We take a moment to see how a culture reverses the march to Christmas, to the coming of Christ.  We pretend we have better or more sophisticated distinctions than ancient Babel, yet it is still our tongue that divides human souls.  James, the brother of John the apostle, observed how small a fire sets ablaze even a great mass of wood and that the tongue is that fire.

The tongue of Mary said “yes, behold the servant of the Lord.”  Contrary to that is everything from a smooth talking boy pretending genuine interest but looking more like Eden’s serpent, to the professor advocating infanticide.  Or think of the Christmas gatherings fractured by a tongue.

Arrest the tongue and we are back on track in our Advent anticipating Christmas.