Friday 1 November 2024
James 3: 1 – 12
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.
Reflection
Like all great teachers James knows how to admit vulnerability – recognising we all make mistakes – but also how to communicate truth simply and powerfully. Here he focuses on communication itself – the human tongue – challenging us to use the gift of speech carefully and creatively – and turn away from words that denigrate, damage and destroy. To help press home his point he gives us wonderfully vivid pictures of the power of speech. The tongue is like a bridle controlling the horse, a rudder steering a great ship, a tiny fire setting the whole forest ablaze, a wild creature that cannot be tamed or a spring of water flowing either with fresh sparkling water or brackish bitter water.
At times you may feel that James is being extreme in his view of the tongue’s destructive properties. In part that reflects the influence of the Jewish tradition of teaching, which uses this kind of language to emphasise a point. But it also reflects reality as we know it. Our lives and world today are filled with more words than ever – a constant stream and barrage of news and gossip and comment. Within that outflow of words, hate speech, fake news, conspiracy theories, spin and newspeak, manipulation and scams all damage communication and trust.
However, James’ real focus is not the world but the Church community. It is there he wants to challenge his brothers and sisters to use their words with care and consistency. He is appalled to see our tongues being used to bless God one moment and curse human beings in the next. For James this inconsistency damages both our relationships with each other and our relationship with God. It undermines both our humanity and our worship. Integrity and consistency are at the heart of James teaching here – and a deep belief in the worth of every human being, made in God’s likeness, made to reflect God’s loving nature. May we hear his words today and speak with love.
Prayer
God whose word brought life into being,
touch our tongues with the fire of your Spirit,
that the words of praise we offer to you
may echo in our everyday speech,
to bring blessing to others,
fresh and sparkling, bright and clear,
reflecting your true likeness in them and us. Amen