8TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C
WATCH YOUR GRAMMAR!
In an old comic book, Dennis the
Menace’s mother was teaching him to speak properly. She admonished him: watch
your grammar! And Dennis innocently said: How can I? Grandma doesn’t live here
with us?
The readings today point out to
us the vital link between faith and human speech. The first reading from Sirach
reminds us to discern a person’s character by the way he speaks. What comes out
of his mouth disclose the inmost thoughts. In the gospel the Lord Jesus instructs
us that goodness in the heart produces good; evil produces evil. And through
this we shall know a person once her mouth.
Today these readings are very
relevant. There are many contemporary ways of speaking that hurt, disappoint
and destroy people. These types of speaking are all around us in the physical
space we live and more pointedly in the virtual space we inhabit through
technology and social media.
There is hate speech: This happens
when people speak to express uncontrolled anger, to antagonize another, to sow
divide people and to lead others to do harm. Hate speech has resulted in
genocide, in the Holocaust and in random killings of those who are demonized by
society like street urchins, drug addicts, and political opponents.
Then there is shame speech: In
this time of high sensitivity to the rights of dignity of every person, there
are still those who degrade others because they look and sound different from
them. There are people who love to gossip about other people’s business or who
love to defame the people they envy. Shame speech has caused many to suffer
depression and contemplate suicide. It has produced many victims of bullying in
schools and communities.
We also have deceptive speech:
This is the enemy of the truth. We live in an age where fake news comes from
within the walls of government offices, newsrooms, and hidden troll centers. While
before, lying used to be personal, today deception has taken in an
institutional face and official protection. How many are deceived by the
free-for-all, unverified and unreguated social media today.
As Christians, how do we respond to all these? How do we
tame the tongue? How do we train our tongue to speak as Jesus did?
First let us use charitable language: Love must not be soft
and fearful. We need to correct one another if we must. We must not shy away
from our responsibility to lead others to the right path. We can do this with the
proper motivation of concern and compassion and the proper way of gentleness
and firmness.
Second, as followers of Jesus, we must imitate his inspiring
language: No, this is not just about spreading good vibes; it is not just about
promoting positivity. Positive thinking is good but it tends to make us pretend
that everything will be all right, easy and pain-free. Jesus inspired us not by
positivity but by faith. Our words must help others confront their situations,
seek God’s will, and carry their redeeming cross if there is one. Inspiring
speech teaches people to trust not in their mindset but in the God who is our
loving Father.
Lastly, we must prefer truthful language: We have been made to
think that lies are harmless; that a little white lie cannot erode a
relationship. But the truth is a component of love, and though sometimes what
is true can hurt us emotionally, in the end, it has the power to free us and
open us up to love, respect and forgiveness.
This week, let us ask ourselves what type of speech we have
grown accustomed to in our lives? May we speak as Christians who not only
listen to the Word but also proclaims the Word in every word we say.
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