February 12, 2017 – Matthew 5:21-27
Matthew 5:21-27
The Power of Words
6th Sunday after Epiphany – Lectionary 6
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
When I was studying Arabic my teacher – who was a Palestinian Christian – would
occasionally teach us Arabic proverbs.
One of them went like this:
Ra’sul kaslani maghzanush shaytan.
Literally it means “an empty head is a storehouse for Satan.”
While we say, “Ignorance is bliss” the Arabic proverb is telling us ignorance is not bliss.
Ignorance is dangerous.
And words uttered in ignorance are very dangerous – and can lead to murder and death.
Two weeks ago we saw a prime example of this.
6 men were shot dead in a mosque in Quebec City.
6 men were murdered, their children left without fathers and their wives widowed.
All were immigrants, all were Muslims, all had chosen to live in Canada.
At the funeral for three of them last week, Imam Hassan Guillet spoke of these 6 victims,
as well as the injured.
But then he spoke of another victim – he spoke of Alexandre Bissonet,
who walked into the mosque and began shooting.
In his address, Imam Guillet spoke of how Alexandre didn’t arise in a vacuum.
Of how he didn’t just wake up one day and out of the blue decide to go to the mosque and
shoot a bunch of Muslims.
Rather, he spoke of how some politicians and some journalists had – with their words –
poisoned our atmosphere – and in that way had poisoned Alexandre’s mind.
And of how the result of that was the deaths of 6 innocent Canadians.
Those words that poisoned the atmosphere of Canada were powerful.
Sometimes we think, “They are just words – they cannot hurt me.”
But words are powerful.
Every preacher knows the power of words.
The Bible knows the power of words –
James says, “The tongue is a fire – it will kindle up anger.”
And Jesus knows the power of words.
In today’s section from the sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins by talking about murder. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not murder.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister you will be liable to judgment. And if you insult a brother or sister you will be liable to the council. And if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Insults and verbal abuse are just as serious as murder in Jesus’ eyes.
Jesus is saying that murder doesn’t occur in a vacuum –
that is why he is inviting us with the strongest possible language to
consider the power of our words.
Our words can lead to an atmosphere that promotes life and understanding,
or our words can lead to an atmosphere that poisons and leads to murder.
Which leads us this morning to consider whether we all need to be taking the words we say and
use with regards to our Muslim brothers and sisters more seriously.
We are living in an age when language is so easily used to divide people.
Anger is easily vented on social media with presumably little repercussion.
Yet, it poisons the entire environment of social media.
Bullying and body-shaming are rife on social media,
and there are often serious consequences to that.
And we are becoming a society in which it is becoming increasingly difficult to
envision the well-being of the whole.
Rather, certain populations are scapegoated and blamed for the problems of “my group.”
This week, though, we have been reminded from both the Christian and Muslim perspectives,
that our mandate as the people of God is to be witnesses to unity and
reconciliation and forgiveness.
And this witness is not formed in a vacuum.
We come to worship to be formed in God’s ways.
Week after week, we are showered with the language of grace and the language of
inclusion and the language of forgiveness – and that does create a life-giving atmosphere.
Today Jesus invites us to consider the insulting language we use with regard to others
very seriously and then mandates for us instead acts of reconciliation:
If you remember that your brother or sister has something against you first be reconciled.
Similarly the prophet Muhammad was once brought information that a tribe called the
Daws had refused to do something he had asked.
His companions asked what sort of punishment should be meted out upon them.
Muhammad refused to consider punishment and retribution as options.
Instead Muhammad prayed for the Daws and that God might guide them.
These things provide the sort of atmosphere that leads to understanding and inclusion.
If you’re attentive, you can hear where these things lead.
While listening to sports talk radio this week, I heard an interview with former Blue Bomber
Obby Khan.
Khan is a very devout Muslim who owns the Shwarma Khan restaurants in Winnipeg.
It was so refreshing to hear someone speak openly about their faith – on sports radio.
In the wake of the Quebec mosque shootings, he had written an article about being a Muslim.
He said he often used his time in the locker room to educate his fellow players about Islam.
When he was playing in the NFL in 2007, he told one of his team mates he was Muslim.
The guy said, “All we know about Islam is what we see on television – and that ain’t good. You guys are terrorists and you hate the west. Muslims are hated more than black people in the states right now.”
And so he used the opportunity to educate and enlighten and further understanding.
Islam, he writes in the article, is a religion of peace.
And that is true.
Like us, Muslims greet one another regularly with the greeting of peace: Peace be with you.
Like us, Muslims value peace and are not afraid to work for it.
Like Imam Guillet reminds us in his eulogy, Muhammad himself worked tirelessly to turn
enemies into friends in his political career.
And, like us, Muslims have a theory of just war, which means that war is always an evil,
but in some circumstances it is warranted in order to protect the innocent.
Like us, there are extremists among them, who will use scripture to justify whatever they want.
And like us, Muslims are children of Abraham,
believers in a God of limitless mercy and compassion,
who place a high value on community and hospitality and neighbourliness.
It is time to counter misinformation with real information.
It is time to counter alternative facts with real facts.
It is time to be careful with our words, as Jesus very forcefully reminds us today.
It is time to nurture the things that bind us together rather than the things that divide us.
It is time to love our neighbours – and sometimes it is time to love our enemies.
It is time to listen to Obby Khan and hear the wisdom in his voice.
And it is time to listen to Imam Guillet and hear the wisdom in his words –
which is identical to the wisdom of Jesus this morning:
and that is simply this: our words are powerful.
They make a difference.
Whether they are said out loud in conversation or whether they are said on social media.
And if we remain silent we sin by omission.
The time of politely tolerating misinformation, alternative facts,
and poorly based opinion must come to an end.
Because as Jesus says this morning they lead to a bad end –
they lead to murder as we saw two Sundays ago.
And because as Imam Guillet said last week, they lead to a poisoned environment.
As Obby Khan wrote in his article, “We all need to speak up.”
This morning, I’m speaking up.
I know Islam intimately and well and I have learned a great deal from its greatest writers and
thinkers and from Muslim friends.
It’s time to fill our heads with understanding and love.
We cannot afford to ghettoize ourselves any more – because the price of that has just been paid
by 6 innocent Canadians.
Let our words be filled with knowledge and love – and may they promote an environment of
understanding and love where life may flourish for all, no matter where you were born or
what is your religion or ethnicity or sexual orientation.
For the God we love and worship harbours a love for us all that is
greater than we can possibly comprehend.
So together, let us say, “Amen.”
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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