we don’t speak the same language

Pentecost Lament

This Pentecost hit me like a linebacker running full speed. I know it is just a combination of world and personal events, but reading once again about the unifying power of the Holy Spirit as it came upon the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem left me with more despair than I expected.

Pentecost is usually a time of great celebration, as we say “Happy Birthday” to the church. It is usually a time of remembering how the miracle of the flame and wind endowed everyone with the ability to speak and hear each other’s language, which resulted in a common understanding and a common purpose. It is usually a time for us to reflect on the empowering of ordinary people to proclaim the Good News in ways that others could hear, regardless of nationality or race.

It is usually a time of hope.

Let’s go back and remember how it went:

Acts 2 (Common English Bible)

When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. ⁴They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

We don’t speak each other’s language anymore. In our country, we watch in horror as school children are murdered under their desks so that an 18-year-old can exercise his “right” to an assault weapon. We watch as politicians make decisions (or refuse to act) based on winning their next campaign rather than what is right for those who elected them. Even in my denomination, we mourn the inevitable separation that is now in motion because we can’t agree anymore. Where is the unity to which we are called? These are dark times everywhere you turn.

Listen to how great a miracle this was:

⁵There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. ⁷They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them? ⁸How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the mighty works of God in our own languages!” ¹²They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?”

And then came the inevitable pre-internet trolls:

¹³Others jeered at them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”

Then Peter set them straight:

¹⁴Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! ¹⁵These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning!

(This obviously was centuries before the invention of the early morning tailgate for a noon college football game.)

¹⁶Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
    Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young will see visions.
    Your elders will dream dreams.
¹⁸    Even upon my servants, men and women,
        I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
        and they will prophesy.
¹⁹I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
        blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
²⁰The sun will be changed into darkness,
    and the moon will be changed into blood,
        before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes.
²¹And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And this is where we find our word of hope in the midst of our lament. Peter begins with Joel’s quote about “the last days.” Neither Joel nor Peter were living in the last days. Are we?

God promises that he will pour his Spirit out again and prophesy, visions, and dreams will spring forth. The heavens will produce wonders too terrifying to imagine but then the spectacular day of the Lord’s coming will finally happen.

And the best news of all: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Hallelujah!

So there is hope after all! Jesus will come to redeem his people and the stupidity of this world will cease when he takes his throne.

Lord, hasten that day.

Wildfire

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Betsy

We don’t speak each other’s language today. Even those who live in the same country, occupy the same neighborhood, or live right next door to each other don’t speak the same language. We can look at the tragic events surrounding the death of George Floyd and “hear” it different ways, due to the filters we all have in our ears for processing such information.

The filters that divide our attempts at a common language draw up along the lines of black and white, conservative and liberal, rich and poor, blue and red, Democrat and Republican, and ridiculously, those who wear masks and those who refuse. Somehow we have lost the ability to hear the common language of justice, compassion, unity, and humanity.

Shame on us.

In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit came upon the people gathered there like a “wildfire.” Wildfires are uncontrollable. They change everything they touch in an instant. Everything is treated equally in a wildfire. And this Pentecost wildfire brought an incredible gift: people of every nation were able to hear and speak each other’s language:

2 ^1-4When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

^5-11There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites;
Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene;
Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes;
Even Cretans and Arabs!

Even Cretans and Arabs could communicate! The power of that Holy Spirit wildfire knew no boundaries. God was enabling them to share an incredible message of the Good News of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. They could all hear and understand the mighty works of God. They were thunderstruck with the enormity of it all.

“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”

¹²Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”

¹³Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”

Then Peter stood to give some context to what was happening. He reminded them of the Old Testament prophecies that pointed toward this very day—a day when young men would see visions and old men would dream dreams.

^14-21That’s when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: “Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren’t drunk as some of you suspect. They haven’t had time to get drunk—it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen:

“In the Last Days,” God says,
“I will pour out my Spirit
    on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
    also your daughters;
Your young men will see visions,
    your old men dream dreams.
When the time comes,
    I’ll pour out my Spirit
On those who serve me, men and women both,
    and they’ll prophesy.
I’ll set wonders in the sky above
    and signs on the earth below,
Blood and fire and billowing smoke,
    the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,
Before the Day of the Lord arrives,
    the Day tremendous and marvelous;

This passage gives us hope that one day, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to set differences aside and hear and speak a common language.

A language of love.

A language of trust.

A language of righteousness.

A language that cries out in one voice for justice for ALL the George Floyds.

Holy Spirit, we need you now.

And whoever calls out for help
to me, God, will be saved.”

Help us, God. We need to be saved…from ourselves.

At Water’s Edge

Finding peace, hope, and contentment.