“Why can’t the English teach their children how to speak?” fumes Henry Higgins in MY FAIR LADY. “Little Swedes speak Swedish, little Greeks speak Greek…In France, it doesn’t matter much what you DO, as long as you pronounce it correctly!” This coming Sunday is the annual observance of Pentecost, when Christians of all cultures and lingos recognize a Holy language which is a central common denominator.
The Genesis reading (11:1-9) is from pre-history, an attempt to explain why people speak so strangely. It appears that “the whole earth had one language and the same words.” So the people tried to “make a name for themselves” by building a tower into the heavens. (Pyramids can be found all over the ancient world, human mountains to meet the gods of High Places.) God saw that this was a work of the Ego (original sin), and confused their language so that they couldn’t communicate. “God’s promise is that our ultimate value does not depend upon our building gleaming cities and towers of achievement but upon God’s dazzling and soaring love.” (Jeff Paschal, in FEASTING ON THE WORD, C3:7)
A traditional reading for Pentecost is Acts 2:1-21, the mystical account of the Apostles, at sea and confused after Jesus’ departure. “Suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind…..All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Grace has crossed out the difference between ethnic cultures (and generations?), and has united the Christian movement into a singleness of understanding! Finally the original sin of Babel has been answered with a Divine Intercession. Fiery and ecstatic words met even “those foreigners” (refugees? immigrants?) with a Good News message of challenge and release… No need to build a Tower to Heaven: Heaven has met us where we are.
Where is this Golden Thread to be found in John’s LONG narrative of the Last Supper? Our reading is from 14:8-17, and Jesus is assuring his folks that his impending death won’t end their mission–rather, says he, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [the Spirit of Truth], to be with you forever.” Language and translations shouldn’t be a problem: “The words that I say to you…” become much clearer as we think back on the forgoing stories.
How does the 21st Century Church make connection between the old familiar words and the vocabulary of new reality? Those of us with grandchildren experience this when we ask about a computer app and are given an eye-roll which asks if we’re from an alien planet. Yet there’s a central message of mercy and piety which calls our spirit-community to congeal around its core, whether expressed in mod or archaic terms. Help teach your children how to speak!
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
My thoughts about lectionary scriptures for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook, or at horacebrownking.com
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