Allow yourself to be tamed

Today’s Epistle Reading: St. James' Universal Letter 3:1-10 - BRETHREN, let not many of you become teachers, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness. For we all make many mistakes, and if any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Look at the ships also; though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue - a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so.

When a wild horse is captured and tamed to accept a saddle and rider, we use the “broken” since the wild will of the horse has been broken to accept the will of the rider. The same could be said of Christians. As Saint James says in today’s reading, the tongue cannot be tamed since it is like a wild animal, yet we are asked to tame the nonetheless. The life of the Church to those who are wild can be equated to the work of breaking a horse. But for those of us who desire our will to be the will of God, the life of the Church is a blessing to tame our tongue. A horse fights against his trainer because he is both ignorant to the will of the trainer, and because he is wile. We are neither wild, nor are we ignorant to the will of God. And yet we fight the Church. Why?

Once a horse has been broken and has come to trust his trainer, the two build a life-long relationship of mutual respect and dedication. A loyal horse has been known to rescue his trainer from serious danger. Once we understand the Church desires only to train our soul to accept God’s will, then we can engage in a life-long relationship based upon respect and dedication, but our will must be tamed first. We can either fight our trainer (the Church), and suffer through the process, or we can embrace the Church and allow ourselves to be led to God. Thankfully we are not wild animals, but human beings who have been given free will be God. Unlike wild horses, God will not break our will, but invite us offer our will to Him.