A little African American boy was watching the balloon man at the county fair. The man was evidently a good salesman because he allowed a red balloon to break loose and soar high up in the air, thereby attracting a crowd of prospective young customers.
Then he released a blue balloon, then a yellow one, and a white one. They all went soaring up into the sky until they disappeared. The little boy stood looking at black balloon for a long time, then asked, “Sir, if you sent the black one up, would it go as high as the others”
The balloon man gave the kid an understanding smile. Then he snapped the string that held the black balloon in place, and as it soared upwards, he said, “It isn’t the color son. It’s what inside that makes us rise.”
We all rise when our insides consist of love, care, compassion, mercy, faith, truth, or integrity. What makes us fall? What makes our balloons pop? One candidate is prejudice. Prejudices are what rule the vulgar crowd, so said Voltaire, the 16th century French writer and philosopher.
We have the first letter from John who said: "Whoever is prejudiced against his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. This quote from John’s letter actually says “hates his brother,” but prejudice is a form of hate, so we can substitute it.
In our first reading from Deuteronomy, we heard: “This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.” The United States unquestionably is a great nation. We are still the leader of the free world with our belief in God and justice for all being our cornerstone. However, prejudice can make a nation ignorant and its people stupid.
To counter that prejudice – that ignorance and stupidity – we must always remember our pledge we need to recite far more often: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.” Many of us fly or wear that flag; therefore, as Catholics we must reject prejudice, that ignorance and stupidity. Christ certainly did.
Consider our responsorial psalm about justice and truth: “The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord. Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. Who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor…Whoever does these things shall never be disturbed.” A key phrase is: “…thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue…”
This introduces us to the Gospel according to Mark that reads in part: Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Our second reading from the letter of James gives us the cure. James said: “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not only hearers.” Our baptisms planted the word in our hearts and minds. We simply must act on our baptismal promises. We must welcome the word and do what it says – what Jesus told us. That’s how we combat the evil within.
Here’s one way to welcome and husband the Word planted in us. The average person speaks 11,000,000 words a year. I know one woman – she will remain nameless – for whom 11,000,000 words a year is no problem. She can do that in a month. At the age of 65 the word count would be 715 million. Imagine the amount of that many words that can defile us, if we are not careful.
Let’s remember Jesus’ conclusion: “All these evils come from within and they defile.” Therefore, we must guard against using our tongues without using our minds. This means we should think before we speak. Here's a way to help us decide whether we are about to say something we shouldn't. We should ask the following questions tied to the word “think.”
T Is it true? Is it misleading? Is it an exaggeration or a lie?
H Is it helpful? Or is destructive and egotistical?
I Is it inspiring? Or is it a put down or an insult?
N Is it necessary? Or is it self-serving. Is it harmful gossip on social media?
K Is it kind? Is it consistent with our Catholic morality and Jesus’ commandments? Or is it cruel? Here’s another “K.” Would Christ our King approve?
If what we are about to say does not pass this simple “think” test, then we shouldn’t say it. Think before we speak, and, as we sang in our psalm, think the truth in our hearts and slander not with our tongues.
Deacon David Pierce
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