Word to the Wise
Sunday, February 27, 2022 - 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C [Pentecost 2010]
[Sir 27:5-8; 1 Cor 15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45]The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one's speech disclose the bent of one's mind. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested. [Sirach] "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.....A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks." [Luke]
I once gave my father a plaque with this prayer on it: Lord, let my words be gracious and tender today, for tomorrow I may have to eat them." Indeed, how often have we had to say to ourselves as a result of something we said to others, "Me and my big mouth!"? A sign on the studium bulletin board in my formation days said, "Be sure your brain is engaged before setting your mouth in motion!"
Every time I preach, I have to bear in mind the prayer on that plaque I gave my dad! I kept it in mind when I was Novice Master for our Southern Dominican Province (1988-93). I knew that I dared not say anything I did not truly believe. Jesus severely criticized the scribes and Pharisees for saying one thing and doing another. In other words, he called them "hypocrites!"
In the heat of the moment, it is not easy to choose one's words carefully. But, if the words spring from integrity, they will rarely convict us of hypocrisy. I know I pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my daily online reflections. Yes, actions do "speak louder" than words, but words do matter, as Jesus clearly demonstrated. He was not crucified for miracles and healing but for what he said about the "Kingdom of God."
A child once said to me at a penance service, "I should not have said that about her. I do not know what's going on in her life." She was wise beyond her years. Jesus and Ben-Sira would agree! AMEN