The United Nations of our language

 

Writer Luis Alberto Urrea points out to us that every day, from the tip of our tongues, we speak a borrowed language.  English borrowed, “coyote” from Spanish as well as words like: Florida, bronco, vanilla, chocolate and rodeo.  Urrea says, “English! It’s made up of all these untidy words. Have you noticed?  Native American (skunk), German (waltz), Danish (twerp), Latin (adolescent), Scottish (feckless)…” on and on.  It’s a glorious wreck (a good old Viking word, that). Glorious, I say, in all its shambling, mutable beauty.  People daily speak a quilt work of words, and continents and nations and tribes and even enemies dance all over your mouth when you speak.” 

 

We are constantly mixing and mingling our words, our sentences are a United Nations conglomeration.  There is a great line of the hymn, O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, that goes, “What language shall I borrow to thank you dearest Friend?”  Every day we are bartering through languages that are lent to us.  And sometimes things get lost in translation from our lips to another ears, and vice versa. 

 

Are there words that cause your soul to stir with delight?  Words like, “Love” (derives from German) or “Ice Cream” or “Dogs” all cause a smile to dance across my face. 

 

What words warm your heart?

 

Now, reverse that question, what words are like nails on the chalkboard of your soul? 

 

Words like, “Hate”, words that dehumanize or marginalize and hurt and harm others are part of my list.

 

Today, consider the words that fall from the tip of your tongue.  Listen to what you are saying.  What is the lingering taste that is left in your month once the word leaps to ride the air currents to another’s ears.  Sometimes my words can taste sweet, other times sour.  Sometimes I want to pull my invisible words from the air and shove them back in my mouth from whence they came.  Words matter and make a difference.  Words create worlds.  Let the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart (Psalm 19:14) today be in concert with our still sing and speaking God.  Amen.