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For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.
Early in my ministry, a book came out that had a lot of us talking: Words that Hurt, Words that Heal, by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. His premise was simple, if as old as the Jewish wisdom undergirding it: that once a word is uttered it has a life of its own.
