  This is very dangerous—because the well-being of our souls and the well-being of our society is at stake.

With so many voices calling out for our attention, there is only one voice of truth: the voice of Jesus Christ.   Today, the Holy Spirit is opening our ears, as God fulfills the promises that have been spoken to us in the Word.  Our sins are forgiven.  We are liberated from death and the devil.  We are accepted and claimed by God just as we are.  Our prayers are being heard.  God is in control. 

And we are called by Jesus Christ to proclaim throughout the world that he is the Savior.  We’re sent not merely to be talking heads, but real-life embodiments of Jesus is.

The beginning of discipleship is listening: listening to God, but also listening to God’s people who cry out beneath the burdens of sorrow, oppression, and need.  We need the Spirit to give us the ears of Christ, because we are far more inclined to judge and ridicule others instead of offering the mercy of listening.  We’d much rather assume we know the truth about someone else instead of seeking to understand.  We’d much rather give advice and work a quick fix, instead of accompanying that person.   Truth be told, God can work amazing things through us, sometimes without us saying a word…

When we do speak, we need the Spirit’s guidance: to help us pray; to use our words to both lift up and build up…  It’s not unusual for the Holy Spirit to take our humanity and our gifts of time, talent, and treasure and translate them into saving grace.

All of this happens because the Holy Spirit implants God’s Word into our hearts, even as they are aflame with the fires of evil.  Christ comes alive as our tongues and hands bless the Lord, nurture life, and enact God’s love.

This is why it is so important to receive the Gospel—and not just with our ears, but with our eyes, our mouths, our hands, our hearts…  For as God’s Word comes to fulfillment in you, it will be coming to fulfillment in the world.  Warring peoples are reconciled; the cries of the poor are heard and their needs met; the kingdom of God takes hold in lives and communities were God’s will is done. 

Tongues are set aflame not with bitterness and hate but with the love and mercy of our God.