Readings for Proper 18B:
Mark 7:31-37; James 1:17-27
September 10, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA
Then looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed and said: “Be open.” And immediately the deaf man’s ears were open and his tongue was released and he spoke plainly. [Mk. 7] On this fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, I want to talk about waging reconciliation. In particular I will talk about right speech and right listening as an integral part of the reconciliation process. I will use today’s readings from the Epistle of James and the Gospel of Mark as my texts.
Two weeks after the terrorist attacks in 2001, the bishops of the Episcopal Church met at the Radisson Hotel in Burlington Vermont for a conference on “Waging Reconciliation”. They discussed such issues as the Church’s Mission in the midst of suffering, combating racism, the HIV/AIDs crisis, a new Creation, the social gospel, a call for moral imagination, poverty, sexism, and pluralism. Behind the altar, in a makeshift chapel within the hotel, was a four-foot cross. The materials of the cross and corpus were constructed of discarded bits and pieces of wood the artist had collected at a construction site in lower Manhattan, just three days prior to the events of 9/11. In the belt of the Jesus figure hanging on the cross were five nails, from the five wounds of Christ. In his right hand was a hammer. Painted on the horizontal of the cross were the words: “Rebuild the world in me.” [See Waging Reconciliation, edited by Ian Douglas, 2002]
“Rebuild the world in me!” What will it take for us to rebuild in Christ, this broken world of ours? How do we begin? What tactics do we embrace? What kind of effort will be required? What kind of changes and sacrifices will be required on our part? In difficult times, many folks look out into the international sphere and try to come up with quick solutions to world peace. Soon they either retreat- disheartened by their lack of power and influence, or else they attack- believing that violence will stop violence. You would think that after thousands and thousands of years of violence and wars, we would try something different; something that might actually work in the long run. But we don’t. And we try. And we fail. And peace eludes us. We have fought fire with fire, never thinking that fire is better quenched with water. Perhaps our biggest mistake is that we leave Christ, the Prince of Peace, out of the equation, plowing ahead with our own view, voice, fear, and ignorance.
Rebuilding the world in Christ requires that we do a better job in listening to one another. It requires that we learn to speak to each other in ways that engender understanding, build relationships, and develop compassion. Today’s readings speak to this goal. In the Epistle of James, we hear about the importance of bridling our tongue. Who among us hasn’t spoken words that we wish were never uttered? Who among us hasn’t been the victim of someone else’s poisonous words? The Epistle of James says: “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.” [James 1]
In chapter III, James goes on to say: “The tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! The tongue is 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. With the tongue we bless the Lord and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessings and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.” [James 3] Words do matter. They can reconcile or they can divide.
So let’s review the teaching on right speech since this is a key to reconciliation. First there is the obvious: abstain from telling lies, backbiting, slander, abusive language, and talk that may bring about hatred, disunity, or disharmony among individuals or groups of people. Triangulation and grumbling fall into this category for they break the bonds of affection within a community of faith. That is why if you have a complaint against another, you need to go directly to the person rather than complain and grumble to somebody else. Next, we need to abstain from idle, useless, and foolish babble and gossip. Listen to the conversations that you are engaged in. Are they wholesome, healing, and meaningful? If you find rude or impolite thoughts coming to the surface, they need to be filtered rather than spoken. When we abstain from these forms of wrong and harmful speech, we naturally begin to speak the truth.
Our yes must be must be yes and our no must be no. I have noticed many parents telling their children no, only later to be harassed into saying yes. If our children are to learn right speech, we must teach them by personal example. Wishy-washy, passive aggressive, and indirect speech shelters the truth and there is no place for this kind of deceit in the kingdom of God. When you say yes, do not break your commitment.
For reconciliation to occur, we need to choose words that are benevolent, pleasant, gentle, meaningful, direct, honest, and useful. We should speak up only at the right time and the right place. If we cannot say something useful, we should remain silent. “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.” [James 1]
In today’s gospel story, Jesus heals a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. What strikes me most about this story is, that during the process of healing, Jesus looks up to heaven (meaning calling upon the spirit of God), sighs, and then with one, direct, Aramaic word, says: “Be open.” This concise, yet powerful command is effective. While many of us have perfectly good eardrums and well-articulated speech, we still have impediments when it comes to listening to opposing viewpoints and speaking the good news in Christ. All of us could use Jesus’ healing touch to help us with right listening and right speech. Perhaps before we open our mouths or sit down to really listen to another, we also need to look up to heaven, and allow God’s words to become our words.
During my last Women Touched by Grace Program, Sister Mary Margaret Funk, rehearsed with us, her talk to a group of interfaith leaders from the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities. This group was trying to enhance dialogue and understanding among people with different religious viewpoints. She said, that to every dialogue we bring a view, a voice, and a vocation. A view is your opinion, your view of the world or how the world ought to be. There is usually a lot of ego and distortion in one’s view because it is often self-centered and no one person has the whole truth. A voice is what you say when you speak up. A vocation is your true identity as a child of God.
So in order for true dialogue and reconciliation to occur, we need to move beyond simply expressing our own views. View exchange does little to bring harmony and resolution in the midst of conflict or opposition. We need to go deeper than debating or negotiating our own views. This means we need to include the voice of Christ in our dialogues; a voice that is seeped in prayer, humility, and charity. It means that we speak from our vocation as a baptized Christian, seeking justice, peace, and the dignity of every human being. Those who serve the truth do not need to defend it with violence or negativity. The truth is larger than we are. And so rebuilding the world in Christ means we need to become servants of the Truth, not defenders of our own viewpoint.
So how should ordinary, well-meaning Christians respond to the violence in the world? How can we, who have little power to effect international policy, make a difference? I say: reach out your hands in your own sphere of influence and start making peace in that sphere. Forgiveness and reconciliation begins with you. We cannot achieve peace until we learn how to listen to one another and use our speech to bless rather than to curse.
“Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [Collect of the Day, BCP 233]
| Updated 9/12/06 |
|