Goal: That the hearers would be convicted of the sins of the tongue and find forgiveness and righteousness in Jesus Christ.

Transcription

1 17 th Sunday after Pentecost Year B James 3:1-12 Tongues That Glorify Christ Goal: That the hearers would be convicted of the sins of the tongue and find forgiveness and righteousness in Jesus Christ. James 3:2, For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. There once was a man, who, while listening to a sermon in church, was convicted of his sin, and he set out to do better. Sunday after Sunday he confessed, I have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed. For whatever reason, this Sunday he sensed those words to be very true for him. He reasoned that his evil thoughts often caught him off guard and might be difficult to change. He decided that his evil actions were often a product of his thoughts and words. So, the man decided that he d focus first on his words. His words were more likely something he could change. If he could catch himself before he said something he d regret, he would also have more control over the things he said and perhaps even over the things he thought. For a while, the man was very successful. He took his time. He didn t speak without considering what he would say. He wasn t perfect, but after all, who is? As time went on though, he slipped back to old patterns. He hurt people and created problems for himself with what he said. I ll try harder, he thought, and he committed himself to being more diligent. But the harder he tried, the more he failed, or so it seemed. Finally, he gave up. That story is in reality the same for each and every one of us. The only question then is this What do we mean when we give up? Are we simply defeated? Or, is there a giving up that s really moving forward?

2 (Pause) Your tongue is an agent of harm. Let me be very clear to you not your neighbor s tongue; not your family members tongue; your tongue is an agent of harm. James 3:5-6, So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire corpse of life, and set on fire by hell. Last Sunday, we heard James talk about the disconnect that Christian people can have between faith and works. Faith in Christ now animates and motivates me to do good works as a Christian believer. Faith first, then works, and never one without the other. So, if I have faith in Christ, I should be able to hold my tongue. I should be able to think before I speak. But just like the man at the beginning of the sermon, you are a sinner. Your tongue is an agent of harm. James 3:7-8, For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. None of us is innocent. We can sit right here in the Divine Service, praising our God in heaven, and then leave here cursing His most precious creatures, because there s too much traffic and we can t turn onto the street in our time or when the Chiefs make a stupid play. We praise God one moment, and then with the very same tongue, utter filth about others and even to others. Look at what he s doing. How can she do that! God, thank you that I m not like those people! St. Paul writes in Romans 3:23, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. James would agree wholeheartedly. His proof is the tongue. Our tongues cannot be tamed. Sure, we try. We try and we try and we try. Just like the man in the opening story, we put our mind to fixing the problem. After all, we are children of God. Wouldn t God want us to tame

3 our tongues so that they only speak words that glorify Him? Sure He would. But the harder we try, the worse we seem to do. James 3:2, If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. But you are and I am not a perfect person. We cry out with St. Paul the words of Romans 7:24, Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Pause) Your tongue is an agent of harm. Are we doomed to live this life in a neverending battle against a tongue that would just as soon destroy us as it would honor the God of our salvation? In a way, yes, and in another, no. The daily battle will go on for each of us. You see, the very words of James 3 point us toward the victory that is ours in the battle. Even though the battle rages on, the war is already over. Hear again James 3:2, If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. The Good News for imperfect people like you and me is the perfect man whom God sent for our salvation. Listen to the prophet Isaiah describe this man Jesus in 50:4-6, The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. And again, speaking of Jesus in Isaiah 53:4-7, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we

4 have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Pause) There is no man who is perfect, except one. His name is Jesus. This perfect man God sent down to this earth to do what we could never do on our own pay the ultimate sacrifice for the sins we committed. He bridled His tongue and, in fact, bridled His whole body. He lived the perfect life for you and me. He deserved none of what He received at the hands of those who hung Him on the Cross. He suffered every moment as He bore the burden of our sinful tongues. Jesus lived, died in our stead, and bodily rose from the grave on Easter morning exactly because our tongues are a fire, a world of unrighteousness (3:6). He bridled His tongue even in the face of death so that we might receive His righteousness given to us because He now lives in us. Christ has died for you. Christ has risen for you. Christ will come again for you. You need not give up not in the sense of living in despair or guilt. Instead, you live as children of the heavenly Father. You live as those wayward prodigals who were far off but have now been brought near by the blood of Jesus. You live as those given the eternal inheritance of the only Son of God, who was silent on your behalf. You live by giving in. In the waters of your Baptism, the fire that burns from your tongue was extinguished. The Word of God that you hear fills your mind and your heart with the pure truth from God. That Word replaces all of the other words and gives your tongue something righteous to both speak and sing about. As you receive the true body and blood of Christ in the unleavened bread and wine of His Supper, the wounds inflicted on you by the things you say are healed. Yes, God s grace is a

5 cleansing flood that forgives you as far as the east is from the west. The fires of hell cannot stand against you, because you are in Christ Jesus. And, what you are helpless against on your own, you conquer in Christ. (Pause) There is no one perfect except Jesus. You will try to bridle your tongue and your body and your mind, but they will fail you. And though you should never stop trying, your trying must now be in Christ giving up on yourself and giving in to Him. Only in Him, do you receive the forgiveness of sins that goes way beyond giving up. Jesus words in Mark 9:23 are so appropriate and fitting for daily living. All things are possible for one who believes. We who are imperfect and daily fall short, receive our perfection in Christ. By Him and through His Spirit given, we are renewed, strengthened and guided according to His Word and will. In Christ, the story does not end for that man we heard of at the beginning of the sermon. Nor does it end for us in despair and uncertainty. In Christ, it ends in victory. Just as Jesus cast out a demon who had made a boy mute, so He sets us free from bondage to the devil and sin so that we have something new to speak and sing about. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, so that you speak and sing of Him to others, telling them what the Savior has done for all. Yes, because of Jesus, let the words of Psalm 51:15 be upon your tongues O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. Amen.