September 15, 2024 ~ 17th Sunday after Pentecost
Rev. Beckie Sweet
For the last three decades or so, our culture has been in the midst of a wonderful physical fitness craze with millions of people spending more time, attention, and resources on their physique. Recognizing the value of physical fitness as it relates to one’s overall health and continued ability to remain active, it is no wonder that Paul reminded the early Christians about how important it is to care for our bodies as a “temple for the Holy Spirit of God.”
Today, however, I will speak about a part of the body which is rarely included in physical training. It’s a small thing, but a set of active muscles – the tongue! This is a part of our anatomy which doesn’t receive much attention at the gym. To my knowledge, there has yet to be a fortune made from selling health or beauty aids for the tongue as the popularity of tongue piercings has yet to really take hold. And yet, it is one of the most active muscular organs in our bodies – some would say indispensable. We exercise it every time we eat or drink, and every time we open our mouths to speak, but we rarely think about how we use it. When was the last time you thought about the condition of your tongue?!? Is it physically fit and under control? Or is it loose and flabby due to undisciplined use?
People work hard and even punish themselves to shape up their waistlines or add muscle to their physique. In the letter we heard today, James reminds us that we should pay close attention as well to shaping up and disciplining our tongues. James goes on to infer that this would qualify as physical fitness for the soul. You might ask, “What does my tongue have to do with my soul?” Jesus made the connection very plain when saying, “I tell you, on the day of judgment you must render account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36-37) The words we speak may be much more important to God than we had realized!
As a façade of protection, we have touted phrases such as, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Some say, “talk is cheap,” meaning that words don’t count for much. And we write off the insensitive person by saying, “Oh, he is just full of hot air.” When all the while we know that words that come from one’s mouth can hurt deeply, and have long lasting, even tragic, effects on relationships.
The Bible attaches great importance to words, even if we try not to. Someone who actually counted told me that Scripture mentions the tongue some 143 times. One of these is in our text from James, which uses several images to tell us that although the size of the tongue is quite small, the use of it conveys to others that which is deep within our beings, whether that be good or evil. James even uses the image of the tongue as fire, which may be responsible for setting the whole forest ablaze!
This is fundamentally true. Words can be a fire and when people speak hateful, inflammatory words, they are as dry underbrush which spreads the fire beyond anyone’s control. Centuries ago in Salem, Massachusetts, the words, “She’s a witch!” spoken by a superstitious minister (Samuel Sewell), unleashed a fire of madness which consumed a whole town. Decades ago in Washington, D.C., the words, “He’s a communist!” spoken by a Senator from Wisconsin (Joseph MaCarthy) unleashed another form of madness which consumed a whole nation. This week, speaking about legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, a presidential candidate said, “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets….” And now there is a rash of violence aimed at Haitians, and the schools and medical facilities where services are offered.
Once this kind of “word” is spoken by someone, it is beyond any one person’s ability to control. And even IF no one knows whose tongue set the first spark, God holds us responsible for the damage we cause with words, just as the unknown person who carelessly drops a lighted match is ultimately responsible when a huge forest fire burns out of control. The scriptures also remind us that in many instances, the words that are spoken affect us more deeply than weapons of iron or steel. Words can cause the loss of love, the loss of trust, the loss of relationships which once were a source of joy.
There is no doubt that words are important, and that lack of attention to the words we use can lead to tragedy. And that is because most folks believe that words reveal something deep and intimate about the people who speak them, whether they are for good or for evil. When we open our mouths to speak, we are exposing ourselves profoundly.
When someone speaks a word of bigotry, she reveals herself as an ignorant, hate-filled person. When someone says he will do something but consistently fails to show up and do it, he reveals himself as someone who is unreliable. When people take the Lord’s name in vain or swear against God, they reveal themselves as people who have no respect for our Holy God. There are all kinds of ways in which we expose our inner nature by the words we speak.
Erskine White recounts how profoundly one person’s words affected her view of that person. This event took place in 1968, when she met a famous explorer and adventurer. Shortly after presidential candidate, Senator Robert Kennedy was killed, he made the comment: “I’m glad Bobby was shot. I never like the Kennedy’s and I think we’ll all better off with him dead. I hope they get his brother, Teddy, too.” She goes on to say that this man did many great and exciting things in his life and even received some prestigious awards for his contributions to science and charity. But she didn’t remember him for any of those things. She remembered him only as a man whose words cut like a knife, a man with so ugly a hatred inside him he wished someone dead whose politics he did not like.
When we speak of the tongue, we are indeed speaking of our spiritual anatomy. Whether our words are positive or negative, they do count to God, and can have a long lasting effect on others. For if words can destroy, they can also save. For our Christ is the Word of God, or as John 1 puts it, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God’s Word in scripture can grab people and change them in a way which no other force on earth can. What a blessing it is to discover how a word can be just as powerful in building up as in tearing down.
When you visit a friend facing particularly difficult challenges, you may pray on the way that God will give you the right words to say. How rewarding it is when your words are full of understanding, encouragement, and hope. When you praise a child for a job well done and her face lights up with joy, again, you see how much good a word can do. Sometimes the right words can lift up a whole nation, as when Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Think of what those few words did for a nation locked in the long night of economic collapse.
In reality, we know that no one is perfect. And no one has perfect control over their tongue. The scripture reminds us that, for the sake of living out the Gospel of Christ, we must try to use our words to help and heal, rather than harm one another. We know how relieved we are when faced with a difficult situation of our own making, someone approaches us with a positive suggestion and an offer of assistance, rather than just ridicule and blame.
James is offering to us this kind of prescription for spiritual health. He uses another image when he says the tongue is like the rudder of a ship at sea. The rudder may be very small, but it controls the direction of even the largest ship. Likewise, when the tongue, or the words that come from us, are filled with positive thoughts and loving care, we will be guided in the direction of living up to the words we speak. This is James’ program of physical fitness for the soul. Tame your tongue, he says, and your whole body will follow in goodness and righteousness. What comes out of your mouth is but a reflection of the spirit within.
What a difference our words can make! How important it is, when we speak, to say words to one another of Christ’s power to heal, ability to love, and desire for peace. It is literally true that words can be death or life, a cursing or a blessing. Living for Christ, we desire for our words to build up, rather than tear another down. So, let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to God, and a blessing to others, today and always. Amen.