Good day dear friends. God's grace and peace be with you is my prayer.
Our text for today comes from Acts 2: 1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine." 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 "In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (NRSV)
A day of miracles. Among them, speaking to people that would not normally share words. You've been there as have I. And sometimes it is not because of a language difference, it could be a matter of distrust or attitude; the result is the same, one of the parties feels less or better than the other, and nothing gets said. And like this event mentioned here, it was a "church" setting, for there it is the worst thing, to be gathering for the worship of God and no one says a word of welcome or greeting and some feel unwelcomed and unwanted. In some places it is indeed a miracle that someone speaks to them. But the miracle here was the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit and the disciples, men of Galilee regarded as less than others because of their home region, speaking in languages that covered the known world, each telling fo the wonders of God. I have shared this before, that if we ever travel to a place where the language is not ours, the first word that we hear in our native tongue makes us excited to know there may be someone with whom we can communicate. Such was the wonder of Pentecost - Common people sharing extraordinary things.
The Church today needs to speak to all. It has to learn the languages being spoken to convey the message of God. God is still the same and God is still doing some amazing, unexplainable things; we are God's interpreters and witnesses and we must share it with others. I heard some people talking about how young people today to not take cell phone calls anymore and some even will answer with disdain and ask the person to text instead. One even said that is the way to make dates to go out between boys and girls. And the one explaining it said much gets lost in texting that talking covers better. But for many, texting is the new language and some churches have even embraced that. Texting has led to tweeting and God only knows what is next. The question remains, how are we sharing the message of God's great works to all?
I would say continue to use your mouth and your words to share the goodness of God. God will provide. The miracle of Pentecost was an example of that. No matter how much more we are amazed at new ways of communicating, may we never forget to smile at others and to utter a word of welcome in whatever tongue you know. Some people still will respond. May it be so.
PRAYER: Loving God, for the Miracle of Pentecost we are thankful. You make possible ways in which we can share the goodness and wonder of Your love. May we also never forget to use our smiles, our handshakes, our hugs, and yes, even our words, to tell of Your great glory and grace for all people. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
