James 3:1-10 / Mark 9:2-13 (2022)
To say that digital electronics or computer technology is very complicated or sophisticated, that may not be actually so.
Because at its very fundamentals are just two states - an ON or an OFF state or signal; it's either a 1 or a 0.
But by various combinations of ones and zeros, the resultant is a very complex and sophisticated digital electronic system.
By the same token, to say that we human beings are a very complex and sophisticated race, that may not actually be so.
Yet, we have that ability to complicate and confuse our lives and the lives of others around us by just one small and even hidden part of our body.
That part of the body is pointed out in the 1st reading from the letter of St. James.
Our tongue, although small and hidden from sight, can make or break relationships, can heal or hurt, can bless or curse, can create or destroy.
We know the awesome power of our tongue; or at least we know the power of other people's tongues.
But to tame our tongue to do good, we must have a transformation of another organ - the heart.
May the glorious Transfiguration of Jesus also transform our hearts, so that we will be turned ON to God and turned OFF from the devil.
May our tongues bless the Lord and proclaim His goodness always.