A couple of verses past our reading from Ecclesiastes, or Sirach today, there is a very curious verse that makes a good summary for what I want to start with today: “if you blow on a spark, it turns into a flame, if you spit on it, it dies out; yet both you do with your mouth!” Did you ever read that in the Bible before?
Many people have said that the tongue is the hardest beast to tame. And I agree with that. It is a wicked beast, or maybe better: an untamed noisemaker, like giving somebody a raspberry (make sound). That is not just a funny sound, but makes another point for me. What regulates the tongue? It is our mind.
The next verse from Sirach is even more telling: “Cursed be gossips and the double-tongued, for they destroy the peace of many.” It is far too easy to join others, for whatever reason they have, or we have, in ruining the reputation of others. Maybe it is not the intention to do so, but we need to watch carefully what we say and how and when.
St. Paul urges us that if we live, we live for the Lord and …read more
Source:: Fr. Frank Jindra’s Homily Podcasts
