Photo credit: Alexander Solomon
This reflection was originally an opening statement performed at The Prophet’s “Tongues of Fire” spoken word event.
By Laura Ellis
We are here to speak, to listen, and to be heard. And what a powerful thing that is. What a powerful thing words are. Powerful as both life-giving liberation and devastating destruction.
The Genesis myth claims that God spoke the world into being. With the sound of a voice, with the movement of lips and of tongues, with the power of words a world was created. Out of the chaos, the mere act of speech crafted a world of light, water, sky, and life.
Can you imagine speaking a feather into existence? Imagine sounds said out loud becoming embodied in physicality. Enrobed in being. A world created by words. The transformation of creation.
There is something sacred in the act of speaking. May we not abuse it. And may we never take for granted the sacred power of our own ability to speak newness into creation. From the vibration of throats, the movement of lips and tongues exhaled into sound, we speak tonight fully aware of the beauty, freedom, power, and responsibility that our words bear. So come. Speak and create. Listen and transform. May our words be nothing less than sacred.
Laura Ellis a 2nd year MDiv student at BUSTH. She cares deeply about stories and hopes to combine the world of theology with the power of stories, knowing that stories can incite love, war, religion, faith, and so much more. Hailing from semi-arid west Texas, she loves tacos and the sun and is on a constant search for each up here in the Northeast. She is also a current editor of The Prophet.
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