Words Words Words

I have been thinking about words. Words with power. Words with power to create. Words with power to divide. Words with mythical power. Words with with power to create reality.

Sets of words that fascinate me today are: you/me; us/them; we/they; any pronouns that set division, fissure in place. These sets of words and their relatives take on many forms in the daily conversation that surrounds me in my family, friends, and community creating divisions that define me and my relationships, actions and reality.

These words define power, create power, use power in the modern world (oops postmodern) in which we live. Combine this fact with the post colonial environment in which I exist, a small Indian community in SW MN, and the power of words explodes with devastation and annihilation of mind and spirit.

I have come to a point were the issue is the word power. The word power indicates a commodity, a resource, a desire, a need, a tool, a lack of belief. Word power is a privilege that those who believe (confused yet?) in power exercise with many forms of finesse and prowess.

I was at the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota (SmokyWater) Convention were the perceived exercise of power was in the finesse and prowess one used in front of microphones and in clusters of us/them in the hallways and corners. It was a picture of lack of belief and scramble for salvation - Power. Some of my brothers and sisters described being exhausted following this exercise of word power. For those that live daily in this onslaught of words of inclusion/exclusion, of fissure, of division, of have/have nots the Convention was another walk in the park of truth, somewhat tiring due to the walk but nothing extraordinarily strenuous. In fact for those on the them side of the word sets, this particular walk in the park of truth was kinda pretty, we now have new friends on our side of the fissure, they just don't know it but oh do they feel it - can we say exhaustion?

Words, words, words. See, how easy it is to use the word sets of power in confusion with belief, righteousness, truth. I have been challenged by my naive awareness that words should be about the inclusion of God's incarnate love. God's desire is for us to supersede/predicate our truths, our reality with the love of God and neighbor, the filter of all our human words, our human creation.

The kicker for me was the RCL Gospel appointed for All Saints YearC (Luke 6:20-31). Beginning at verse 27 the action picks up, "to you that listen, Love your enemies. This was followed by do good to, bless, and pray for all varieties of "them". Then, here is the punch line, "Do to others as you would have them do you." This is not a philosophical platitude but a call, as disciples, to action. Do to others, is not a thought but a deed. The philosophy could enter into as you would have them do to you but that is a modern (oops post modern) cultural tendency not what the gospel says because for Jesus it was core of the Torah (another cultural tendency), the love of God and neighbor, that is what we would have them do to us (a proper use of us/them).

I have to leave for a Department of Indian Work Clericus.

Tata and Peace.