May 20, 2001

CYBERCOLUMN:
Words and Deeds
___By John Duncan
___I am sitting here under the old oak tree listening for the sounds of spring. A sparrow perches on the barbed-wire fence and chirps. A lawn mower grinds, and a weed trimmer whines in the distance. The wind whistles as the grass blows furiously on this day. I hear the echo of words in my ear.
___I think of Jesus' words which evoked power.
___To seekers on a Galilean hill, Jesus taught with words: "And he opened his mouth and taught them saying, 'Blessed …'" (Matthew 5:2-3).
___To the self-righteous, Jesus gave a warning: "Do you not therefore err, because you do not know the Scriptures, neither the power of God?" (Mark 12:24).

John Duncan

___To the demonic, Jesus spoke strong words of retreat: "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit" (Mark 5:8).
___To the commoners, Jesus told stories to awaken the senses and warm the soul, "And he spoke another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like …'" (Matthew 13:33).
___To the crippled and sick, Jesus spoke healing, "Rise, take up your bed, and walk" (John 5:8).
___To the boastful proud, Jesus uttered an urgent rebuke, "Get behind me, Satan."
___To the confused and hurting, Jesus encouraged, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1).
___Not long ago, I taught my daughter to drive her five-speed Ford Mustang. I spoke words of instruction, "Let your foot off the clutch slowly when you shift gears." With a bump and a jump, she learned in the throes of anxiety and with many words.
___Recently, doctors diagnosed my neighbor with lung cancer. A voice of concern and care flowed from the lips of the family. A bunch of guys from the church teamed up and mowed their yard. That's what a Christian community is supposed to do. Words speak. Deeds live. God's face connects words and deeds. One guy prayed with the cancer patient, a man now struggling through chemotherapy, radiation and sleeping with oxygen tubes connected to his nose. The prayer connected heaven and earth, the voice of a struggling man and the heart of God in hope for recovery. Words enliven.
___Just last week, my friend and mentor, Joseph McClain, passed away. He taught me Greek in my college days. He taught me the value of words—their etymology, their underlying interpretive force from historical settings and their meanings in contemporary culture. He asked me to deliver the eulogy at his funeral by mining the depth of meaning from the words of 1 Corinthians 13. He urged me to highlight the supremacy of love. He taught me that love is more than noise. Love is listening. Under his tutelage, I learned to listen to the rhythms of words in the Bible and to listen to the rhythms of God. More than what you know, love is Who you know: Jesus. And more than giving, love is a gift. Words spin a story in the gospel of Jesus' love.
___Dr. McClain shared wise words: "The really smart person does not know everything, but knows where to go to find something." He introduced me to word smiths and scholars with the names of A.T. Robertson and R.C.H. Lenski. Their written words inspire me to this day. Dr. McClain's faithfulness to God in teaching about words lives in me and with me. Words link heart and soul in a common bond.
___In the midst of words, I seek to understand circumstances—teaching my daughter to drive; agonizing with a neighbor in a time of sickness, uncertainty, and anguish; grieving in life's shadows in the memory of words. I also look into a face when confronted in an exchange of words. Sometimes I see the face of God amid words.
___As Emily Dickinson says of circumstances and of God: "All Circumstances are the Frame In which His Face is set."
___So, here I am under the old oak tree, penning words. Do words make a difference? Do they challenge? Do they motivate change? Do words have a face?
___Nineteenth century poet Christina Rossetti speaks to me in the 21stcentury. Her words penetrate to the core of the gospel story and to the heart of the supremacy of love: "Words are spoken: deeds and lives speak." In life, words are spoken and deeds and lives speak. What are you speaking?

___John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines.






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