This week's reading from James
includes a number of images: a horse with a bit, a large ship piloted by a
small rudder, and the tongue setting a forest ablaze, staining the whole body,
set on fire by hell itself.
The first verse rejects
the notion that just anyone can teach. Those who teach, James reminds, will be
under greater scrutiny (verse 1), not just about what they say, but about how
they actually live. Teaching in the church is not so much about how to think
about God or Jesus as how to follow him, concretely.
Verse 2 may seem puzzling.
The NRSV translation makes it appear that people who are eloquent may be
considered “perfect” because of their eloquence since they have learned how to
discipline their speech so well. The Greek conveys a slightly different sense:
“If someone in speaking does not stumble [i.e., sin], that one is mature, a man
capable of keeping the whole body under check.” What James underlines here is
not eloquence, but integrity.
And integrity is difficult
to maintain because the tongue is, as James concludes, “set ablaze by hell”
(verse 6). Christians are called and empowered to overcome the power of hell
and consistently to speak and act in ways that reflect the Spirit’s presence and
power among us.
So, what does it take to
subdue or tame the tongue, as one would tame a wild horse (which is the general
use of this term in Greek, and in verse 3, here)? Diligence, patience,
attention, and a community to guide you through the process and support you
thereafter, since James says, ultimately, the tongue is not tamable (verse 8),
only restrainable.
And we thought problems
with intemperate speech were unique to our social media era?
Unique, no, but probably
more ubiquitous and challenging.
Witness just the UMC
branded Facebook groups, for example. Those that are open and not much (if at
all) moderated have tended to move toward outright hateful invective quickly.
Those that are closed, that vet who may be part of them, and that are more carefully
moderated—with off-topic or ad hominem posts, and sometimes their posters,
removed on a regular basis— tend to be more fruitful, creative, and productive.
Even they get their share of off-topic posts, showing that the work of moderating
really is the work of restraining, not absolute taming.
Good moderation by someone
other than oneself (sometimes even the moderator needs to be moderated!) helps
create an environment where more good than brackish water can flow, where more
blessing than curse may come from our mouths (or keyboards).
We all need others
watching over us in love, attending to our patterns of conversation personally
and collectively, and especially those of us who would teach.
Early Methodists had
groups for this purpose, called class meetings. These groups provided hands-on
accountability and support for people to live out the General Rules (and so the
baptismal covenant) fully. The first of these General Rules (“avoiding harm of
every kind”) also included these specific examples related to speech:
“The taking of the name of God in vain.
Fighting, quarrelling, brawling… returning evil for evil, railing for railing; the using many words in buying or selling….
Uncharitable or unprofitable conversation; particularly speaking evil of magistrates or ministers.”
Small accountability
groups, such as Covenant Discipleship Groups, have been a means to recover this
practice of early Methodism. We might consider how accountable discipleship can
work in our congregation and work that in to our Small Group Ministries.