Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s first reading, we hear how our mouth and tongue are “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Although we do acknowledge, “from the same mouth come blessing and cursing,” the reading focuses that our speech, along with the rest of our will, is in a fallen state due to the effects of sin. Even looking back to the first sin, we see how quickly the fire of deception, which came from the serpent’s tongue, spread, leading to the first evil act by man. So, how are we supposed to direct our speech?
In the Gospel, the story of the Transfiguration provides the answer. After Jesus was transfigured in a most brilliant way, it is reasonable to think that the Apostles who witnessed this event would immediately want to tell everyone about this revealing sight. However, they were instead instructed to not tell anyone and “Listen to Him.” In addition, they were told that the Son of Man would rise from the dead. What the Apostles do next is how we ought to use our speech. The obedience of the Apostles in keeping the matter to themselves and questioning what rising from the dead meant is an example of how to speak humbly in search of the truth.
When we know something, our fallen nature inclines us to want to win praise or amazement from others by sharing it with others before we even completely understand it. What the Gospel tells us to do instead is not be completely silent, necessarily, but moderate our speech with humility and acknowledge the limits of our understanding. Thus, by living out the virtue of humility, we can tame the fire of our speech, which allows us to listen to others and, even more so, to Christ, who “does not fall short in speech,” because “he is a perfect man.”
Reflection by Rendon, seminarian
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections