Later in history we find Martin Luther and John Calvin fascinating the crowds and changing history. Later still such people as Susan B Anthony, Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill come to mind. Of course, who can forget the great Roosevelt’s: Teddy and Franklin, the presidential speakers.

So what about contemporary religious orators? Every Catholic will remember watching Msgr. Fulton Sheen on television (Uncle Fultie) as we called him. He was the great “Communist fighter” of his time. He also made the most of the scarlet cape that he would whip back as he entered the stage. Hiss speeches can still be found in libraries.

My pick for the greatest American religious orator of our time, of course, goes to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Not a man woman or Child can forget the famous “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Here truly was a speaker who moved a nation.

With all that now said, let us take a brief look at two biblical orators referred to in the scriptures for this Sunday: Ezra, the scribe and Jesus the orator.

Let us say, for instance, that you had drifted from the church long ago and had not seen a catechism from your childhood. Then one day you discovered one in a used bookstore. You began to read it and suddenly fond memories of your catechism days returned. Perhaps tears came to your eyes.

That is the situation we find in the selection from the Jewish Testament of Nehemiah. The Jewish people had just recently returned from Babylonian exile. A sacred scroll was found buried in the rubble of the ruined temple. Ezra, the scribe, called together the entire Jewish congregation and read from the scroll beginning at daybreak and ending at noon. The text says that all the people wept and blessed the great God in thanks for being able to hear The Word once again. Ah, the power of the Word and words!

The gospel text tells of an incident in Jesus’ life that turned out to be prophetic. He returns one Saturday to his home synagogue in Nazareth. Seemingly his skill as a religious orator had preceded him. He is asked to stand, take the scroll and read. He chooses a passage from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: It read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor…” He replaces the scroll in its cupboard, sits down and says: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, Jesus is saying: “I am about to make Isaiah’s prediction my own. I am going to fulfill what Isaiah foretold. I will bring good news he poor, the downtrodden, the dispossessed.” Everyone in the synagogue was astonished at his claim. Nonetheless, this is exactly what Jesus began to do: He preached good news and did marvelous signs of healing throughout his short career. Interestingly, we are still listening to those captivating words and signs each Sunday throughout the year.

Finally, whether we consider ourselves great orators or not, we all say words every day, some good, some not so good. They are simply a chain of syllables that we form with our lips. In themselves they have little meaning. But in the way they are used they can either do tremendous good or terrible evil. It is up to us to decide. We could follow the steps of MLK and bring justice to others or we could simply keep our mouth shut up and do nothing. It’s our choice to decide.

The lesson we draw from these scriptures, therefore, is that words have astonishing power for good or evil. We can change the little world around us for the good, or we can sit around and gripe that nothing good is happening.

Our words have an effect on others whether we know it o not. So, let those words always be good and constructive, loving and hopeful. The world will thank you for it.

The scriptures: Nehemiah 8: 2-4, 5-6, 8-10: 1 Corinthian 12: 12-30;
Luke 1: 1-4, 4: 14-20