Tenth Page: Brother Peter, Your Speech Bewrayeth Thee!

Bewrayeth ? This is a KJV (the King James Version) special, occurring only thrice in the entire Bible. Our focus at this time is on Matthew 26:73 where we find Peter making a desperate attempt to disassociate himself from the Lord but could not stifle his Galilean accent that is giving him away. I guess he wasn’t particularly conscious of this phenomenon. And I am certain he would be bemused that his faltering assertions to the contrary should merit such a grandiloquent description in quaint words of archaic English that likely were not part of his fisher-folk vocabulary.

He was losing this game of deception; his words were saying one thing but his spontaneous Capernaum dialect – gaining credibility with every utterance – quite another.

Sometimes our accents give us away.

We are all familiar with this phenomenon. To people in India, utterance of a simple word like “simply” is a sure give away of a particular linguistic group in the South of the country. The North fares no better. When we were in Delhi, there were two little girls in the neighbourhood who were – sorry – simply called “Simpal” and “Dimpal”. Not hard to guess the family’s state origins.

The way “opportunity” is pronounced will tell you if the speaker is from the North or South of the Vindhyas. Countless comperes talking about people in the “dias” announce themselves to be Indian, first and foremost. I once heard a preacher relate a story about a North Indian man who said there is no difference between “lawyer” and “lier”! Now that may not be very strange to folks  Down Under who think nothing of cheerily wishing each other a “good die”! And if you find someone in South Indian Christian circles who is “greeviously” mourning over his sins, more often than not, he is a Methodist Minister!

And so on.

Everyone has his or her favourite example. Lest we feel superior, those of us bending over with laughter at others’ expense would do well to remember that we ourselves may be the butt of similar language based jokes.

But with Peter, it was no laughing matter as he found himself in the grip of a cruel irony; while he was at great pains to deny the truth of his relationship with the Master, his accent was actually affirming it!

It is important that our words and our accent say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our attitude say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our actions say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our demeanour say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our behavior say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our conduct say the say same thing.

It is important that our words and our thoughts say the say same thing (that’s a tough one!)

If not, we might be losing the plot.

Poor Peter. Little did he imagine the pit falls when he chose to walk with the Master. Focused on the Kingdom as he was, he failed to factor in the suffering that inevitably results in this pursuit. We can see it plainly in Matthew 16:22: “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!. Far from patting him on his back for his concern for His well being, Jesus turned around and called him Satan, for savouring human concerns more than divine, only five verses after He’d commended Peter for receiving a revelation from the Father Himself.

Sometimes revelations go to our head. We kind of get carried away, thinking we are the cat’s whiskers. We begin to speak like the oracles of God – even to Jesus! Jesus lost no time in putting Peter in his place. Though he later made a glib declaration “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” (Luke 22:33), Peter didn’t really mean it from his heart.

High sounding declarations, but little intent. Airy fairy words spoken with a fine flourish from a vacuous heart; no ballast of thought. Missing the big picture altogether owing to preoccupation with our own fanciful imaginations.

Empty vessels make much noise.

The moment crucifixion began to take on the contours of reality, Peter back pedaled.

Still waters?            Welcome

Green pastures?     Wonderful

Valley of the shadow of death? Never

Via dolorosa?          No way

You get shown up for what you are, sooner or later, when push comes to shove. It’s so difficult to accept suffering as being a part of God’s plan.

Brother Peter, you have a long way to go.

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Let’s not pretend. An ordinary maid with no high attainments in education saw through Peter’s sham. Well does the Psalmist say, “you desired faithfulness even in the womb” (Psalm 51:6).

Sounds like stretching it a bit?

Walking the talk or let’s say driving, is so very uncommon. When a car sporting a Bible verse sticker prominently, treats traffic rules with scant respect, the Master is denied a little bit, I think.

Absence of congruence sends confusing signals.

In the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, people in the street are generally helpful with directions. But in one particular town I motored into, the signals were confusing. “Take a turn right” I heard time and again but outstretched was the person’s left hand and vice versa!

Ah, but even before they hear you speak, people are looking at you. The narrative in Mark 14:67 is quite pointed: “she looked closely at him”

If you’ve been with Jesus, spending time walking with Him, talking to Him, doing the works that He did, people tend to notice. And they are looking for integrity.

Are you genuine or are you just another fake?

Flip this over, shall we?

Brother Peter, Your Speech Bewrayeth Thee!

At another time, place and context this might be regarded as a handsome compliment. Imagine being told that the way you speak is so very much like that of the Master, the only begotten Son of God, Savior of mankind. Wow!

O what glow of pride suffuses the mother’s face when someone remarks that her little son is a chip off the old block, or talks like him or walks like him.

Yes, if the tone weren’t accusatory, the words could well be laudatory.

Ah, has any one accused you of a like likeness? Of speech or behavior? Is there any thing in your personality or demeanour that connects you unmistakeably with Jesus.

Good questions to ponder over.

Let’s take words, for speech is our subject in this piece.

The Bible has a lot to say about them. In fact there are guidelines and detailed prescriptions as to when to talk, how to talk and what to talk.

The Preacher says there is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Ecclesiates 3:7). Then again in Eccl.5:2: “Do not be rash with your mouth….let your words be few, especially before God”.

Some people have a problem with that. They cannot handle pauses. They have to open their mouth and exhibit their foolishness. If only they’d been drilled in the Proverbs! Prov.17:28  is quite explicit. “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.”

And there are those who invite trouble whenever they open their mouth. It is quite impossible in English translations to capture the unusual beauty of the ancient Tamil proverb that goes something like: “the frog also invites his ruin by opening his mouth.”

It is a habit with some people to keep on croaking – pet peeves, preferred philosophies, habitual harangues….irrespective of whether any one is paying attention or not. In fact you know what you are going to hear even before you arrive in their presence. Entirely predictable stuff complete with irritating inflections and rhetorical flourishes. You wish there were snakes around that gobble up frogs like that and put an end to your misery. A fit prayer for these frog like creatures may be found in Psalm 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

And there is another category of people enslaved by speech tics and hardened mannerisms. While some are harmless hems and haws, you knows and you sees occurring at fairly regular intervals, others are annoying; one of the worst I have experienced came from a boss-man of sorts when I was employed in the power industry. Every fourth sentence of his ended with the words: “do you understand?”

Didactic may be, but mighty vexatious.

The Bible comes down hard on dissembling and dissimulation and makes no concession to political correctness, treating it not very differently from hypocrisy.  The Pharisees and Sadducees drawn by the message of John the Baptist must have been stunned when he called them: “You brood of vipers!”. And having  taught in Matthew 5:37 the importance of calling a spade a spade Jesus had no hesitation in referring to Herod as fox (Luke 13:32), well acquainted as He was with the Tetrarch’s character. Some of our current day leaders – both within the church and in the political arena –  doubtless deserve equally colourful metaphorical epithets (but I guess we should leave it to Jesus!)

But to hear the truth about oneself from another person is not always a pleasant experience; it hurts. Peter didn’t like what he heard and he was getting angry.

On the other hand, there are situations where we fail to provide the right kind of feedback that could benefit people (and us) in our anxiety not to offend them and end up doing a disservice all around by employing unsustainable verbal contortions or just plain disingenuousness. “Speak the truth in love” exhorts St.Paul in Ephesians 4:15; who knows you might succeed with this formula even when your mother in law serves up bitter gourds for Sunday brunch!

He (Peter) denied it again, with an oath: ‘I don’t know the man!’

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, ‘Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.’

Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’ (Matthew 26: 72-74)

It’s many years since I was in college, but I remember using swear words was quite the in thing at one time. Almost like a shibboleth or rites of passage to gain admittance to a cabal. If your Sunday School past made you uncomfortable about using actual swear words, it was OK to punctuate every sentence with the phrase “I swear”.

But it wasn’t fashion that Peter was mindful about as he put some distance between himself and the Saviour in His hour of distress. It was fear.The “rich” and colourful fisherfolk vocabulary came tumbling out from within as he shivered in his boots.

The Bible says “out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouthspeaks.(Matthew 12:34)

What is occupying our mind? Fear, fashion or the word of God that clearly says in Matthew 5:34,35: “do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;  or by the earth, for it is his footstool”

James elaborates on this theme in his telling treatise on the role of tongue. “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.(James 3:9,10)

Rehoboam was mighty pleased with the tough advice given by his friends. We find the story in 1 Kings 12. Turning to the Israelite tribes who sought to know his approach to governance, he boasted: “ My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”

Such arrogance only resulted in the ten tribes walking away and setting up another kingdom. If only had Rehoboam followed the advice of  the elders instead.

To what are we paying heed? To the sober voice of sanity or the shrill tones of self-aggrandizement?

A soft answer turns away wrath (Prov.15:1)

I had an uncle who would effortlessly travel across faraway lands without moving an inch from his arm chair. He lived and moved within a radius of 20 miles in the South of India for the better part of his life but when you heard him talk, you’d think he once played marbles with the Lord Mayor of London and that the Sultan of Brunei was his bosom pal. Mildly amusing to the real world traveler and mostly harmless!

But there is another kind we should beware: “They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.(Psalm 73:9).

“Presumptuous are they”, says Peter in 2 Peter 2:10 “ selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.”

It is good to exercise restraint on subjects where our knowledge is but shallow.

The categorical statement that the Lord hates a lying tongue (Prov6:17) should be sufficient treatment on the question of mendacity of any sort; if there is any tendency towards malicious gossip, we can do no better than recall the command in Prov.4:24: “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.”

What then is left to talk about, we might wonder, if we are to follow Peter’s advice (1 Pet.2:11) and “lay aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speaking”. Paul provides us with the positives. “ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.(Col.4:6)

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up(1 Thess 5: 11 ), he goes on, and talks about being beneficial, constructive (1 Cor.10:23).

Those of us engaged in pulling each other down, slander, calumny and defamation would do well to reflect on the character of Barnabas. He  may have been  relatively low profile in the apostolic movement of yore but he was recognized as the son of consolation, encourager, restorer. We could even say that he was the one who put Paul on centre stage.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.(Prov.25:11)

Your Speech Bewrayeth Thee!