9-16-12
Jerusalem
3Not many
of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we
who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2For 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. 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses to
make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4Or 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. 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it
boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6And 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. 7For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea
creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of
deadly poison.9With it
we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the
likeness of God. 10From the same mouth
come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and
brackish water?12Can a fig
tree, my
brothers and sisters,
yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
I
am completely convinced that we as a human race have managed to break the speed
of light. And we didn’t do it through
our legs or on wheels or in a plane. No,
instead we have broken the speed of light with our mouths, because that seems
to be how fast gossip gets around a community.
It is as if as soon as someone does something that is embarrassing or
upsets someone else, the whole world needs to know within a millisecond.
We
are all guilty of it. Who here hasn’t
just had to share some juicy bit of gossip?
Or who here hasn’t had to run off to someone to complain about someone
else, to turn that person into an enemy and poison another against them, or
just tried to break them down for some real or imagined slight against you? Those words carry great power and have the
capacity to destroy relationships among people.
I know that I have lost many a friend over some words and some gossip,
whether it is true or not.
James
tells us that the tongue is a fire, that the tongue has the great capacity to
destroy whole forests in life, and by that we mean it has the power to destroy entire
systems, entire families, whether they be biological or the church family. What we say to one another matters, as does
how we say it. When we are hostile, when
we spread gossip, when we spew hatred and fear, then our tongues do great
damage, damage that is extremely hard to heal from. Our words can brew distrust and they can
create discord in areas of peace and harmony.
Our words have the power to block out the One True Word from being heard
as well, for when our words are filled with evil, then Jesus is seen in a much
darker light, for we are the body of Christ, they way in which all those around
us see and hear God. So if we speak in
the ways of the world and in the ways of Sin, then our God will become too much
enthralled to the ways of the world, and Sin will cover our ears from hearing
God’s grace and love for us.
But
our tongues are not meant purely for destruction. After all, a fire is useful for more than
just burning down forests. With fire we
are able to warm ourselves during a cold night.
With fire we are able to cook our food, to make it safe and so much
tastier to eat. With fire we are able to
purify instruments, so that they may be safely used as well. Fire can also be used to create steam and
power engines. Fire can warm, it can
cook, it can purify and it can power.
And our tongues are also useful in many ways as well. They can be tamed and used to be a blessing
to our community of faith and to the kingdom of God instead of being
destructive tools. How? By speaking well of one another, instead of
cursing one another. By promoting the
love and the grace of God in public, instead of speaking harshly of our
brothers and sisters and this congregation.
Be reminding each other every day that “God love you, and so do I!”
We
can also build each other up by thanking each other and showing appreciation
for one another’s gifts. Now this is
something that I am admittedly not the best at doing. Often times I forget to take into account all
the hard work that the people around me do in order to get things done, just
because I am wrapped up in my own little world.
I can be very quick to judge and to criticize, sometimes forgetting to
even be constructive with my criticism.
And this is something that I am working on, and it is something that I
know can be destructive and can be a way that the tongue creates disastrous
wildfires. So, I would like to take a
few moments to work on being more appreciative to your ministry hear at
Jerusalem and some individuals.
(Thank a few people in the congregation for
their hard work and ministry)
Now will each of you please take a moment and
turn to a person near you and thank them for their ministry and for their
impact in your lives as well.
……
Each of you here is a vital part of our
community of faith, each of you vital to the kingdom of God. I pray that our tongues will help us to lift
one another up, instead of tear each other down, and that they may support the
ministry of our community, of God’s church.
Yes, our tongues may be causes of great disasters, but they are also the
rudder that guides our lives. May they
lead us in ways of peace, and love, and compassion, that we may bear good fruit
and fresh water that nourishes our community and world.
Amen.
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