By Steve Hall
For those who originated the word, ‘logos’ can have the meanings “I put in order, I arrange, I gather, I choose, I count, I reckon, I discern, I say, I speak.” And behind all these connotations is the presumption of power — power to effect what I choose, order, and arrange.
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Isaiah 55:10-11
Matthew 6:7-15
At this point in time, the song “It's Only Words,” by the Bee Gees, is more than fifty years old. Introduced by the BeeGees and since covered by multiple artists. It retains a notable level of popularity. It might be considered a lamentation regarding the limitations of interpersonal connection. But, more than any other pop music lyrics, it addresses something we all struggle with in our efforts to share with others.
“It’s only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away.”
The term ‘word’ as used today fails to capture the richness of the term from which it evolved. The dictionary says that ‘word’ means “a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning.” Sounds more than just a bit academic. Nevertheless, it is an accurate description of modern usage. A couple of thousand years ago, its meaning wasn’t so sterile.
It would be cumbersome to go into a philological study about origins and developments. A brief summary will have to do.
St John, in his Gospel, uses the Greek word ‘logos.’ St Jerome would later translate this as ‘verbum.’ ‘Verbum’ would in time be translated as ‘word.’ Some would recognize the limitations of ‘word’ used alone and opt for ‘living word.’ But what was the original meaning? And what was John using the term to express?
As previously noted, the original term, the one John used, was borrowed from the Greek. That term was ‘logos,’ and it embodied notions of reason, logic, order, or understanding. Among its connotations is that of a rational form of discourse. So for those who originated the word, ‘logos’ can have the meanings “I put in order, I arrange, I gather, I choose, I count, I reckon, I discern, I say, I speak”. And behind all these connotations is the presumption of power — power to effect what I choose, order, and arrange.
With that understanding, we can more deeply appreciate the message Isaiah presents as God's.
The Isaiah text, Isaiah 55:10, opens with the common experience of rain. Whether it comes as snow or rain, moisture does not fall from the sky and immediately return whence it came. Rather, it first makes the earth fertile and fruitful by watering the soil and plants, giving life. I’m not sure how Isaiah knew this, but rain does make the soil more fertile. It does so because lightning converts atmospheric nitrogen into a form plants can use. That nitrogen falls with the rain; thus, plants are more productive. The consequences are extraordinary. There is grain for the one who has planted. That leads to flour for the one who makes the bread. And that leads to the building up of life.
“So too, says the Lord, is my word.
It has a purpose and it will accomplish that purpose.
It will not return to me having done nothing.
And God said; “Let there be light.”
John would go on to describe that power as found in Jesus himself.
“All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:3)
However, it’s easy to overlook the connection that Jesus would make between the power of our own logos, our own words. We hear him teach it in Matthew:
“What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” (Matthew 15:18-20)
Our words also have power, and that is not necessarily for the good. Words not only have the power to “take your heart away,” but they also have the power to minimize, diminish, and degrade. And what’s more, they reveal us for what we truly are.
Every creative word that God spoke was both a revelation of and an expression of himself. So, when he created the universe, the sun, the moon, and the stars, the earth and its plants and its creatures, and even man himself, he found it good. What else could it be? “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” So we can know something of God through his creation. The same is true for us. Our creations are also revelatory, and it is important that we ourselves be mindful of the person they reveal.
The word has power. Even our words will not return to us empty.