The Word, Word

12/18/2015

John 4. 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. – St. John

In John’s Gospel, the word, word occurs 35 times. It either appears as word, or as words. It begins with this simple statement: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1.1) So, right off the bat we have the understanding of the importance of the word, word.

And it’s not just John who points out the importance of the word, word. The Bible Itself begins with: “And God said…” God, in the beginning, said… God spoke the world into existence. And the war of words has been fought ever since.

I thought about voice and speech this morning as I read: “Go; your son will live” [and] the man believed the word[s] that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. I thought about how many times on the planet words are spoken. I thought about the origin of words – where they come from. And I thought about the importance of words – what they mean, what they represent. Oh, and the child lived.

I can’t explain words, as I use them in written form, to express the thoughts I think I have about them. A chemical reaction (I suppose) happens in the brain which causes another chemical reaction to cause the lungs to expel air which passes over the larynx and pass over the tongue and the lips and a word is voiced. Then, the word is then received by the use of sound waves and bounces off those mysteriously shaped things called, ears; to capture the sound into the auditory canal which is then sensed by the auditory nerves within, and is received and interpreted in the brain by the use of more chemicals and the word is then understood (or not). That’s a lot of chemicals and air and brain function and physical function and understanding (or misunderstanding).

That doesn’t fully define language or expression. That doesn’t include body language or other means of expression or communication. Think about how many times a day your own brain engages your body and out comes words for others to hear and understand (or misunderstand). I thought about the number of words. And I thought about numbers – how big is the biggest number? (It’s always one more than the last biggest and one less that the next biggest…)

And I thought: is it just sound that’s important, or is the meaning and heart, or intention behind the words that which means something? Is it Who that speaks, or what is spoken, which is important? And why is Jesus referred to as The Word; and why is that important?

I can’t answer all those questions in this blog. I can’t answer all of the what’s, why’s, how’s, and all that to meet everyone else’s satisfaction. But I can express this: Whatever God says is worth listening to and applying to one’s life and mode of behavior. The word, Word is important; and we hearers of the word, ought to be doers, of said word watching in utter amazement as the world in which we live is changed for the better right before our eyes. Words are important but God’s Word is worth living by – He’s speaking to each one of us right now, asking us to live the way He intends we live.

God spoke and it came to be; should we, His children, expect anything less?