~~~~ James 3: 1-10 ~~~~ Psalm 12 ~~~~ Mark 9: 2-13 ~~~~
Did you know the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body and the most flexible. The tongue is crucial to speaking, eating and swallowing. The tongue heals the fastest...that is an interesting fact. Like your fingerprint everyone has a tongue print.
Today I could write about the glorious Transfiguration; when Jesus took his three closest friends with him to the mountain top. I think in his frustration that they were really not catching on as to who he actually was he wanted to give them a glimpse. Or he took his three closest friends and wanted to share with them a tiny taste of the glory that was to come. Perhaps he was trying to give them hope since he knew they were going to be witnessing the events of his crucifixion.
I have decided instead to reflect on the writing of St. James today. He has written before about keeping the tongue in control, but today he gets very graphic. I have often thought it is curious that we cannot close our ears from hearing, we have eyelids to keep our eyes from seeing, but our mouth has both teeth and lips to keep us from speaking.
It is so difficult at times to control the tongue. From the time that we are about two years old the tongue begins to get us in trouble. If you are a parent or even been around a small child you know what I am talking about. It is the little word 'No'. As a toddler we begin to test out who we are as an individual by exercising our tongue to speak the word no.
Today James is saying you have gone way beyond just saying no...you tongue is out of control. In fact he suggests that if you cannot speak well your tongue should be bridled. A bit should be placed in your mouth just as we do with a horse. That is a pretty strong image and statement.
The bridle is made of metal and covers a good part of the face in order to keep it from slipping out of the mouth. James is saying look this is what we use to make a horse obey, in fact the bridle helps the rider guide the whole horse. It does not just effect the mouth of the horse. James says,'In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.'
The truth is we have difficulty controlling what we say. It is at times like our tongue has a mind of it's own. But in reality we know we are in control of what comes out of our mouth. There is a saying I heard as a child. 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, words will never hurt me.' I really do not know where that originated, but I think we would all agree it just is not true. The words we say to another person can be very cruel and devastating. Consider the recent news stories about bullying, which often begins with cruel words directed to the intended victim.
James is saying 'no man can tame the tongue...it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.'
Full of deadly poison...just picture for a moment what your tongue would look like when you spoke words which hurt another. What if when you spoke hateful words your tongue would turn a dark shade of gray, brown, or black depending on their severity. Even after the words had been released and heard by another you would still carry on your own tongue the tell tale remnants. I think if that were to happen we might think twice before we let ugliness pass our lips.
On the other hand we have the power to speak words of kindness, love, praise, encouragement, compassion etc. These words come from the same mouth, the same tongue can form words of beauty. James says, 'From the same mouth come blessing and cursing...this need not be so.'
Back to my analogy for if when we spoke uplifting words our tongue dawned something beautiful for all to see. I think if people could see that you spoke kind loving words most of the time the whole world would be different. God, however, in his infinite wisdom did not chose to leave a visible mark on us for what comes out of our mouths.
Jesus spoke words of kindness and healing. He gave us the words of the Our Father. He taught us how to pray. We decide what words come out of our mouths.
Next time you go to Communion and place upon your tongue the Body of Christ, I invite you to pause for a minute and consider the words you speak with that same tongue.
Are they words worthy of laying Our Lord upon?
If that thought is our bridle will it change how we speak?
How will you choose to speak?
I took this picture a couple years ago of the monstrance with stained glass window in the background.
I chose this kaleidoscope image because the colors brown and green.
Do you speak words of brown that you cannot take back?
Do you speak words of green and gold that are blessings and praise?
You can chose to control your tongue without the horse's bridle...
Will you?
Today I could write about the glorious Transfiguration; when Jesus took his three closest friends with him to the mountain top. I think in his frustration that they were really not catching on as to who he actually was he wanted to give them a glimpse. Or he took his three closest friends and wanted to share with them a tiny taste of the glory that was to come. Perhaps he was trying to give them hope since he knew they were going to be witnessing the events of his crucifixion.
I have decided instead to reflect on the writing of St. James today. He has written before about keeping the tongue in control, but today he gets very graphic. I have often thought it is curious that we cannot close our ears from hearing, we have eyelids to keep our eyes from seeing, but our mouth has both teeth and lips to keep us from speaking.
It is so difficult at times to control the tongue. From the time that we are about two years old the tongue begins to get us in trouble. If you are a parent or even been around a small child you know what I am talking about. It is the little word 'No'. As a toddler we begin to test out who we are as an individual by exercising our tongue to speak the word no.
Today James is saying you have gone way beyond just saying no...you tongue is out of control. In fact he suggests that if you cannot speak well your tongue should be bridled. A bit should be placed in your mouth just as we do with a horse. That is a pretty strong image and statement.
The bridle is made of metal and covers a good part of the face in order to keep it from slipping out of the mouth. James is saying look this is what we use to make a horse obey, in fact the bridle helps the rider guide the whole horse. It does not just effect the mouth of the horse. James says,'In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.'
The truth is we have difficulty controlling what we say. It is at times like our tongue has a mind of it's own. But in reality we know we are in control of what comes out of our mouth. There is a saying I heard as a child. 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, words will never hurt me.' I really do not know where that originated, but I think we would all agree it just is not true. The words we say to another person can be very cruel and devastating. Consider the recent news stories about bullying, which often begins with cruel words directed to the intended victim.
James is saying 'no man can tame the tongue...it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.'
Full of deadly poison...just picture for a moment what your tongue would look like when you spoke words which hurt another. What if when you spoke hateful words your tongue would turn a dark shade of gray, brown, or black depending on their severity. Even after the words had been released and heard by another you would still carry on your own tongue the tell tale remnants. I think if that were to happen we might think twice before we let ugliness pass our lips.
On the other hand we have the power to speak words of kindness, love, praise, encouragement, compassion etc. These words come from the same mouth, the same tongue can form words of beauty. James says, 'From the same mouth come blessing and cursing...this need not be so.'
Back to my analogy for if when we spoke uplifting words our tongue dawned something beautiful for all to see. I think if people could see that you spoke kind loving words most of the time the whole world would be different. God, however, in his infinite wisdom did not chose to leave a visible mark on us for what comes out of our mouths.
Jesus spoke words of kindness and healing. He gave us the words of the Our Father. He taught us how to pray. We decide what words come out of our mouths.
Next time you go to Communion and place upon your tongue the Body of Christ, I invite you to pause for a minute and consider the words you speak with that same tongue.
Are they words worthy of laying Our Lord upon?
If that thought is our bridle will it change how we speak?
How will you choose to speak?
I took this picture a couple years ago of the monstrance with stained glass window in the background.
I chose this kaleidoscope image because the colors brown and green.
Do you speak words of brown that you cannot take back?
Do you speak words of green and gold that are blessings and praise?
You can chose to control your tongue without the horse's bridle...
Will you?
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