8th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Readings: Sirach 27:4-7,
I Corinthians 15:54-58
Luke 6:39-45
"A good man draws what
is good
from the store of goodness in his hear…”
Today's gospel is still a continuation of last Sunday’s, and this makes the second part of the Lukan version of the Sermon on the Mount. Again, it further explains the internal morality he preaches.
1. Words are external signs that express what is man’s mind and heart. Speech language is nothing else but the system of expressing words. Reason, which makes man a human being, can be expressed in some other ways than mere words or speech language. Action is one. Thus, we have, body language, which is commonly known as sign language. In some instances, actions are more expressive that is why we often say, "action speaks louder than words." But strictly, words and actions are both signs because they represent another reality, which in this case, refers to what is in one's heart or mind. Only, the normal way human beings communicate is through words. "From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks,” says St. Augustine. That is why words become so necessary and important in the normal life of man. By it, man is immediately known and distinguished as man.
2. If words (as expression of reason) distinguish man from other creatures, words also make a person "a man among men." Meaning, by the words man the words man speaks, he is known as a moral being. The importance of words, therefore, is not only genetical ut moral. And here lies the big difference. It is in this context that we must understand the wisdom of today's gospel: "For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.” We have a good number of reasons why words behold and bespeak of man’s moral image.
First, words must carry the truth. This means that it belong to the nature of speech to tell the truth. It is the main reason why God has gifted us with the ability to speak. Even common sense testifies to this. It not only sounds but also it is indeed foolish to think and believe that man is endowed with such ability to speak just to tell lies. If it were the case, what would humanity be? Communication would make no sense. No one can ever believe anybody. For, surely, no two blind men can just make their way through. This is why liars make no image in a moral society. And in a world, which honors the standards of good and evil, only those who speak the truth are considered as people who make sense of their words.
Second, since words bear the truth (or at least, ought to bear it), words then build fidelity, trust and confidence. What inspires us to tell the truth is the fact that we know we can sow trust and confidence in other people. We know too that, although truth hurts in some instances, we make others believe in us. And not only others. When the right time comes, even those who are hurt at first by the truth we say will realize that we are just doing our basic responsibility as human beings, that we are simply faithful to the gift of speech, which nature has given us, and that we are just trying to meet the imperatives of the gospel wherein only in truth is man really set free. This is why words of truth become self-rewarding, so to say. Meaning, it does not take an extra effort to say it. By simply keeping faithful to the purpose of speech, we gain trust and confidence from people who hear us. Of course, there are times when to tell the truth means more than the usual effort. It may mean life itself. But even then, our moral responsibility does not end with it. Instead, it pushes us all the more because we know that by being faithful to what is true we make ourselves not only human but also Christian: And people may even trust and believe in us all the more.
Third, the only in words that build fidelity, trust and confidence can friendship be born. Two or three make friends not necessarily because they are madly in love with one another, but because they believe in each other and trust in one another. They trust, believe and are confident that each will always be faithful to his words. Thus, their fidelity keeps their relationship; their infidelity breaks it. This is just equally true to marriage, which is considered as the highest form of friendship between a man and a woman. Without mutual fidelity, trust and confidence, marital partnership will not work at all. And more so, it is precisely in this sense that Jesus calls his disciples friends because to them he unveils the truth of God’s kingdom. In short, words that bear the truth make friendship while words that carry lies destroy it. That is why St. Thomas would say: “Lying can never be without wrong. For the trust (which builds