Listen

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

Acts 2:5-13

Think

I recently began a new call in Lyon, France. Over the past few months, I’ve been working hard at bringing my French back up to a level of functional fluency, having let it lie dormant for more than ten years. It has been frustrating not to be able to fully connect with people in their own language—their heart language, as we sometimes say.

In the midst of that frustration, though, I’ve been blessed with people around me who are patient with my language learning and also interested in what I might have to say in my own heart-language. “Say it in English,” one woman graciously suggested. “We’ll figure it out together from there.”

God’s Spirit actively connects people to their heart languages, letting them both speak and hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. This might happen miraculously, as on the day of Pentecost. It might happen thanks to years of diligent study and immersion in another culture. And it might just happen when the God’s people “figure it out together.”

Peter Hanson

Pray

You amaze and astound me, my God, with the many ways you communicate your love and acceptance to me.

Help me keep finding the language to share your Good News in ways that people around me can understand.

Guide me with your Spirit as I seek to communicate with others who think and speak differently from me. Give us courage and understanding to figure things out together as we seek a way forward through tragedy, conflict, and chaos.

Amen.

Go

You are a beloved child of God,

created in God’s image,

empowered with the gift of Christ’s peace,

led by the Spirit of truth.

Go into this troubled world led beyond your fear to live as God’s children here and now.