Sermon: Power in the Little Things

          "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." 

          Our New Testament lesson from James reminds us of the power of little things – a bit to guide a horse, a rudder to steer a boat, and the tongue, which has the power of the Word.  This is no small power!

          God spoke the world into existence.  John points out that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.   There are warnings about speaking throughout the Bible.  Two commandments of ten are about speaking:  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; and you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. 

          There's a saint whose day we celebrate in January, Vincent of Zaragoza, and it occurred to me that there are a few interesting things to note about Vincent.  First, he was appointed Deacon to Valerius of Zaragoza, who was the Bishop and who is said to have had a speech impediment.  He therefore did not speak often in public.  As Deacon, it was Vincent's job to preach about Christ and assist conversions, but he also took upon himself to speak on behalf of Bishop Valerius.  Valerius had the higher station, and yet when both were arrested by Emperor Diocletian, Vincent was the one put to death.  Diocletian considered Vincent the greater threat, as he was eloquent, and spoke of the “One God” and of Christ, convincing others through his teachings of the truth of the Faith.  Valerius, while having greater authority, could not or would not speak in such a way as to accomplish the same.  Vincent even convinced his prison guard to convert before he was put to death.   I'm not saying we want to be put to death for speaking the truth, but I do want to point out the power of that "small thing."

          Proverbs is full of warnings about speaking and the power of the Word.  In today's Old Testament lesson, Wisdom warns the foolish and invites the simple to gain in knowledge and understanding with her teaching.

          Will Rogers once said, "live that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."  Gossip – that other form of speaking that can both get people into trouble, and be completely misleading, depending upon the nature of the person spreading the gossip.  A good word of advice came from Henry Lesser in poetic form:

In the course of your conversation each and every day,

Think twice, try to be careful of what you have to say;

Your remarks may be picked up by someone's listening ear,

You may be surprised at what some people think they hear.

Things that you innocently say, or try to portray,

Can be changed, and greatly exaggerated along the way;

Many stories change for the worse as they are retold.

So try to keep any questionable remarks "on hold."

May I give all of you some very sound advice?

When you speak of others, say something nice;

Try to say good things, regardless of who is around,

If you have nothing good to say, don't utter a sound.

You may find that an innocent remark, in the end,

May lose you a close and valued friend.

          "With [our tongue] we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing."  In our New Testament lesson, James tells us, "this ought not to be so."  He points out that opposite characteristics cannot come from the same source.  What then does that mean for what comes out of our mouths?

          There's a polite reminder that people will utter when our mouths are getting away from us:  do you kiss your mother with that mouth?

          In Mark, we hear the power of the words spoken by people – "who do others say that I am?"  And, "who do you say that I am?"  We hear Peter proclaiming Christ to be the Messiah, and with the same voice, rebuking Christ for telling the disciples uncomfortable truths.  If we believe Christ to be the Messiah, and we believe that Christ is God made manifest – who are we to contradict God?

          Our Psalm today begins, "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork."  Are we not made in the image of God?  Don't we then have an even greater responsibility for our words to reflect the glory of God, His handiwork, laws and commandments?  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you" is not just a nice way to begin a sermon, but rather a plea that God will help our words and actions be that reflection.

          For churches, we all invoke the name of Jesus Christ for the power in our prayers.  So the question is, do you believe that the name of Jesus Christ has power?  Or are you just paying it lip service because that's what we do here at church? 

          It makes me curious, as there are so many modern sayings about the lack of power that words have.  Look at what I do and not what I say; sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me; actions speak louder than words; well done is better than well said.  It used to be that an agreement and a handshake were far better than a written contract – my word is my bond.

          When did humanity decide that the Word has lost power?  And I rather wonder, did God change His mind about the power of the Word?  If not, should we perhaps learn to make sure that our Words match our actions, and that we are careful in what we say, seeing that there actually is quite a lot of power in the Word.