Words have power. False words have power to kill. Our United States Constitution protects the right to free speech, but it does not protect the right to use words in ways that destroy or kill. On June 14, 1920, Irene Tusken and her boyfriend, Jimmie Sullivan, lied about a sexual assault on Irene. Their words incited “ordinary” white people to violence that culminated the next day in the lynching of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie. Without due process of trial, without evidence, even when a medical doctor determined that Irene did not have signs of assault, at 1st Street and 2nd Avenue East in downtown Duluth, the Black men were hung on a lamppost. 

Words have power. False words have power to kill. Christians and Jews allegedly affirm the 8th Commandment of God given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Martin Luther explained this simply in the Small Catechism, “We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations…” It is simple: demeaning someone by calling them derogatory names, lying about their motives, mis-characterizing a whole class, spreading falsehoods, inciting riots, are clear violations of God’s order and basic decency. 

Words have power. Respectfully used, words have power to build, to unite, to create new possibilities, to bless and nurture. It’s quite simple. Words that create, care, correct, reconcile are the voice of God. They are holy in practical, plain ways. 

We have witnessed the power of words to incite and destroy. It is now in our power to use words to reconcile, to correct, to rebuild, to unite. It is now in RLC’s power to use words in conversation and deliberation to decide how this church will be a force for good in this time. 

– Pastor Chris

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord,
my rock and my redeemer. 

– Psalm 19:14