8th Sunday Ordinary Time
Deacon Tom Vert
Preached: March 2, 2025
Should I say it, or shouldn’t I?
Words are so powerful and yet they are said, or texted or posted so quickly now, many times without thinking of the repercussions to who they are said, or to the person who says them.
We hear public figures using the words “dictator” for leaders undeservedly for political purposes.
We see migrants who are escaping horrendous situations are referred to as “aliens” or “those people” as if they are not human beings made in the image and likeness of God.
We see the comments underneath news stories or Instagram posts that are ridiculing and insulting.
If you are like me, sometimes, we find our emotions leading us to send a return email, or a text or a response to a post, before we have thought about the implications.
Or maybe we speak to a family member in haste with an insult, a harsh word or a phrase that puts them down.
Should I say it, or shouldn’t I?
How many times has this thought crossed my mind before I start typing or responding verbally on the phone or in person?
And how do these words that I say affect the person I am talking to or their perception of who I am as a Christian?
The words we say and how we say them are so critical and the readings today point to the fact that the words we say also reveal who we are!
The first reading gives not one or two but three images to show how important our speech is to our spiritual life!
In the first image, when the wheat sieve is shaken, the good grains go through, and the husks or bad part of the wheat appears…this we are told is one’s faults when you speak.
So, as we speak, or text, or post…our faults, our prejudices, our bias all float to the surface for people to see!
Then we have the image of the clay pot which does not reveal its flaws until it is put into the furnace. As a ceramic engineer who worked in a factory making toilets and sinks for two years, I can tell you that this is absolutely true!
A sink may look fine, but once it is put into the kiln, the thin and dark spots show, and the weak spots crack.
We are told that when we are put into stressful situations, the furnace to speak, our true character emerges in the words we speak and how we say them.
And finally, we have the image of the quality of the fruit tells you the excellence of the care of the tree and it’s watering, sun and fertilizing.
A tree of communication that has no nourishment will have words and phrases that are not fruitful.
A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit!
I believe this message is one that I need to hear and maybe all of us need to hear these days, as words and tone are probably more important than they have ever been in a world that is moving so fast, we can barely have time to think, let alone perceive how the words spoken will impact others and reveal our own character.
Should I say it, or shouldn’t I?
The Bible has much to say about this including the teaching book of Proverbs which has 40 different sayings that teach us how to speak as witnesses of the Christian faith.
My favourite one, and one that lines up with today’s readings is in Proverbs 13:
“The one who guards his mouth preserves his life.
The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”
These sayings and the readings today focus us on when and how to speak and I would offer up four suggestions for us to ponder this week as potential Lenten challenges.
1. The first suggestion is one I have struggled with for years…for Lent, when we are emotional, can we have the courage to walk away from the computer or the smart phone and do not respond to emails, texts, or posts for 24 hours, in order to choose our words carefully.
2. In the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta – “kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless” – how can we double the amount of kind words we use this Lent and cut in half the words that criticize.
3. From the gospel we hear “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” For Lent can we cut the number of words of gossip by 50%?
4. From the book of James, we are told “Let every person be quick to listen but slow to use his tongue.” So, try for Lent can we try to listen twice as much and speak half the normal amount.
Maybe this Lent – just one key phrase will help us bear better fruit on our faith journey: Should I say it, or shouldn’t I?
