Rhetoric

Words, words, words.  So much of this presidential political campaign is words, words, words.  At some point it begins to sound like Charlie Brown’s school teacher.  Wah wah, wah wah, wah wah.

So I wonder, what about the words we utter in our proclamation of The Word each time we climb into the pulpit?  Do we become cartoon teachers as well?  Or is there something different about our words?  It frightens me a bit to think about the church in terms of words, particularly the words of its preachers.

So I wonder a bit more.  Do our words matter only insomuch as they lead us to practice our faith?  Words with a purpose?  Is that, perhaps, the way God’s Spirit inspires the Word in us each time we hear the words?

As the presidential candidate speaks, I wonder how important the words are unless some of the hopes, dreams, and promises find feet and become enacted in the corporate life of our nation.  The practice of being citizens together?

We are people of words.  Words describe who we are, what we believe, and what matters most to us.  Words shape and form our identities and our communities.  And yet when my daughter skins her knee she is comforted more by my cuddles than my words.  Perhaps that’s why the Word became flesh…

Just some musings while listening to the political rhetoric of the day…

~ by Jeff on August 29, 2008.