OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! James, some would say, tells it like it is!
Our age has trained us in many new ways of learning and understanding. The computer chip and the communications satellites have opened unknown vistas for everyone. Together they have helped individuals around the world to become a community of quite critical individuals. Typing one incorrect key on the keyboard can produce results that damage or destroy hours of intense work. Events and cultural exchanges enter our lives each day through television and radio.
James, at the outset of the third chapter of his instruction to the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem, must be addressing a serious problem in the community: the wagging tongue. His words seem fitting for our times as well. Is it not a true challenge to see where there is a line between good, helpful, constructive criticism and damaging, hurtful gossiping, guised as something good? Criticism seems to have left respect and admiration as little used ways of human interaction. Whether regarding matters of race, education, religion, family life and on and on, the wagging tongue has resulted in hurt to many ... even to the point in our most recent week: an adult, posing as a teenage boy, viciously attacks a young girl on the Internet ... and ultimately brings about the young lady's suicide.
It may be very easy to point fingers at politicians and truly "sick" individuals. But each of us should consider what we say about others. James offers an interesting picture: a large ship, he notes, even one driven by strong, storm winds, is "steered by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot's inclination wishes." Then he applies the picture to the lives of his hearers. "In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions." The next sentence amplifies his message: "Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. The tongue is also a fire."
This is much to take to one's heart. One question, though. What comes from my mouth? "From the same mouth come curses and blessings." Which is the winner?
We are called to grieve our losses. It seems paradoxical,
but healing and dancing begin with
looking squarely
at what causes the pain.
(Henri Nouwen)
