September 16th:
Call: Proverbs 6: 16-19 Text: James 3: 1-12 Read: Psalm 19 (750) I had a delightful experience this past week. One of our parishioners told me That I had turned him on to "James" And that he had read that letter three times. in the ten days since we began September with that letter I was delighted! And I remain delighted. I was and I am delighted that he had responded so enthusiastically to that letter I was and I am delighted that he had found reading it such a joy. And, as a person who also finds the letter inspiring I was and I am delighted that I had been a part of his finding that joy. I don't say that in an egotistical manner It's not "Look what I did.!" I say it rather in the sense of someone who is both awed and pleased to find that something he had done had mattered to and helped to enrich the life & faith of someone else. That is an awesome experience And one that I suspect several people in this congregation have had At various times in his or her life. And although I knew that it was God's words through James that had had the impact I was pleased to be the one who introduced the parishioner to the letter writer. Very much like the two female classmates in my first lay speaking class had introduced that same letter writer to me - two decades ago. But this morning, I feel guilty For despite that delightful experience And despite my own love and respect for James' letter I am about to suggest to you That I wish James had consulted me When he wrote the first 12 verses in chapter three of his letter. It's not that I disagree with the point he was making. Certainly not! It's not that I think that his point was unimportant Absolutely not! I just would have liked a little more balance in his discussion of the tongue. A balance he could have obtained if he had asked me for advice. For the way he wrote this part of his letter Brings to my mind a television ad for a medication That fails to tell us what good the medication can do. And only tells us of the medication's possible negative side effects. It is as if the voice in an ad for a fictional medication Which I will call "Clarexium" Told us only the following "Clarexium is not for everyone In a clinical trial at Clarkson University a small number of participants suffered serious headaches, loss of appetite, and an uncontrollable tendency to laugh at pastors' jokes. If you find that you experience significant hair loss or insomnia, you should stop using Clarexium immediately and call your doctor. Clarexium is not for women who are pregnant, nursing, or about to become pregnant or for persons of either gender who are under 31 1/2." As we visualize this ad we can picture a woman who looks ill, drained, and lethargic at the beginning of the commercial but who is shown as being energetic, smiling, and cheerful probably playing with her dog or her granddaughter after taking Clarexium BUT unlike the medication ads we have all seen on television, Our imagined ad for Clarexium does not tell us what the good aspects of Clarexium are Or for what ailment or condition we should use it. Our flawed fictional ad is how I see this part of James I admit that the image that I have presented in the Clarexium ad Is somewhat exaggerated. But keep it in mind as you hear the text. [James 3: 1-12] What do we take from this? The tongue is a fire set by hell It stains the whole body It can curse those made in the likeness of God It can be like brackish water Every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed But no one can tame the tongue. That's what James writes. Now, the tongue can indeed be a dangerous instrument Verbal lashings are at times more painful than physical lashings And we far more frequently say hurtful things to others Than we do acts that cause or create physical pain. The other day in our Bible Study on the three kings of a unified Israel I commented that if I had been Saul I would rather have had God put me to death than make me live the remainder of my life knowing that God had said, "I regret that I made him king." Imagine waking up each morning with those words ringing in your head with their reminder that you had let God down. Words can hurt. The tongue can convey Disappointment, anger, hate, or insult. That is why we do need James' warnings. And there is certainly no question that we do need to be careful about what we say and how we say it. As James puts it, we do need to tame our tongues But - and here is where I do disagree with the letter writer who shares my name - I am convinced that we can tame our tongues. It takes work. It takes commitment. It takes faith. But we can tame them And we tame them by responding to situations and people with the characteristics that God admires most The characteristics that Christ most clearly exemplified Love, forgiveness, unselfishness, humility, and compassion, If we allow those characteristics to become an inherent part of us We can tame our tongues You and I need James' warnings some of us may need them more than others and hopefully those of us who do, know who we are but all of us need them Those about to use our fictional drug Clarexium Need its warnings as well They are essential. But as Clarexium can be used to make a number of people healthier the tongue can be used to promote and proclaim God's presence To celebrate God's love To comfort God's people. Our hymns teach us what our tongues are for They give us the message missing from James's letter When we close this service We will do so by singing "O, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing" A hymn that has been the very first hymn in all but one of the five full hymnals that our denomination has used since it published its first one - back in the 1870s. That hymn has been first Not because Charles Wesley wrote it (although didn't hurt) It has been first because of its message. A message that clearly shows what the tongue is for: To sing our great redeemer's praise To tell of the glory of our God and king And to tell also of the triumphs of his grace. And in that hymn we pray That our master and God assist us to proclaim And spread through all the earth abroad The honors of his name. Yes! Yes! Yes! This morning's first hymn put it even more succinctly Christ for all the word we sing (and by doing so) The world to Christ we bring Isn't that our task as Christians? To be witnesses and to make disciples of and for Jesus the Christ? By telling the world about him And bringing the world to him. In trying to do that, We use the very tongues about which James warns us. That brings us to the other disagreement I have with James He writes that the tongue is set on fire by hell. It can be. But for those of us who are awed at our having felt Christ's love And experienced Christ's presence The tongue can also be set on fire by the Holy Spirit Whose very representation is a flame And the tongue can thus be the spark To combat injustice and oppression To share Christ's message of love, mercy, and kindness And Thus set the entire world on fire for Christ. But, If James had called me and asked for my advice and my help As he prepared a revised edition of his letter And if I had suggested that he take this more balanced approach I suspect that he would have smiled and responded, "I thought about doing just that. For you are right about the tongue also being a positive gift." "But then I realized that if I had taken your approach My presentation of the positive aspects Would have made my warnings so easy to swallow That you and the congregation you serve Might well have overlooked them And not be talking and thinking about them 2000 years later." And then it would have been my turn to smile And say, "You are right." And thereby acknowledge that that James knew better than this one.