TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

[cappie]

Why do we speak?  We talk, chat, write, text, email, learn new languages, sing, and speak. The individual voice adds a layer of complexity to our words; no one speaks quite the way you speak. We speak all the time (some of us more than others…), and we do it for all sorts of reasons. Because we need something, because we want something, because we want to offer something, because we long for expression of self, because we long for connection and communication is a quick means to that end. We speak because something inside of us needs to get outside of us.  

Some scientists who study the origins of language say that humans started speaking because we needed to negotiate. To work together. To exchange various goods. To ensure safety for our community or tribe.  

Speaking is particular to humans. Yes, all sorts of animals communicate – with song and motions and gestures and even languages of movement. But humans speak – with verbs and nouns and adjectives, stringing sentences together. Do you know that with just 25 words, you could make over 15,000 sentences? Incredible

But here’s another question, perhaps a more fitting question  for us: Why do Christians speak? How do we speak? What do we speak?

The Apostle Paul, in this piece of his letter to the Corinthians, says, quoting a psalm, “ I believed, and therefore I spoke.” He goes on in the present tense: and so, “ we too believe and therefore we too speak.”

 St Paul has had some disagreements with the Corinthians. They’ve gone back and forth in their correspondences. But Paul wants to assure them of his continued fondness, the truth above all truth: they are a letter of Christ.

But now this letter of Christ must be spoken, read, shared. “ we too believe and therefore we too speak”

This is at the heart of Christian speech. Our speech should flow from our belief; we speak because we believe.

What have you spoken this week?  We fall short of Paul’s words – we often don’t speak because we are afraid of talking about our faith, scared that we’ll offend someone, nervous that we’ll get it wrong. We’d rather “preach with our lives” than with our lips.

It’s difficult to put words to our faith, isn’t it?  

However, St Paul tells us there is a letter written on our heart. Christ himself wrote it.  We might need to stop speaking so that we can listen to Christ’s letter on our hearts. So that we might hear his words to us, his voice that calls our names, his speech of peace and goodness and love. By listening to the letter written on our hearts, by listening to the words of Jesus, by being pulled ever deeper into God, we might then learn to speak, to read this letter out loud to the world around us.

Christians have long loved the quote attributed to St. Francis – “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” At this point, it is necessary to use words, to begin speaking our belief.   How else will others know the story of Jesus Christ? How else will they know that they are not defined by their worst sin? How else will they know that there is a family of God waiting to welcome them with open hearts? How else will they know that God is for them?

We share our faith because it is a gift given to us by God. It is the greatest love letter of all time. And who doesn’t want to  hear that they are beloved by the Creator of heaven and earth, that they are known for who they truly are, that they’ve been given gifts to use for the good purposes of God, that they can change for the good, that there is hope even in the mess, that in the end, love has won.

To keep such a message to ourselves, to bury it deep within us, is to slow the movement of the Spirit, the message of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. It is meant to be believed. It is meant to be spoken. It is meant to be lived.

Christ has written a letter on your heart. He has created you to speak it to those near and far. Will you proclaim it boldly to the world around you?

 

[Luigi]

On 6/7/2024 at 7:35 PM, cappie said:

On 6/7/2024 at 7:35 PM, cappie said:

Christians have long loved the quote attributed to St. Francis – “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” At this point, it is necessary to use words, to begin speaking our belief.

Thank you for this. As a language teacher - composition, interpreting - I've been telling my students for a long time, "Yes, actions speak louder than words, but words convey meanings that are much more specific than actions." It takes both - we have to talk the talk, but then we have to walk the walk. 

[little2add]

 

pray for us sinners