Is it only about languages?
Today is Pentecost Sunday and as I type the wind is putting on a real display, even by Saskatchewan standards. It is almost too bad I didn’t preach about the “sound like the rush of a violent wind” that kicks off the Pentecost story. What I did preach about was the connection between the Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons.
The connection between the first two is pretty straightforward and easy to see. The Old Testament lesson is from Genesis 11 and it tells the story of the tower of Babel and how human beings were dispersed speaking many languages instead of just one. The New Testament lesson is the story of Pentecost, when there was the sound of wind, flames on or above people’s heads, and the believers in Jesus speaking in languages they did not know. That connection is pretty clear but how did I get John 14 in there?
The quotation usually, and erroneously, attributed to St. Francis, “preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words,” helps pull this all together. The purpose of giving those early believers the gift of speaking in languages they did not know was so those who did know those languages could hear the message. Seeing as a vanishingly small number of people possess such a gift what are we do to if it is not only about languages?
It is a good thing we can “speak” to people with whom we do not share a language, or culture, or even context. In the Gospel text we read that Jesus told his followers, us, to obey his commandments. Jesus didn’t give very many but one he made perfectly clear was to love people. If there is a universal language I suggest it is the language love and compassion and it can be “spoken” without saying a single word.
As always, let me know what you think of the sermon if are able and inclined.
Blessings,
