Teachers tend to have a very large impression upon us. They can often shape us into the people we will eventually become. I still remember my second grade teacher’s name. Mrs. Belasco. Also a substitute teacher in 5th grade named Miss Barci. I recall the class giving her a lot of grief and it was the first time I remember getting up in front of a group to speak my mind…yelling at the class for treating her so harshly. And, yes, she was very cute. Not that that had any bearing on me defending her. Then there was Mr. Colletti. My high school biology teacher who fostered my love for medicine and, eventually, veterinary medicine. All three had tremendous impact on my development as a student and as a person.
And, as they say, with that power comes awesome responsibility. There were also those who had more of a negative influence based on their demeanor and management of their classes. But these will go nameless. Teachers are given a very powerful role in terms of how they effect those they have had the privilege to be put in charge of. And the apostle James seems to agree with me.
In the first reading, James begins by telling his audience that, “Not everyone should become teachers..” Well, I could have told him that after barley surviving the sister who taught my 7th grade class. I recall losing most of my allowance money to fines for dropping my textbooks on the floor. But she was also the person, along with my 8th grade religious sister teacher, that I now recall fostered my passion for reading. And this skill carried me throughout my college and professional career.
James talks about how the tongue is a small but powerful member of our bodies. The tongue can bless God but also then curse our neighbor…who carries God’s divinity. The tongue can praise and it can insult. It can quell or it can start a fire. He compares it to the bit in a horse’s mouth allowing us to control a beast much larger than ourselves. Or use the same bit to inflict harm and punishment on an innocent creature. He also describes the tongue as like the rudder of a great ship allowing us to steer into or out of rough seas.
Of course the tongue is neither inherently evil or inherently beneficial. It can be described as good since all that comes from God is good. But it is the bearer of this fickle organ that can turn its use into something for good or use it to inflict discourse and anguish. Elise and I just started watching the BBC series, Downton Abbey. We are into season 4 I think. Two characters stand out in my mind that illustrate James’ lessons about the use of one’s tongue.
One of the characters is Thomas. He has become notorious for manipulating people in the household so as to benefit his own goals and desires, at the expense of the reputations of his co-workers. It seems apparent that he has had a difficult past which likely is influencing the choices he makes but we have not gotten to that part of the story yet.
Then there is Mrs. Hughes. She, like Thomas, is always watching and is aware of the goings on in the Abbey. Both with the royal family as well as with the household staff. She, however, uses the knowledge of the difficulties the household experiences to gives advice and aid in the struggles they encounter. She is always ready to guide troubled souls along a better path. In one case with Thomas we see someone who has not learned to control the gift of speech while Mrs. Hughes had tamed the beast that is in her mouth to the betterment of all.
The reality is that we all have a bit of Thomas and a bit of Hughes in our personalities. At times we inflame and at times we douse the fires around us. We at times use our rudder to steer the ship out of turmoil and at other times intentionally sail into a hurricane. How do we train that beast to serve God as it was intended to be used for?
We have guides, don’t we? We have teachers, we have parents, we have priests and friends that are placed into our lives to steer us along the right path. To act as guard rails to prevent us for going over the edge of the cliff. And God gave us His Son to help us to know when the guides are doing His will and when they are trying to take us out into the rough water. As God said to Peter, James and John during the Transfiguration on the mount: “This is My Son. Listen to Him”.
