Devotion - Wednesday, October 5

On our retreat this weekend, the writer who proved to be the least accessible to the students was Thomas Merton. Perhaps it was the introduction I had given for him. He became a Trappist Monk. Trappist take a vow of silence. This was a bit beyond the reach of the students who were asked to read a sample of his writings and share with the rest of us how Merton embodied the spiritual traditions associated with contemplation.

I thought of this today as my lectionary brought me to the third chapter of James. Here, James speaks of how all the wild beast of the earth have been tamed, but no one has tamed the human tongue. James uses the anology of a huge ship which is controlled by a small rudder. So also the whole body is judged and directed by the tongue.

How often do we wish we had been able to hold our tongue? How often do we hear words coming out of our mouth only to realize before the sound has reached the ear of another that it would have been better not to utter those words? We live our lives reflecting God's goodness, we offer our hands in service to others doing the good works which bear evidence to our faith, only to let that small member of our body redirect it all.

James both marvels at this and asks how it is that the same tongue can be used to bless God and to curse God's children.

I doubt few of us will take a vow of silence. We depend upon our tongues for our livelihood, to make known all that we have been learning. But we would be served well by considering the frequency of our speech and to practice holding our tongue a bit more often.

Let me use an image from my activities these days. Working at the Habitat job site, we often tell folks, "Measure twice; cut once." It our our way of ensuring that the board won't be too short when it is put into use. Perhaps we could establish such a rule for our tongue - "Think twice, speak once." Just because a thought comes to our head, does not mean that we must utter it.