James 3:1-12—The
Christian faith is expressed in a tamed tongue. Because a teacher has great
influence, he will be held more accountable. See Matthew 23:1-33. Since the
tongue is so difficult to control, anyone who controls it perfectly gains
control of himself in all other areas of life as well. This is a lesson each
must bear in mind. Gossip, slander, and malice are all deadly.
According to James, we speak with a fundamental
contradiction. With the same mouth, we praise and curse God. With the same
tongue, we decry and up-build our neighbor. With the same words, we can help
others or crush their hopes. Thus it should be little surprise that we embrace
political discourses that use words as cruel, blunt weapons.
Dishonesty has a corrosive effect on both its speaker
and hearer. Such words weigh us all down. Unfortunately, partisanship too
easily justifies a loose relationship with reality. No one but the most
partisan among us imagines that “our” side of the debate is the only one that
is honest and the other side always lies. Mendacity is not a partisan
attribute. That the other side has lied does not justify the mendacity of those
we tend to support.
Accusing the other side of deception furthermore hides
a critical insight of James. The destructive power of words is insidious and
infective. The more we are inundated with it, the easier it is to slide into
the corrosive but easy discourses that sever relationships.
In the end, James suggests that there is never a
relationship between humans and God which is not at the very same time manifest
and embodied in our relationships with our sisters and brothers. In James, sin,
suffering and illness are communal hardships just as much as they are
individual ills. Their alleviation is affected through communal liturgies as
much as personal confession. None of us — no matter our importance in the world
— are independent, unfazed atoms. Instead, we are links in an unbreakable
chain. For James, there is no knowledge
of God that does not force an individual to gaze into the eyes of another
person and realize her inextricability from the links of Christian community.
In short, we are always and inevitably bound to our
neighbors.[2]
[1] Luther’s Seal, copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/james-31-12-sticks-stones-and-the-power-of-words-_b_1875518#:~:text=James%203%3A1%2D12%20speaks,proliferation%20of%20a%20fiery%20blaze.
[3] Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing
House, St. Louis
No comments:
Post a Comment