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THE TONGUE IS BUT THE MANIFESTATION OF WHO WE ARE - stephenkhoo - 02-19-2012 09:45 AM
18 February, 2012, 6th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle 2
THE TONGUE IS BUT THE MANIFESTATION OF WHO WE ARE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: JAMES 3:1-10; MK 9:2-13
The tongue is like a double-edged sword. It is one of the smaller human organs, but it can bring much happiness to its listeners or it can bring much sadness. It can give hope or it can discourage. It can bring joy or it can bring harm. We can use the tongue to proclaim the Good News, but as James tells us, we can also use the same tongue to bring bad news. Indeed, St James said, “So is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can proudly claim that it does great things. Think how small a flame can set fire to a huge forest; the tongue is a flame like that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is the whole wicked world in itself: it infects the whole body; catching fire from hell, it sets fire to the whole wheel of creation.” For this reason, we must be careful of what we say. And we are all aware of it. Yet, sometimes, we find ourselves saying things that we should not and we hurt people because of our thoughtlessness.
So what must we do? We try to control our tongue. Yet we know that it is a vain task and an uphill struggle. No matter how much we try, we fail again and again to rein it in. Self-control does not always work. This is true for those of us who have a sharp tongue or one that likes to gossip, criticize and put others down. For many, gossiping, lying, exaggerating, sweet talking, slandering, detracting and constant complaining is our way of life. It has become second nature to them. That is why for people who often use their tongues loosely and say things that they should not, the root of the problem lies elsewhere. The tongue after all is but a mere instrument of the mind and the heart. The problem therefore cannot lie with the tongue.
The real problem lies with the heart and mind. It is the heart and mind that controls the tongue. Our tongues only give expression to what is in our hearts and on our minds. It is a mere instrument and therefore inculpable in anyway. What we need is not so much to control our tongues but to examine what is going on in our hearts and minds. This is the key to overcoming the wrong use of the tongue. We must realize that quite often the wrong use of the tongue comes from the sin of pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, greed and lust. Pride wants us to boast about ourselves and our accomplishments. Envy instigates us to belittle others and criticize their achievements. Anger necessitates the letting out of steam and often when we cannot tolerate anymore, either we use our tongues to scold, shout and scream or deliver harsh words to hurt our perceived enemies and those who hurt us. Laziness is the cause of gossiping, as such people are irresponsible. Instead of focusing on their responsibilities and fulfilling them, they would idle their time away in gossip and conversations that yield nothing that can inspire them. Because of greed, we also lie to get want we want. Lust too is expressed in salacious conversations and vulgarity. As for gluttony, it is because of the desire to taste all kind of delicacies that make a person eat more than he should.
So if we truly want to take charge of our tongues, we must first heal our hearts, hearts that are emotionally and spiritually wounded. Not only do we need to heal our hearts, but we need to heal our minds, which are psychologically wounded and intellectually ignorant. Healing our hearts and minds therefore is the way to have better control over our tongues so that we will speak and do only the right things. This is the source of our problem. This explains why we must also be forgiving towards such people as well. Although they are hurting us and causing misunderstanding and division because of their unrestrained tongues, yet these are the people who are actually hurting much deep in the recesses of their hearts and minds. They deserve our sympathy and compassion. They must be hurting so much within that they have to resort to such destructive words to take revenge on those whom they perceive to be the cause of their sufferings. They are insecure, wounded and looking for acceptance, appreciation and recognition. Underlying their misuse of the tongue is fear and the lack of love. We must not condemn them as persons, but their sins, because we do not know what they have gone through in life to make them so bitter, vindictive and angry.
Often such people do not even know themselves or why they are gossiping and hurting others with their words. They are just reacting out of the anger or insecurity within themselves. As such, it is necessary for those of us who are unable to control our tongues to take time to understand ourselves, our wounds and pains. This calls first for a humble acknowledgement of the sins we have committed with the tongue. If this is not recognized, we cannot move to the next level of going into the depths of our hearts to understand what is driving us to react and respond in such a manner.
Coming to know the depth of ourselves is what is necessary for the taming of the tongue. When we know our identity, then doing will flow from being. The discovery of oneself will help us to understand the cause of our actions and our words. When we begin to enter into ourselves, we will discover the hidden wounds in our lives and the hidden sins that we do not want others to know. These wounds cannot be healed unless they are brought to Jesus. These sins cannot be forgiven unless we ask for forgiveness from the Lord.
This total self-awareness is the reason why Jesus was so focused in His mission and taught with authority, un-intimidated by His enemies in speaking the truth, in and out of season and without fear. He was fully conscious that the words He spoke were not His own but from His Father. The Transfiguration event was the final affirmation of Jesus’ identity and mission. Already at baptism, He was affirmed as the Beloved Son of the Father. These words of the Father to Jesus of course are reminiscent of Psalm 2, which proclaims the Anointed One, the King as the Son of the Father. Then again in Isaiah 42, the prophet said, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” (Isa 42:1-2) Jesus is also associated with Moses and Elijah, the first and the last prophets in Old Testament time. He therefore sees Himself truly as the New Moses, the New Elijah and more, the Word of God. As the Speech of the Father, He speaks only God’s word. He speaks the mind of the Father. Now, if Jesus speaks God’s word, it is because He shares the mind and heart of the Father. He is totally identified with the Father.
Perhaps, the Transfiguration Event also invites us to reflect on our own dreams and the visions that we might have received from the Father. People often take visions to be the answer to all their doubts and questions. In truth, visions often raise other questions. They invite us to reflect deeper into their meanings and implications. Visions do not replace faith. For until we understand the meaning and depth of what we have seen, we remain unsatisfied. Visions, therefore, are but the beginning of a deeper inquiry into what the Lord wants to speak to us. That is why after the vision that enraptured them, the disciples wanted to remain there in contemplative prayer, following which they began to ask what the Transfiguration meant both for Jesus, His mission and theirs. So too if we have dreams or visions, they could be useful in helping us discover the underlying fears and anxieties in our unconscious that prompt us to act and speak without thinking or in a negative manner. Indeed, what is the use of knowing and even remembering your dreams and visions without someone supplying the interpretation?
Consequently, we must look towards Jesus who is the Word of God, the knowledge and speech of the Word to enlighten our minds and heal our hearts. Only the Word of God can supply us the answer to our dreams and visions. We must turn to the Lord through contemplative prayer like the disciples to decipher what is in our hearts and what is motivating us to act and speak thus. Consequently, if we want to speak the right words, words that inspire and encourage, then we too must be imbued with the Word of God. We too must listen to Jesus, as the voice from the cloud tells us: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” As Jesus is the expression of the Father, we must search ourselves by contemplating on the face of the Lord, especially through the scriptures and beg for His healing grace in the sacrament of the Eucharist. But beyond this, we must not merely listen; we must also be enraptured in Him like the apostles, so that the presence of God will fill our total being. When that happens, we will become transfigured like Jesus. Then in all that we do and say, in all that we are, we become the very presence of God, for His love and goodness will radiate from us.