I didn’t watch the Presidential debate. I was otherwise engaged that evening, which was just as well, because the truth is that I didn’t want to watch the debate. Given that the stakes are so high, I knew that I would have been incredibly stressed the entire time. So for my own mental and spiritual wellbeing, I had already resolved to just read about it in the morning.

But when I arrived home this past Tuesday, I popped on Facebook - you know,  just to see how people were doing - and the first post I saw was from the Rev. Laura Everett who is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. She had written: “My Haitian kin, I am so profoundly sorry.  You should not have to endure this.  You are beloved by God and me.”

Friends, my first thought was that there had been another earthquake, so I went straight to the New York Times to see what had happened in Haiti and found myself, within seconds…sucked into the Presidential debate. There was no earthquake. There were just words. The words of former president Trump repeating false hoods alleging that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating people’s cats and dogs.

Now I know it is hard not to laugh at the absurdity of it. I know it is hard not to mock Trump for repeating it. But the truth is that there was nothing funny about the words themselves because it was all a lie.

It was a lie so hurtful, that Rev. Everett felt the need to use her words and her standing to immediately affirm the dignity and belovedness of our Haitian siblings.

It was a lie so dangerous that John Kirby, the National Security spokesman for the White House, weighed in shortly there after to say: “There will be people that believe (this), no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is, and they might act on that kind of information, and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt. So it needs to stop” (https://apnews.com/article/haitian-immigrants-vance-trump-ohio-6e4a47c52b23ae2c802d216369512ca5).

And it was a lie so egregious that the moderators didn’t even give Harris a chance to respond. They stepped in immediately to dispel it with a statement from Springfield officials assuring the public that there were no legitimate reports of anything like this occurring in their city.

But the damage was done because words have power.

Words shape our perception of the world. Words shape our feelings about each other. Words, like the falsehoods Trump was peddling, have been used for centuries to dehumanize people, sow division, cast suspicion, inflame tensions, and reinforce prejudice. This specious lie is a prime example of weaponized words…weaponized words designed to bring out the worst in us…and the worst part of all is that it works.

People in positions of authority, be they leaders or teachers, know just how well it works, which is why James is absolutely right that such people need to be extra careful and held doubly accountable for the way their use their words.

But friends, keep in mind that James was writing 2000 years ago. James was writing at a time when word could spread by mouth, by foot, by horse, by ship. He thought the word was capable of spreading dangerously fast back then. He never could have imagined the way word spreads now.

And before we go any farther, I think it’s worth taking a step back and looking at how these particular words gained traction.

It began in the city of Springfield, Ohio, a city that has welcomed almost 20,000 legal migrants from Haiti; hurting people who have fled the violence and devastation that has overtaken their country.

In many ways those immigrants have been a boon to the city as they have moved into low level manufacturing jobs and helped to revitalize a city that had been dying.  But the influx has also put a strain on the infrastructure of the city and tensions have risen as a result; the exact sort of tensions that bring out the worst in people.

According to the Associated Press, “Last week, a post on the social media platform X shared what looked like a screen-grab of a social media post apparently out of Springfield. The post claimed without evidence that the person’s “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” saw a cat hanging from a tree to be butchered and eaten, outside a house where it claimed Haitians lived. It was accompanied by a photo of a Black man carrying what appeared to be a goose by its feet (https://apnews.com/article/haitian-immigrants-vance-trump-ohio-6e4a47c52b23ae2c802d216369512ca5).”

Friends, this all started with a screen grab of a racist meme accompanied by a post on social media about a claim made by a person’s neighbor’s daughter’s friend.

“…a person’s neighbor’s daughter’s friend.”

My colleague, Ann Russ, says “I’m not a politician, but in the church world, the term “people are saying…” is the mark of an unhealthy and possibly toxic community. It is typically used to forward the agenda of a small group of people who do not have back up or proof for their assertions. It is almost always used to sow division and not as a means to promote unity and understanding,” (Facebook post).

And that is exactly how this rumor has been deployed.

It might very well have stayed local, but Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, took it upon himself to amplify it, spreading it through social media and using it to whip up the crowds at his rallies. He has both acknowledged that it is possible, “all of these rumors will turn out to be false,” and at the same time encouraged his supporters to spread them anyway. “Don’t let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots,” said Vance, “Keep the cat memes flowing,” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/10/us/politics/jd-vance-backtrack-haitian-migrants-pets.html).”

Former president Trump actually posted a photo of himself with cats and geese and a photo of armed cats in MAGA hats, prior to the debate on Tuesday and then couldn’t help himself once the going got tough that night. Instead of using his platform to quell the rumors, he used his power to fan the flame.

“How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire…” warns James, “no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Friends, lies spread outrage. The more outrageous the lie the more outrage it generates. Throughout history lies such as these - specifically lies about “the other” overrunning our community, consuming what is precious to us, harming our children, taking our jobs, or behaving in ways we don’t think are quite right - have led to pogroms, lynchings, burnings, terrorism, and genocide.

