Sermon, Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity: The Tongue

Every three years, usually in September, the Lectionary treats us to readings from the Letter of James. James’ letter acts as a foil to many of the other letters in the New Testament. Whereas Paul insists that we are justified only by faith in Christ, James makes the point that faith on its own is useless unless it cashes out in terms of ‘works’ – a practical godly life in which Christian behaviours are evident. As Philippa reminded us a fortnight ago, the letter of James is about how we live well.

James is in fact only amplifying what’s already there in the teaching of Jesus and, like Jesus before him, he’s drawing on an ancient tradition of Hebrew wisdom. Within the Hebrew Scriptures—the Christian Old Testament—the books sometimes referred to as ‘wisdom literature’ offer myriad prompts on how to live a godly life. 

Today, as well as giving some careers advice (not many of you should become teachers!), James gives us a practical application of ‘living well’ and warns against the dangers of an unbridled tongue. Some of us—of a certain age—might remember a rhyme from our childhood:

'Sticks and stones may break my bones
but names can never hurt me.’

Of course, it’s utter rubbish! The power of words to destroy, or undermine another person, is almost infinite. Anyone who has been on the receiving end of verbal abuse (whether delivered in person, in print or online) will feel as deeply battered and bruised inside as someone who has been physically beaten up - and the wounds can take a very long time to heal. James knew this. The tongue, he says, might be small, but it can cause a great deal of trouble – just like a small fire which can set a forest ablaze, or a small rudder which is able to steer a huge ship. As children of God, we have constantly to keep the tongue in check, and to keep a guard over our words so that they don’t undermine the Christian faith we claim to hold.

In James’s day, words were, on the whole, spoken. Most people would have been illiterate and so, in his letter, James focussed on the dangers of speaking. But times move on. And although the spoken word still has just as much power for good or for evil in our own day, the written word—in whatever form—is potentially even more dangerous.

Over the past few months, one of our sister cathedrals in the Southern Province has been very much in the news. There have been official statements, press reports, and numerous online discussions around events both factual and conjectural. Some of these posts make serious allegations, which might or might not be true. (Those of us who aren’t involved have absolutely no way of telling.) But damage is certainly being done. The power of the written word to destroy is immense.

I suspect that, within this congregation, there is a variable level of activity on social media. Some of us simply read what others post, and rarely comment, whereas others like to leap in and be part of the debate. But how easy it is, without thinking even, to dash off quickly something that’s untrue, half true, or even if it is true, totally damning and incredibly unkind. There is a lot of nastiness out there: comments which seek to put down rather than to build up, and a distinct failure to practise the art of disagreeing well.

As I said, James is effectively distilling the teaching of those who went before him. One of the wisdom Psalms is Psalm 15:

1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? 
Who may rest upon your holy hill?

2 Whoever leads an uncorrupt life 
and does the thing that is right;

3 Who speaks the truth from the heart 
and bears no deceit on the tongue;

‘Who speaks the truth from the heart and bears no deceit on the tongue.’ The Psalmist here makes a link between the words spoken by the tongue, and the state of a person’s heart within. In other words, the way we choose to speak reveals what’s going on inside us: the sort of people we really are.

Jesus picked up on this in his teaching about good and bad fruit. He says: 

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. (Luke 6.43, 45)

At the time of Jesus, it was believed that there was a direct link between speech and the heart. Until the second century Greek physician Galen discovered the role of the larynx in speech, it was assumed that words were quite literally ‘sent forth by the heart’. An understanding of the science of the time makes sense of the fact that both the Psalmist and Jesus see the words we use as a mark of our godliness (or lack of it) – that our words reveal our true colours.

This is the background to James’ warning about the words we use. That, on the one hand, ‘we bless the Lord and Father’ while on the other ‘we curse those who are made in the likeness of God’ (that is, our fellow human beings) (3.9). There’s a huge inconsistency here and, if we take his logic that a spring cannot ‘pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water’ (3.11), we have to conclude that we have a problem. If words reflect the state of the heart, a godly person would not curse their brother or sister, and an ungodly person would not bless God. 

Of course, none of us is entirely bad or entirely good. We are all complex contradictions. St Paul’s great summary of the human problem puts it as well as anything:

'I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.' (Romans 7.19)

Paul acknowledges that our intentions are often good, but that we fail to live up to them.

So where do we stand in all this as Christians? The answer is ‘between a rock and a hard place.’ Controlling our tongue (or our keypad or keyboard) is one of the hardest things we will ever have to manage. But tame the tongue we must. If we find ourselves in a conversation (spoken on online) which is moving into the realms of gossip or character assassination, we have to find it in us to say ‘Stop! I’m out of this.’ This takes courage, but it really matters; and there will be times when the fact that we call a halt to things can help others think more carefully about their own words. Taking care over the use of our words can stop emotions getting out of hand and unnecessary arguments beginning. The decisions we make about what we say can heal or crush others.

Words can, and often are, spoken hastily. How many times have you or I said something (perhaps in the heat of the moment) and then thought ‘I wish I’d bitten my tongue (metaphorically!) I should never have said that?’ We do it all the time. And then there is only one thing we can do: to come clean and say ‘I’m sorry. I was out of order.’

James’ letter offers us wisdom, but also forces us to choose our standards. Are we fresh water or salt? Do we bless or do we curse? As Christians, we don’t have the option to run with the hare and the hounds: we are on one side or the other. We have to choose whom to serve. We might be able, some of the time, to deceive others or deceive ourselves, but we can’t deceive God who looks, not on the outward appearance, but on the heart.

So, an exercise for us to take away and work through during the week ahead. How does Christian behaviour look when it comes to our words? Does our behaviour flow out of our faith, or are the two in conflict? What is going on in our hearts? I encourage each of us each to sit down at the end of each day and think this one through. What have I said today? How did I say it? Did I speak words to build up and bless, or to destroy and curse? And if I’ve had to criticise someone, perhaps at work, how did I do it? And what have I written: my emails, texts, online conversations? Have they been what God would want of me – or do I need to repent, to change the direction I’ve been going, and ask for God’s help to put it right? The aim, as ever, is not to make us descend into a spiral of despair, but to encourage us to let God change us by the Holy Spirit into the people God wants us to be.

As the Letter of James says, ‘be doers of the word, and not forgetful hearers only.’

Let us pray.

O God, save us from ourselves,
from double standards
and divided hearts,
that our words would build up and not destroy, 
and that others may hear from us your truth 
and see in us your love, 
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.