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Greetings, Everyone!
As a wordsmith, I pay attention to words, both those I utter myself and those directed towards me; I also observe how others use language, not only when it comes to word choices but also delivery. Words can encourage, support, and empower, or they can be weaponized. They can create rapport, build bridges, and promote peace, or they can be used as missiles, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake. They can build goodwill or cause irreparable harm, demonstrating the best of who we are or the worst. Sadly, the "reality TV" we witnessed in the Zelensky-Trump-J.D. Vance Oval Office meeting on Friday was more than an inconsequential spat; rather, it reflected the intentional use of language to bully, intimidate, and humiliate the leader of another nation, a guest on American soil. Regardless of one's politics, there is no "positive spin" to excuse what transpired in that meeting; there were neither bullets nor blows, but in the space of ten minutes, civility was murdered, along with global stability.
While, for better or worse, its political repercussions still have to play out, the Oval Office meeting is a stark reminder of how language reflects our thoughts, attitudes, and values. Our words reveal who we are and what we really believe. They reflect what we think of ourselves and how we regard others. They show whether we are God-fearing or whether we have deified ourselves. They demonstrate our capacity for love, mercy, and forgiveness or, conversely, our hardness of heart. As Lent approaches, let us examine the words that we ourselves wield and commit to using non-violent language:
"For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Heb 4:12
Many Blessings,
Elizabeth
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SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to Sunday Readings
“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.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
Good people, out of the store of goodness in their hearts, produce good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Luke 6:39-45
In his classic, The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), William James (1842-1910) examines a variety of topics ranging from sanctity to religious behavior, from religious institutions to mystical experience; in each case, his conclusions are based on one principle: "By their fruits you shall know them" (Mt 7:20). This principle allows him to distinguish between madness and holiness, between "true religion" and the religion of extremism. Fanaticism, for example, can be found where people are "masterful and aggressive," but those who love God to the exclusion of "all human loves and human uses" also have small minds and a small God. As an example of excessive scrupulosity, James mentions Saint Louis of Gonzaga, who, even as a child, avoided all female company, including being alone with his own mother: "Never was he seen to hold in his hand a flower or anything perfumed, that he might take pleasure in it. On the contrary, in the hospital, he used to seek out whatever was most disgusting and eagerly snatch the bandages of ulcers, etc., from the hands of his companions."
James' opinions, of course, were shaped by his own background in psychology/philosophy and the era in which he lived. Though he did not profess to be a Christian, his insights on "fruits" help us understand the "religion of healthy-mindedness" and the religion of "the sick soul." We can also apply the concept of "fruits" to any religious leader, to anyone who professes to be religious, as well as to ourselves:
- Do our words match our behaviors?
- Do we promote one set of values but live by another?
- Do we preach the love of God but have no place for God in our lives?
- Do we claim to follow Jesus and yet ignore his teachings on love and mercy?
What are the "fruits" we manifest? If, on the one hand, our lives align with Christian values, we will manifest the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22). If our lives are out of alignment, however, then we will manifest: immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like" (Gal 5:20-21).
As we prepare for Lent, it might be helpful to return to Jesus' tree images: What fruit are we bearing, and how might we become more fruitful, not just for our sake but for that of the suffering world? Do our trees just need a little watering and fertilizer, or do they require radical pruning? By assessing our fruits, we will know how best to enter Lent!
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