{"id":5929,"date":"2014-08-31T19:43:36","date_gmt":"2014-08-31T23:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/biteintheapple\/?p=5929"},"modified":"2014-08-31T19:43:36","modified_gmt":"2014-08-31T23:43:36","slug":"the-power-of-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/biteintheapple\/the-power-of-words\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Pentecost<\/a>The moral life,<\/em> says American Catholic poet Marie Howe, is lived out in what we say as much as what we do \u2014 and so words have a power to save us.<\/em><\/p>\n

And because words have power that can save us, words can also condemn us. Power tends to corrupt<\/em>, as Lord Acton observed.<\/p>\n

Jesus, according to Matthew, said as much:\u00a0 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.<\/em> \u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.\u00a0 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Pentecost<\/a>Speaking of dangerous words, \u00a0Ann Lamott , in her book Bird by Bird<\/em><\/strong>, talks about drive-by shootings of the mouth,<\/em>\u00a0words by which, in the course of an ordinary day, we take one another down.\u00a0 Friends, strangers, family members, we are all survivors of these, and we are, when we least expect it, shooters.<\/p>\n

Relating, reacting, refuting, reporting, rehearsing, redefining: \u00a0these are the uses of words; and these are the spiritual exercises we daily practice.<\/p>\n

No wonder Jesus admonishes us, saying it is not what we put into our mouths that pollutes us, but what comes out of our mouths, for, he says, what comes out of the mouth comes out of the heart, and shows the condition of the heart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Pentecost<\/a>We pour over Jesus\u2019 words, examining stories in detail to help us navigate the dangerous journey of our lives, the journey we are making between heaven and hell, between salvation and ruin, between God and the Devil. And all the while we are using words, making and breaking relationships, straining to tell the truth as we know it<\/p>\n

I\u2019m struck by Jesus\u2019 plea, that if two of us, if only two of us, can agree about what we long for, it will be done.\u00a0 Clearly he doesn\u2019t have high expectations of unity from us.\u00a0 Nor does he substitute choired recitations for heartfelt prayers. \u00a0If two of you agree on earth . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Looking around our earth, his assessment of the difficulty of human agreement seems on the mark.\u00a0\u00a0 Who would have imagined this century would begin with holy wars, that the label infidel would be invested with so much meaning, that the destruction of infidels would become a legitimation for warfare centuries after we thought that was over?<\/p>\n

\"Replace<\/a>And who would have thought the political divisions in America and most European countries as well would take on such rancorous character?<\/p>\n

Most of the public rhetoric is about steps on the journey to hell or heaven, with emphasis on hell.\u00a0 Rarely do we hear the words that families speak to each other all the time:\u00a0 It will be all right . . . . whatever happens, it will be all right.<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Matthew Jesus gave pretty specific instructions about resolving arguments.\u00a0 You sit down and talk about it.\u00a0 And if there is no listening, you bring in someone else to sit down with you.<\/p>\n

But this is not so easy as it sounds.\u00a0 Ask the Market Basket cousins, Arthur T and Arthur S.\u00a0\u00a0 Endless boardroom meetings seemed to only make it worse.\u00a0 Ask Congress.\u00a0 Ask any couple, getting a divorce, if they tried talking, and most will say talking was what ended the marriage.<\/p>\n

\"Pentecost<\/a>As for listening, well, it depends on how your heart hears the other person:\u00a0 as an enemy, as a wrong-doer, as someone you need to instruct, as a betrayer . . . or as a friend.<\/p>\n

Frederick Buechner says of forgiveness, To accept forgiveness means to admit that you\u2019ve done something wrong that needs to be forgiven . . . When somebody you\u2019ve wronged forgives you, you\u2019re spared the dull and self-diminishing throb of a guilty conscience.<\/em><\/p>\n

When you forgive somebody who has wronged you, you\u2019re spared the dismal corrosion of bitterness and wounded pride.<\/p>\n

For both parties, forgiveness means the freedom again to be at peace inside their own skins and to be glad in each other\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Pentecost<\/a>Marie Howe, in her poem The Meadow<\/em><\/strong>, writes:<\/p>\n

Bedeviled,<\/em><\/p>\n

human, your plight, in waking, is to choose from the words<\/p>\n

that even now sleep on your tongue, and to know that tangled<\/em><\/p>\n

among them and terribly new is the sentence that could change your life.<\/em><\/p>\n

May we learn new words.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

Illustrations:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Argument. \u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Google Images.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Example of Anger. \u00a01220.<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0Cathedrale d\u2019Amiens, France. \u00a0Relief Sculpture in Stone. \u00a0Vanderbilt Divinity School Library, Art in the Christian Tradition.<\/p>\n

3. Wrath,<\/strong><\/em> by Hieronymous Bosch, Early 15th c. \u00a0Vanderbilt Divinity School Library, Art in the Christian Tradition.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Bin Laden Poster. <\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Google Images.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Door of Forgiveness.<\/strong> <\/em>\u00a0Poster. \u00a0Google Images.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Mandela Poster.<\/strong> <\/em>\u00a0Google Images.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The moral life, says American Catholic poet Marie Howe, is lived out in what we say as much as what we do \u2014 and so words have a power to save us. And because words have power that can save us, words can also condemn us. Power tends to corrupt, as Lord Acton observed. Jesus, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2483,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bites"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Power of Words<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The moral life, says American Catholic poet Marie Howe, is lived out in what we say as much as what we do \u2014 and so words have a power to save us. 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