In the second reading of this 19th Sunday in Ordinary Times, Year B, (Ephesians 4:29-5:2), St. Paul urges us not to grieve the Holy Spirit and then goes on to list a few things that we should not be doing—unforgiveness, unwholesome speech, anger and bitterness, slander, bad attitudes toward others. Apparently, it is how we live that bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit.
In order not to grieve the Holy Spirit, St. Paul talks about guarding against unwholesome speech. “Let every word that comes from your mouth be such that it is edifying to those who hear it.” Our words need to be always geared toward encouraging others because what we say, at any given moment, may be the only pillar of strength left to help someone stand up and pull through. How we make others feel about themselves, says a lot about who we are.
St. Paul also urges us to forgive just as God has forgiven us. This issue of forgiveness keeps coming up again and again even to the point that Christ included it in the “Our Father” prayer. Forgiveness is an Old Testament and New Testament theme that we cannot avoid. It has so much to do with the way we live our lives. We need to forgive others, not because they deserve it or need it, but because we deserve to live in peace with God and the self, for every minute we live in unforgiveness, we lose sixty seconds of happiness and divine presence. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and it is important to know that the prisoner that is being set free is you.
St. Paul also points out the need to guard against unholy anger. Anger can be very destructive because it can consume and subsume our selfcontrol, making us think, say, and do things we will, most probably, regret later. A Chinese proverb says, “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” Anger, when vented thoughtlessly, can hurt others and be very destructive. If bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. Anger nursed is an incubator for a health catastrophe.
St. Paul goes on to warn against slander and gossip. The Bible says that “Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip and liars pay close attention to slander” (Proverb 17:4). It is always good to know that gossip and slander are not victimless crimes for they do not dissipate into thin air. Lies and vicious rumors can forcefully, painfully, and lastingly injure, maim, and destroy lives, sully reputations, ruin careers, and damage people’s futures. The words we speak have so much power to effect good or evil. We must carefully and wisely choose what we do with our speech.
Ours is to bring love, joy, and peace into our lives and the life of others by choosing to hear and speak only positive, uplifting, kind, and caring words; by choosing to touch hearts in a positive and meaningful way; by choosing to leave our heart imprints, not our hand imprints, on people’s lives; and by choosing to inspire others to goodness and to truly make a difference in this world. At the end of each day, our question needs to be: Did I bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit or glory to God with my words, attitudes, and actions? May the good Lord make us agents of love, joy, and peace.
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