{"id":3602,"date":"2024-09-15T10:45:19","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T17:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hopelcs.ca\/church\/?p=3602"},"modified":"2024-09-26T13:56:25","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T20:56:25","slug":"2-engaged-beyond-measure-mark-james-31-12-series-beyond-measure-september-15th-2024-17th-sunday-after-pentecost-hope-lutheran-church-rev-luca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopelcs.ca\/church\/2-engaged-beyond-measure-mark-james-31-12-series-beyond-measure-september-15th-2024-17th-sunday-after-pentecost-hope-lutheran-church-rev-luca\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201c2 \u2013 Engaged beyond measure\u201d, James 3:1-12 \/ Series: \u201cBeyond Measure\u201d\/ September 15th, 2024 \/ 17th Sunday after Pentecost \/ Hope Lutheran Church, Rev. Lucas Andre Albrecht"},"content":{"rendered":"

Text: James 3:1-12
\nTheme: \u201cEngaged beyond measure\u201d
\nSeries: Beyond measure<\/em><\/h3>\n

<\/h4>\n

PART 1, “Astonished beyond measure”<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Part 3, “Humbled beyond measure<\/a>“<\/strong><\/h4>\n

___________________________<\/h3>\n

Intr \u2013 <\/strong>(Illustration: A medicine container; bread; water; a text; a mirror to show breathing) <\/em>These props here illustrate basic needs we have to live. What do they all have in common? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We engage with them all through one organ: the mouth\u00a0 – and the tongue.<\/p>\n

The mouth is one of the most primary ways, if not the #1 in which we engage with the World. Our most basic needs are provided through things we let in<\/em> \u2013 food, water, medicine. And things we let out<\/em> \u2013 the air that we breath and, especially, words. The mouth, the tongue, words, is the most basic way in which we engage with people, culture and the world around us. We eat for survival, and we speak for survival<\/em>. As an additional comment, when we think about deaf people who can\u2019t also speak, and when we think about the internet environment, we can think hands and fingers as our \u201clet out\u201d organ \u2013 mouth and tongue.<\/p>\n

In our \u201cbeyond measure\u201d series today we reflect on ways Jesus, the Logos, the Word of God, engages us beyond measure with the world. The epistle of James with te \u201ctaming the tongue\u201d reading leads the way, as we remember why controlling the tongue is so important. Btw, both for what we take in and for what we let out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1 \u2013 MOUTH AND TONGUE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our mouths are at the center of just about everything we do. From the moment you wake up, you\u2019re probably either putting something in your mouth (coffee, breakfast) or letting something out (complaints, perhaps?). The mouth is our main point of contact with the world. We eat to survive and, just as crucially, we talk to survive<\/strong>. We use words to connect, engage, and even sometimes to defend ourselves.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s be realistic: our mouth, our tongue is not always wise. In both ways – for what we let in and for what we let out.<\/p>\n

Think about what we let in<\/em>. Excessive food, drinking, unhealthy fats, vices, and so on. Your mouth can be so unwise sometimes that God has provided another organ with more \u201cbrain capacity\u201d to regulate and guide it: the bowels, our guts. We need the guts when it comes to help the mouth to be more controlled, and it often gives clear signs. In this connection, it is said by some that our guts even have some neurons and it is the organ that works more closely to our brains in terms of intelligent analysis. Interestingly, in biblical times, they didn\u2019t talk about the heart the way we do today. They\u2019d refer to the \u201cbowels\u201d as the seat of emotions. So if your tongue needed to be discerning, they\u2019d say it needed a little more \u201cguts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now think about what we let out<\/em>. James, in his epistle, is very blunt when it comes to the tongue. He calls it a firestarter. This little thing can stir up a world of trouble. I\u2019m guessing most of us don\u2019t need convincing that words can do serious damage. One careless comment, and you\u2019ve set off a chain reaction that becomes very hard to entirely fix. So when James says, \u201cIf anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man,\u201d I\u2019m thinking, \u201cWell, none of us fits the mold. I\u2019ve definitely stumbled. Many times.\u201d Here, for what we let out through our mouths we need the help of the heart. We need the heart as the most faith-intelligently organ to direct and discipline our mouth and tongue.<\/p>\n

Taming the tongue a big deal for us Christians. Why? Because what we let out of our mouths reflects what\u2019s inside our hearts.<\/strong> And let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s not always pretty. You can tell a lot about a person by the words they use. We\u2019ve got all kinds of ways to let words go out, and because of sin, those words can often hurt, harm, and even destroy. With our mouths, we can: Hurt, Cause harm, Discourage; even kill<\/em>.\u00a0 That\u2019s a lot of power, right? Unfortunately sin leads is down that way, and when sin is not met with repentance and forgiveness in life, we will the worse words ever after we go. \u201cAway from me, you who practice iniquity\u201d.(Mt 25)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2 \u2013 JESUS, the WORD OF GOD<\/strong><\/p>\n

But what happens when the Word of God dwells in our hearts, which is the source of our words as pointed out by Jesus? Then, the same mouth that can tear down can also build up, as James points out. The Word of God engages us beyond measure. First, with his Gifts: Forgiveness, Peace, Direction. Then, we are engaged beyond measure because we have in our tongues not only words but The Word.<\/p>\n

Jesus is called the Word in John 1:14, \u201cThe Word became flesh and dwelt among us.\u201d That\u2019s more than just a poetic statement. Jesus didn\u2019t come to engage us from a distance. He got down into our bustling life. He\u2019s the Logos, the Word of God in human form, and here\u2019s where it gets interesting: Jesus is present in our mouths in two important ways. He\u2019s the bread we take in at the Lord\u2019s Supper, and He\u2019s the Word we speak out when we confess our faith. So, it\u2019s not just about what we take in or what we let out, but about being in Christ. He is both the sustainer and the message. We\u2019re not just running on empty words or our best intentions. We\u2019re fed by the Word, and that Word shapes what comes out of us<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3 \u2013 ENGAGED BEYOND MEASURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guided by His Word, we are called to engage the world in faith with our words in daily life. This is a big challenge. I think we all know how easy it is to slip into negative speech\u2014criticism, gossip, slander. We live in a world of many words, and not all of them are helpful. As people of the The Word<\/em> though, we\u2019re called to be wise in use them with our mouth and tongue.<\/p>\n

Now, why beyond measure? Why does the Word, Jesus, leads us outside of ourselves to engage us beyond measure? Because Christians have no ordinary way of engaging in Word with the World. It goes beyond measure. With our mouth and tongue we:<\/p>\n