On March 21, 2006, a Jack Dorsey did something no one had ever done before—and it had a profound impact on all of us.
He sent out the first Tweet.
“Just setting up my Twitter,” he wrote. The rest is history.
As of this month, Twitter reports there are 500 million Tweets per day sent from around the world.
There are 100 million daily active Twitter users.
Twitter is used by both by the famous and not so famous to communicate with the world in just 280 characters – for better or for worse!
Even Pope Francis is on Twitter and he has 40 million followers in nine different languages.
We live in an age when communication is instantaneous, when no thought goes unexpressed, when more voices are being heard by more people—for better or worse.
And a lot of it is happening—again, for better or worse—on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other kinds of social media.
But if you want to know the true power of words, consider one word uttered by Jesus in this Gospel we just heard—a word that changed a life and that actually made history:
“Quiet.”
With that one word, a miracle happened – a man was healed!
A few moments ago we sung “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Our lives are inundated with literally billions of voices coming from twitter, Facebook, movies and television. Some of it is really good and some of it is really, really, bad.
Yet, out of all the voices echoing around the world right now, the one that matters, truly matters, is that one that quieted that troubled soul in the synagogue 2,000 years ago. The one who spoke with authority—and still speaks to us today…
Quiet!
How can we make ourselves more open to truly hearing his word, and letting it change our lives?
Pray to make that happen, to tune out whatever is getting in the way, to lower the volume of daily life and find times to be quiet with God.
As we gather around this table of sacrifice and raise our voices together in expectation and hope, may we do it with hearts that have heard that voice.
May we allow the word of God to quiet our own fears or uncertainties, open the door to our hearts, and let him in.
When we do miracles can happen!
When we have let him in God will begin to speak through us so that our words matter too! Instead of using our words to tease, disparage or put down people we use our words to heal and build people up.