September 16, 2012

“The Power of the Word

James 3:1-12

September 16, 2012

The Prayers of the People

With our tongues we bless the Lord and Father and beg for mercy on all in need.

Lord, have mercy.

For our Regional Ministers Bill, Steve, LaTaunya, and Brenda, for this gathering, and for the whole people of God in every place.

Lord, have mercy.

For our Elders, our Board Chair, Laurie, and all the leaders of First Christian Church.

Lord, have mercy.

For mercy, peace, and justice among all peoples.

Lord, have mercy.

For the families of those killed by violence at the American consulate in Libya, an all victims of violence.

Lord, have mercy.

For those who run for public office and their families,

Lord, have mercy.

For abundant fruits of the earth, and for safety from violent storms.

Lord, have mercy.

For the sick and the suffering, travelers, prisoners, captives, and their families, and all those in desperate need.

Lord, have mercy.

For our city and those who live in it, and for our families, companions, and all those we

love.

Lord, have mercy.

For those who rest in Christ and for all the dead.

Lord, have mercy.

For all that we pray in silence.

Lord, have mercy.

Lifting our voices with all creation, let us offer ourselves and one another to the living God. To you, O Lord. God of infinite mercy, hear the prayers we offer this day through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

James 3.1-12

3.1Brothers 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 But, No one can tame the tongue. 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.

In my first round of graduate school at Tulane University more than thirty years ago, their was a young woman named Eileen in our group—a lovely woman—beautiful, talented, intelligent. But, there was just one thing about her. She had the most foul vocabulary you could imagine. To say that she cursed like a sailor was an insult to sailors everywhere.

Anyway, one day, we were working together on a project—all of us in the group, about six of us, and Eileen let loose one of her typical streams of obscenities, profanities, and vulgarities, prompting one of the other grad students who'd finally had enough to inquire, “Hey,Eileen, do you eat with that mouth?”

She shut up.

The implication was clear. How could you possibly put food in the same mouth which produced such filth? Surely doing so would make one ill. Such is the power of the word.

What's that rhyme we were taught to say when we were called names as children? Oh, yeah, “Sticks and stones may beak my bone, but words will never hurt me.” The very existence of this saying proves that it is a lie. Words do hurt—perhaps even more than sticks and stones and fists and kicks. Maybe even more than knives and bullets. Such is the power of the word.

The story is told of two women in a church. One of them told a juicy piece of gossip against the other—and it was false, of course. And the one who had sinned against her sister went to the pastor and told him, “I have sinned against my church and my sister, and I seek your forgiveness and God's forgiveness.”

The pastor said, “You must perform an act of contrition, first.”

“Anything,” the woman begged, “anything.”

The pastor asked, “Do you have a down pillow at you home?”

She said she did. She was told to go and get it.

The pastor stood with the woman on the front lawn of the church, and pretty soon, the whole congregation gathered on the lawn with them.

The pastor then took out a large knife and split the pillow in two, allowing the feathers to scatter to the wind.

And then, he said to the woman, “Go collect all the feathers, and put them back in the pillow.”

“But, that's impossible,” she complained. “They're everywhere! There's no way to put them pack.”

And the pastor said, “Nor is there any way to repair your sister's reputation. Once you speak, it is hard to take back a word.”

Which is another lie we tell as children. We demand that something offensive, or disagreeable, or false be taken back. But, we know that no word, once spoken can ever be recalled. Such is the power of the word.

Remember the children's moment? It's very easy to get toothpaste out of the tube, but very difficult to get it back in. No, impossible.

But, that is not the way we were ever meant use our tongues.

God loves to be praised. God loves to be worshiped.

In the Garden of Eden, the purpose of the tongue was to give praise and thanksgiving to God and to one another.

It amazes me but there is something about God that really enjoys praise and thanksgiving. God needs it. God takes pleasure in it. God asks for it. All through the Bible, God wants and asks for praise and thanksgiving. The psalms are filled with praise and thanksgiving. These psalms are filled with it, as if God wants it. As if God needs it. As if God absolutely enjoys it.

We human beings are the same. In fact, all people that I know enjoy praise and thanksgiving. I will ask you. Is there anyone here that does not enjoy praise? Is there anyone here who does not enjoy praise? I will ask you another question: is there anyone here in this room who does not enjoy thanksgiving? Is there anyone here like that?

Why is it that all human beings enjoy praise and thanksgiving? Because we are made in the image of God. We are like God, and God likes praise and thanksgiving. God expects it. God desires it. God absolutely exults in it. And we are the same as God.

And, God does not like to be judged, ridiculed, ignored, belittled, or put down. God does not like that. We don’t either. And why don’t we like that? Because we are in the image of God. We are like God. And God put a tongue in our mouth to do that, to give thanks and praise.

God didn’t put a brain in our head so we could think praise and thanksgiving towards God and others. God didn’t simply put a heart in our bodies so we could feel praise and thanksgiving. But God gave us a tongue so we could express praise and thanksgiving to God and to one another. That is the purpose of the tongue: to express praise and thanksgiving to God and to one another.

This is at the heart of a person’s self esteem. All people, whether they be little children or older adults, need strong self esteem. Self esteem is built and nourished and enlarged when those people receive praise and thanksgiving. As much as a garden needs rain in order to grow, so we need praise and thanksgiving to be healthy human beings. That is the way we are wired. Such is the power of the word.

The opposite is also true. The cruelest, unkind things you can ever do is to withhold praise and thanksgiving from God or from one another. To withhold praise and thanksgiving from a child is one of the cruelest things that could ever be done to a child. And to withhold praise and thanksgiving from a youth, is one of the cruelest things that a person could do. To withhold praise and thanksgiving from one’s spouse or children or family or friends, that is not the way God made us. God has made the tongue in such a way is that we are to express praise and thanksgiving…to sinful people. Some folks have the attitude, “Well, if you are good enough, then I will tell you how much I love you.” No, the whole concept of grace is to express praise and thanksgiving to sinful imperfect people since that is the only kind of people that there are.

A word. It is so small. It is so small but it is so significant. You can take a little rudder and you can steer a great big ship. You can take a small bridle and you can steer a great big horse. You take words and steer the whole direction of our personality. Jesus said, “This is the fundamental moral law by which you are to live. Treat others ass you would have them treat you.”

If you don’t believe words can steer you like a rudder steers a ship, let me give you an assignment: For every person you meet this week, try to find at least one word of praise or thanksgiving--or both. I promise you will feel better about yourself in the process. And that will be Good news for you, Good News for Mansfield, Good news for First Christian Church, and Good News for the world. Amen.