Wise Words

From the first lesson from Proverbs: “Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice…I will make my words known to you.” From the Psalm: “the testimony of the Lord is sure, and gives wisdom.” From the Epistle lesson from James: “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits…A great forest is set ablaze by a small fire. And the tongue is a fire!” And, from the Gospel lesson from Mark: “But who do you say that I am?” Can we see the theme here? The importance of wisdom in the spoken word. Conversely, the damage that the unwise, careless or cruel word can cause. It is rare in my experience for there to be such a clear theme in all four of the readings on a single Sunday.