May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
Lord God, defend your Church from all false teaching, and give to your people knowledge of your truth, that we may enjoy eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments, and to live in love and peace with all.
When we are led astray from your teachings, Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
When we close our ears and minds to your call, Christ, have mercy:
Christ, have mercy.
When we fail to be generous with your gifts to us, Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
May God have mercy on us and bless us; may we be freed from our sin and renewed in his service, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God’s Word - James, chapter 3, verses 1 to 12 :-
My friends, not many of you should become teachers, for you may be certain that we who teach will ourselves face severer judgement. All of us go wrong again and again; a man who never says anything wrong is perfect and is capable of controlling every part of his body. When we put a bit into a horse’s mouth to make it obey our will, we can direct the whole animal. Or think of a ship: large though it may be and driven by gales, it can be steered by a very small rudder on whatever course the helmsman chooses. So with the tongue; it is small, but its pretensions are great.
What a vast amount of timber can be set ablaze by the tiniest spark! And the tongue is a fire, representing in our body the whole wicked world. It pollutes our whole being, it sets the whole course of our existence alight, and its flames are fed by hell.
Beasts and birds of every kind, creatures that crawl on the ground or swim in the sea, can be subdued and have been subdued by man; but no one can subdue the tongue. It is an evil thing, restless and charged with deadly venom. We use it to praise our Lord and Father; then we use it to invoke curses on our fellow-men, though they are made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and curses. This should not be so, my friends. Does a fountain flow with both fresh and brackish water from the same outlet? My friends, can a fig tree produce olives, or a grape vine produce figs? No more can salt water produce fresh.
Mark, chapter 8, verses 27 to the end :-
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They answered, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others one of the prophets.’ ‘And you,’ he asked, ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter replied: ‘You are the Messiah.’ Then he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him;
He began to teach them that the Son of Man had to endure great suffering, and to be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; to be put to death, and to rise again three days afterwards. He spoke about it plainly. At this Peter took hold of him and began to rebuke him. But Jesus, turning and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter. ‘Out of my sight, Satan!’ he said. ‘You think as men think, not as God thinks.’Then he called the people to him, as well as his disciples, and said to them, ‘Anyone who wants to be a follower of mine must renounce self; he must take up his cross and follow me. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel’s will save it. What does anyone gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his life? What can he give to buy his life back? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this wicked and godless age, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection
We were told as children, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” It’s not true, of course. If it was true, there’d be no need for anyone to say it. Words may not cause us physical damage, but they certainly can be painful, and indeed they can cause permanent harm. Ask anyone who’s been subjected to attacked by trolls on social media, for example.
That little rhyme about sticks and stones can even do more harm than good - adding to the hurt caused by unkind words a sense of guilt at being hurt by them when I shouldn’t be. The apostle James has it right, I think, when he compares the tongue to the bit that controls the whole horse, or the rudder that steers a great ship. As a youngster I remember grounding a narrow boat that I was supposed to be steering on a youth club evening out on the canal. I was just a fraction or so out of line, and not paying attention. No great harm done, but very embarrassing for a lad who was making himself out to be an expert helmsman.
It’s just the same with the tongue: little moments of inattention can have immense consequences. I was reading a book not long ago about people who’d been the subject of abuse on social media. Social media effectively amplifies the tongue, and makes it even more powerful; people “say” things on social media platforms that they’d never dare say - and indeed would never choose to say - in a face to face conversation, and they band together to become a mob.
People who are bullied in this way have often done nothing to deserve it, but many of those in the book had, in that the trolling was a response to some stupid or hurtful thing they themselves had said, in a moment of inattention. Not that that excuses the violence of the response they received. But it’s maybe a good adage not to say anything to anyone that you wouldn’t say to the world. And clever comments at the expense of someone else are never really clever at all.
In our Gospel reading, Peter is severely rebuked for speaking out of turn. Jesus has been speaking plainly to his disciples about what lies ahead for him - but it isn’t something they can accept. “This can’t happen to you, Lord,” says Peter, in the version of this story told in the other Gospels. Faith is challenging, it involves difficult decisions, it requires us to give in all kinds of ways; and that can be hard for those who want their faith to be something that soothes and cheers and comforts them.
But at the same time, faith is to do with love in action; it is far more than a series of “thou shalt nots”, and those who make it exclusive are not being true to the example of life Jesus offers us. James is right to suggest that not many should set themselves up as teachers. Does my life match up to what I teach? Did Peter’s - or James’s? To teach is to claim to know better than those we teach - or at least, the temptation is there to hide our own ignorance or frailty.
Anyway, let’s just be aware of the tongue - or the pen, or our fingers on the keyboard - as the weapons they potentially are; to be used with care, and with consideration and compassion. As with the rudder on a boat, let’s steer a straight course, mindful at all times of what is right and good. A word to close not from the Gospel, but from the Dalai Lama: “Be kind; and if you can’t manage to be kind, at least do your best to do no harm.” Amen.
Statement of faith - We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers - Pray for the Church as it challenges the way in which the world sees things and does things, that we may speak with care and consideration, and that our actions may match our words. Pray for Christians in Tanzania, and for the Anglican Province of Tanzania. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for all who visit our churches for whatever reason, that they may find a welcome, and a sacred space.
Pray for the world, and for every place of conflict, division and turmoil. Pray for those who seek to being help and support to those denied welfare and justice, or driven by the violence of others from their homes and lands. Pray also for the world’s response to the present pandemic, and for the Covax scheme seeking to enable vaccines to be available to all.
Pray for all who are ill, troubled or hurt today, and for all that is done to bring help and healing to those in need. Pray that all who care for others may do so safely, with support and protection. Pray for all who are wounded by the bullying or abusive words of others, and for people living with balance and mobility problems.
Pray for families and friends, and for the revival of our churches and communities as Covid restrictions ease. Pray that any surge in Covid cases may be controlled, and that we may continue to act with responsibility and care, looking out for each other, and keeping safe ourselves.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing - May Christ the Good Shepherd lead us and guide us, and may we be enabled to share his love with all those around us; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us always. Amen.
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