Lies such as these spread poison. Lies such as these sow doubt. And like a spark in a dry forest, lies such as these spread like wildfire. They always have. But now, thanks to the internet, lies like these can spread like never before.

Because, you see, we are social creatures, primed to respond to the response of others.

If I am in a room with you and we are talking, I am acutely aware of how you are responding to my words and I will act accordingly. If something I say rings false or hurts you or delights you, I will recalibrate to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. When we are face to face I can feel the impact - for good or ill - of what I say.

But you put me on the internet, and all of a sudden I can’t see the effect of my words on the face of a real live person. What I can see, though, is how much of a response my post generates in the forms of likes and shares, comments and even argument. The more people respond, the more I know that whatever I just said matters.

The more I feel I matter, the more I will want to say more things like it.  And, as I just said, nothing generates more response then outrage.  Nothing generates more outrage then lies. And because the algorithms and bots out there are designed, not to discern what is true but simply to discern what will drive traffic, they will feed me exactly what I need to keep the fire burning. That’s their job and they do it well. Remarkably well. Dangerously well.

So church, hear me when I say, we somehow have to find a way to do better.

Posting a picture of your cat in a crock pot or your puppy wrapped in a hot dog bun might seem like nothing more than a cheap jab at Trump right now, because it is. You get a laugh from people who agree with you that he sounds deranged. But that little meme will also further alienate any of your friends and family who are still voting for him. It will seed just a little more division into a society that is already breaking apart at the seams.

But worst of all, you will have done nothing to combat the spread of the lie itself. In truth, you will have only thrown a little more fuel on a world aflame with tension.

You will have contributed just a little more to the acrimony while missing the opportunity to speak truth into this situation.

You will have glossed over how pernicious and racist and dangerous this sort of lie really is at a time when, as my colleague Liddy Gerchman Barlow writes:  “Our immigrant neighbors need us to resist falsehood, not just with memes but with plainly stated truth” (F.B.).

Friends, as we draw ever closer to this election, I think things are only going to get worse. So please, before you post, before you share, before you speak, ask yourself, “what am I spreading? What kind of fire am I feeding. What sort of seed am I sowing? Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”

Because, friends, our words don’t just have the power to shape the way we see the world and one another, they shape us as we shape the world around us. Look at what is happening in Springfield,  Ohio today as a result of these words. It is heartbreaking.

I think we all need to pause before we speak or post and ask ourselves, will my next move make me a blessing or a curse upon this earth? The answer to that question has a lot to do with how we use our words and before we close I just want to say that here is where it gets really complicated.

“From the same mouth come blessing and cursing,” laments James. “My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.” He’s right. James is so fascinating in this section because he’s telling us exactly who we are even as he telling us that we need to do better.

Friends, I could especially call out J.D. Vance here, but the truth is that we all bless and we all curse with the same mouth. It’s part and parcel of what it is to be human. James wants us to be as pure as a spring or as predictable as a tree. A spring isn’t fresh if it spews out brackish water, he says. A fig tree isn’t a fig tree if it’s producing olives.

But here’s the rub, even good people struggle to be good all of the time. Even well meaning people say stupid, hurtful, and false things. (I present to you, exhibit A!)

Even people in positions of authority who are trying to preach sermons about not being divisive can be divisive even as they are doing their best to call out the division they see being caused by others. Right? I’m trying so hard not make things worse, but I may very well be telling you to practice what I’m unable to practice even as I preach.

It’s crazy making. I’ll be the first to admit it is hard to get this right. I’ll be the first to admit that it is hard to fight this fire without causing it to spread. It is hard to call out a lie without calling someone else a liar. It is hard to call out what is hateful in the other without becoming hateful yourself.

Am I doing what I’m accusing Trump and Vance of doing - spreading hatred? I don’t always know. I think the lines here have become so blurred that it is hard to see straight. Or maybe it’s the smoke from all these fires clouding my vision.

Am I sowing hatred of Vance and Trump by calling out their lies? Lord have mercy, I hope not. I hope there is a difference between their method and mine. I hope there is room to call out the lies without wasting my breath calling down curses on the liars. Because honestly, I don’t wish them or anyone who supports them harm. But I do want them to stop harming others. And I know you do too.

Before the internet was even really a thing, the late great William Sloane Coffin said: “The world is now to dangerous for anything but the truth, and too small for anything but love.” That is even more true now. So my brothers and sisters and siblings in Christ, watch what you spread.

Call out the lies, but don’t waste your breath denigrating the liars. Use your words to bless the ones harmed, like Rev. Laura Everett did. Use your words to lift up the voices that are speaking truth, like the moderators at the debate did. Use your words to call people to account, like the spokesman for national security did.

Use your words and use them well for all people are made in the image of God. Amen.