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Bridling the Tongue
If anyone among you bridleth not his tongue,
this man’s religion is vain.
James 1:26
The Letter of James, from which our Epistle is taken, is an oddity in the New Testament canon. Jesus is scarcely mentioned, and there is not a word about the cross and resurrection.
Luther believed that James’ assertion that “faith without works is dead” (2:26) contradicted Paul’s claim that “we are justified by faith” (Romans 5:1). He branded the letter “an epistle of straw” and relegated it to the back of his German translation of the New Testament.
James is full of ethical instruction, and in this it contrasts with the Gospel of John, from which we have our second reading (John 16:23-33). For John there is really only one commandment, to love other members of the community (John 15:12.17). Now it is true that love is the basis for all ethical actions, but sometimes we need to be told what loving behavior actually looks like.
James has one of the strongest affirmations in the Bible of the obligation to help the poor:
If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,”
without giving them the things needed for the body,
what does it profit?
2:15-16
James’ concern about sins of the tongue suggests that this was a problem in his community. He returns to the subject later in the letter:
No human being 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.
3:8-9
There is a saying that “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me.” We all know that this is untrue, because we have all been hurt by things said about us, including things said behind our backs. A nasty remark about this parish some years ago made its way back here and caused hurt and anger in those of us who heard about it, particularly since it was untrue.
In Homer’s Iliad there is a frequently recurring phrase:
What is this word that has escaped the barrier of your teeth?
This striking metaphor reminds us that the word, once spoken, cannot be unspoken. We may “take it back,” we may say we are sorry, but the harm has been done and may be irreparable.
In the beloved motion picture Bambi, one of the animal characters gives some advice which we might all take to heart:
If you can’t say something nice about someone,
don’t say anything at all!
May 1, 2005
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