‘Thou shalt not kill “: good! but there are many things in life, not usually called killing, which yet seem to kill. The stinging word, the pitiless act, the betrayed trust, the broken pledge – these shorten men’s days.
If thou hast heard a word, let it die with thee, and be bold, it will not burst thee.
Love is the only remedy for slander: no set of rules or restrictions can stop it; we may denounce, but we shall denounce in vain. The radical cure of it is Charity…
“Adder’s poison is under their lips.”
If you your lips would guard from slips,
Five things observe with care
Of whom you speak,
to whom you speak,
And how,
and when,
and where.
When everybody is occupied, we only speak when we have something to say; but when we are doing nothing, we are compelled to be always talking; and of all torments, that is the most annoying and the most dangerous.
…And yet these great talkers do not at all speak from their having anything to say, as every sentence shows, but only from their inclination to be talking.
Mary of Bethany on the other hand, though of a poor background, living at home with her brother and sister, maligned by those around her, rejected by others because she was not married and criticised by her sister because she wanted to spend time with Jesus, is the one who in our story today shows by her generosity true nobility. A humble nobility to which all of us wealthy or hard-pressed, Well-educated or not able to complete schooling may aspire.
By indulging in healthy thoughts you attract to yourself everything necessary to your well-being happiness, health, strength, and friends.
We receive and give unconsciously, but we attract to ourselves only that which in some sense belongs to us. The magnet may pass through many substances, but it gathers and holds only the metal for which it has a mysterious affinity.
Suffolk Vicar 