Hello Friends,

I am looking at the news reports about the fires blazing just over the crest of a hill a couple of hundred yards from my former home in southern California. In October of 2004, there was a wildfire that forced evacuations in my neighborhood. I can never forget the sting of the acidic smoke making it hard to breathe, with the dreaded Santa Ana winds forcing into my face... Last night, a beloved friend posted on social media a video of billowing smoke and flames shooting up into the sky from her back yard. Her words were, “This is no joke time.”

With this backstory in mind, when I read the epistle text of St James this morning, these words grabbed my attention:

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.

{James 3:5-10].

Having borne witness not only to the devastation of wildfires, but also the devastation of rumor, inuendo and false narrative, I feel James’ words viscerally.

I’m convinced that we can all embrace the last verse of Psalm 19 (v4): Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.

May we always think before we speak and avoid the devastation of a carelessly spoken andinflammatory word.

In faith and love,

Pan +