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Gospel: Luke 7: 18-23
At that time,
John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask,
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
When the men came to the Lord, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,
‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”
At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits;
he also granted sight to many who were blind.
And Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Words have power.
They can build people up or tear them down.
Both John the Baptist and King Herod remind us of that.
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In today’s Gospel, for example, John the Baptist is locked inside a prison cell deep inside King Herod’s palace, which is why he sends his friends to Jesus.
John told King Herod that his marriage was unlawful. Now he’s paying the price for his words.
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Within a matter of days, King Herod will do the same.
While drunk at a party, Herod will make a foolish promise to a young girl. “Ask of me anything you want and it’s yours.”
To his surprise, the girl will ask for the head of John the Baptist, causing Herod to spill innocent blood.
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Two men whose lives were changed because of their words.
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Like Herod and John, our words matter. We speak, write, and text thousands of them every day, and they can either hurt or inspire.
If we were to read a transcript of every word we’ll speak by the end of the day, what might it say? Would we speak each of those words again?
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“From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks,” Jesus says.
May every word we say build others up, never tearing them down.
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Image credits: (1) Transformative Conversations Consulting (2) National Catholic Reporter (3) Catholic365.com