James 3:1-12
September 13, 2009
Patrick Preheim
Training the Tongue
Last Sunday I was away from NPMC and worshipped in another Mennonite
congregation. It was Christian Education Sunday there and during the
congregational prayer the worship leader beautifully blessed teachers and
students, but few of us heard any of his words. Just as the worship leader
started thanking God for the gift of children and admitting the challenge of
teaching them little Abby started wailing from the 4th row. Despite the worship
leader’s amplification, the cries of Abby overrode his calm words. I don’t know
if she bumped her head or if her sister took her book, but Abby’s voice filled
the sanctuary. Abby’s parent seemed unsure if the outburst warranted removal
from worship, so Abby kept trying to draw attention to her plight. The worship
leader was sure the outburst did not warrant corrective action, so he kept on
praying. He kept invoking God’s peace and God’s blessing on the children even
though Abby was unable to hear him at the moment. He kept on invoking God’s
wisdom on parents and teachers even though we could barely hear him above the
shrill cry. To stop his prayer or draw attention to Abby might have shamed her
or her parent, so he choose to keep praying even though no one was listening.
From the safety of my bench I chuckled at the irony of the situation, grateful
that I was neither Abby nor the worship leader. He embodied Christian education
for me that day. Sometimes Christian education comes from the words we speak.
And sometimes Christian education comes from the words we choose not to use.
“All of the wisdom of the ancient Mediterranean world, both Greco-Roman and
Jewish, agreed on certain points concerning the power and perils of speech. From
the sages of ancient Egypt, through the biblical books of Proverbs and Sirach,
to the essays of Plutarch and Seneca, there is a consensus that silence is
better than speech, that hearing, not speaking, is the pathway to wisdom” (Luke
T. Johnson, “The Letter of James” in The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary
in Twelve Volumes; volume 12, p.204). And yet James has a different motivation
for training one’s tongue. “In the Hellenistic world, silence was...for the most
part...a matter of cultivating individual virtue. Although it was recognized
that speech could do harm to others, more emphasis was placed on the ridicule
and shame that uncontrolled speech brought upon the loquacious person. In
contrast, James[‘s]... religious framework is that of Torah. He evaluates speech
in relational—that is covenantal—terms” (Ibid). Faithful speech, James might
say, is that which blesses God by building up the community. James focuses on
God and community while the philosophers focus on the self.
The words we choose, or sometimes refrain from using, help form a good creation.
I use the phrase “good creation” because there are very strong linguistic links
between James 3 and the first chapter of Genesis in which God speaks a word and
aspects of the earth come into being-- all of which are good (see Luke T.
Johnson’s article cited earlier, p.205-206). James 3:9 reminds us that all are
created in the image of God (Gen 1:26). The mention of “beast and bird, of
reptile and sea creature” in James 3:7 echoes Genesis (1:20,26). And naturally
both passages deal with words: God’s word forming the earth in Genesis and the
words of Christians in shaping the spirit of the fledgling church.
We too are in the business of creating things. Like God and the early church we
are invited to use our silence and words so that good things might be created. A
2002 study on family life reported in the APA Journal of Family Psychology ("A
Review of 50 Years of Research on Naturally Occurring Family Routines: Cause for
Celebration?" by Barbara H. Fiese, Syracuse University, Vol. 16, No. 4)
scientifically verified something we all intuitively know: family routines and
rituals help create stable homes. Religious education aside, rituals such as
saying “I love you” before a child or spouse leaves for the day help create an
environment of love. On this topic of saying “I love you” I was intrigued to
read this summer that pollsters have financially quantified the value of the
sincerely spoken “I love you”. They are worth over £163,000, which is about
$320,000 Canadian dollars (appeared in the Daily Telegraph on July13, 2009).
These precious words are not as expensive as the pegged price for good health,
but more valuable than going on a holiday, laughing regularly, or having sex.
(This slap stick study was conducted as preparation for the book launch of You
Are Really Rich, You Just Don't Know It Yet from former ad executives Steve
Henry and David Alberts.) Jesting aside, is it that difficult for us to once a
day tell the people we have covenanted to care for that we love them? There is a
strong biblical tradition asserting that we shape reality by the words we use.
When we say “I love you”, or God bless you, or say prayers at meal time we
create a spiritual and physical reality. I would even go so far as to say that
the hastily spoken and less than sincere table grace “Come Lord Jesus, be our
guest, and let this food to us be blessed, Amen” has some formative power. When
we say “I love you” we create love in ourselves, others, and the home. Words
have a power to shape our lives.
We also create good things with our words in worship. Arnie’s recognition of
this year’s teachers is significant. When we hold up and bless others in our
worship we strengthen the work of the teachers. This past Tuesday Sandy Wieler
Huebert, daughter of Fred and Betty, shared about her mission work in Mexico.
She began the story of her mission work, however, with a litany of thanksgiving
for the teachers and mentors she had here at Nutana Park Mennonite Church. She
named the former pastors, Sunday School teachers, club leaders, and missionaries
connected to this congregation as primary to her openness to serve God in
Mexico. When we bless our teachers, whether we recognize it or not, we are
empowering them to prepare the next generation of Christian missionaries,
pastors, business women, parents, and church volunteers. We help shape our
teachers with the words we use to dedicate them. Also a part of our worship this
morning has been Sara’s Encounter with God from her service this past summer at
Camp Shekinah. All through the summer we have been hearing these brief
vignettes. I believe the regular speaking of these encounters by individuals is
creating a sensitivity to God’s presence among the congregation at large. God
has always been present, but the speaking of our encounters is creating our
awareness of God’s activity. We create awareness of God by speaking of God. We
create a good spirit in our congregation by naming the work of God.
Speaking a good creation into being in our homes and church is good for our
cities and country as well. We are likely headed for another federal campaign
and words have already started flying between the competing parties. The words I
have heard from the competitors have not been good words. They have been words
designed to create fear and distrust. The disparaging words actually shape a
negative reality for Canadian society. Regardless of our political alignment or
our economic philosophy we need to name attack and smear advertisements as
wrong, evil if you will. When viewed among friends the negative ads need to be
challenged on the spot. When our political leaders, or gossipy friends, are
unwilling to admit the power of speech it is our religious mandate, like James,
to train others in using good words.
Good words are needed for civil society and political parties whose whining
gains steam.
Good words are needed for any church community when bumps or ego bruises raise
shrill cries.
Good words are needed for our homes when our own insecurities make us and others
wail.
Friends, let us keep invoking God’s peace and blessing even when they cannot be
heard over the tumult. Let us voice the peace and love of God so that it might
create a good reality in home, church, and community. Amen.