Words matter. Many of us were taught and no doubt repeated the lie, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt us.” Yet think of childhood injuries from falls, accidents, and sports. Unless they left permanent damage, their pain and struggle is behind us.
On the other hand, is there some hurtful statement a friend, family member, teacher, or bully made in our past that we still well remember? We may say we have put it in the past, but if so, why such a clear memory of the statement many years past the time in which it was spoken?
Words of course also can bring healing and comfort. We may remember some of those as well. Words can bring release from guilt, from a negative feeling about ourselves, and provide empowerment for us. Words also have the power to remove many burdens we might carry around.
Martin Luther called the church “A Mund Haus”, that is, a “Mouth House”. The church is all about words. Genesis tells us creation occurred through God’s word, “And God said…” John’s Gospel starts by saying God’s word was present in the beginning and goes on to say, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us”. Jesus, the person both embodied and was God’s word come to earth.
In God’s Mund Haus, our worship is all about words. Worship leaders speak, the gathered assembly responds. Scripture is read, a pastor preaches, all in the name and conveying of God’s word. We put to music and sing those words that by themselves seem to need a little boost for their depth to be better expressed. Sometimes we have silence which feels like it speaks its own word about God. The words of prayer are lifted up in hope, praise, and faith. God’s Mund Haus, indeed!
Many times because of all these words, we huddle following worship in the sidewalks, the benches, and the Campus Center for conversation, for coffee, and for bits or, for our students, abundance, of food. Often all are made better by the words spoken, heard, and sung in worship.
Mund Haus. Word House. God’s Mund Haus and God’s Word House. The words invite us to be different in the world we inhabit throughout the week; in our own personal mission fields. The words call us to release from that which weighs us down and too often prevents us from living as those following Christ. The words call us to bring release to others in need of release.
The reality of the Christian life is that God continues to create through God’s holy speech, God’s word. We are called to live as those who believe and trust we have been spoken to and we are called to live as those who believe and trust God can and does use our words. Mund Haus. God’s Mund Haus. Our Mund Haus. A place where God’s words and ours intersect and we and the world can be the better for it.