5.19.24 "Suddenly from Heaven" - Pentecost Day = Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, CA

 Acts 2.1-11; John 15.26-27; 16.12-15

It’s Pentecost Sunday … 

In our reading today, a Jewish Festival … a celebration of the first fruits … a harvest festival, a spring-time event … a time to kick up the heels and have a good time … giving thanks to God for a new season of life and prosperity.

Jerusalem is a madhouse … 

Tourists from all around the Roman world … every nation under heaven, says the Bible … a cacophony of tongues, clothing and cultures … sort of like downtown LA … food stalls, souvenirs, shouting children, and tired parents … 

The word, Pentecost, means 50 … 50 days … 50 days after Passover.

50 days after the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead … Jesus came to them and taught them for the first 40 days … 

Then, the ascension … with instructions: Wait for the Holy Spirit.

The disciples return to Jerusalem - to wait … they appoint a replacement for Judas, they devote themselves to prayer … they wait.

Wait for the LORD, says the Psalmist; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

The LORD is good to those who wait … 

For God along my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from God.

When the Day of Pentecost arrives, the disciples are all together in one place … there is strength in the company of one another …

Suddenly from heaven … a sound of a rushing, violent, wind … flames above each head … and they begin to speak in other languages … 

Here is where the story opens up to a whole new chapter in God’s story … 

The Spirit has always been present … the Spirit hovers over the restless waters, in the darkness of the void … the Spirit comes to the prophets … the Spirit comes to Jesus in his baptism … 

And now the Spirit comes with the gift of language!

Everyone everywhere can hear the Good News of God’s love in their own language … their own tongue, their own culture … 

A tremendous affirmation … every language important to God … God, the creator, of every tongue … every accent, every form and shape of language … precious in the ears of God. 

Not so with us … we hop into an Uber driven by an immigrant, and we have difficulty communicating … in a doctor’s office … at a restaurant … maybe we’re impatient, frustrated, even angry.

It’s okay … patience is needed, and maybe we all can learn a few words from one another … but the point here is for the church, for it’s teachers and missionaries … learn the language of others … but more than just words … its feelings, attitudes, culture and music … a rich anthology of humanity in all of its diversity and creativity.

And if we can’t speak another language, maybe we can at least be mindful … maybe be can give the other person the benefit of our kindness, maybe we can appreciate how hard it is for them, too …

I remember the very first time I was in Europe … for several weeks of study, and how glad I was to return home, turn on the TV and hear English.

I remember my father’s parents, immigrants from the Netherlands … their heavy brogue … was it hard for them? I’m sure it was.

Yes, it’s hard … but the world is God’s world … and the world is a better place with a thousands tongues to sing God praise.

Just like the Bible … the Bible doesn’t speak with one voice; it speaks with many voices … all over the map … 

some see God this way, others see God some other way … 

those who love the laws of faith, and those who love the spirit of faith … 

those who are wary of the stranger, and those who welcome the stranger to the table … 

those who see the practical side of things, and those who dream the dreams … 

those who know how to pick up a shovel and get a job done, and those who quietly sit in prayer and meditation.

Like a choir - with all its voices: sopranos, altos, tenors, bases … a symphony, with all of its instruments; strings and brass, percussion and reeds … an organ with all of its ranks and stops and pipes … 

The best sounds are the sounds of many voices … 

An impossible dream?

Of course it’s impossible!

That’s why we dream dreams.

But think for a moment:  how many impossible dreams have come true because people dared to dream … 

And if not all the dream, then some of the dream … 

even a little of it is more than good … 

and every little bit, every time we realize any of it, the world is better, our souls are better, the light of goodness and happiness shines a little brighter.

It comes down to this: a man learns the language spoken by a woman, and the woman of the man … 

the people of the suburb learn the language spoken by a farmer, and the farmer learns the language of Wall Street … 

we all speak our own language, shaped by culture, race, color, gender, ethnicity, status, education, religion, experience, and work … 

rich and poor, rural and urban, north and south, east and west, gay and straight; the sad and the glad, the weary and the wondering … the hopeful and the distraught … we each and all have our own language.

But we can learn to listen … we can learn something of the other … we can learn how to learn from one another … 

and realize, the stranger over there is pretty much like me, and I’m pretty much like them … 

I get up in the morning with mussed hair and things on my mind … 

I sometimes see things clearly, and then I’m in a fog … 

I love deeply, yet there are times when darker thoughts and bitter feelings have play … 

we’re more alike than we are different … 

different we are, but at the core of our being: 

we want to love and be loved … 

we have great ideas and profound ambition … 

we want to be with friends, and have a decent meal … 

we want to lay down at night and feel safe … 

we want to get up in the morning, and have some toast and peanut butter.

What we do best is what we do in the strength and goodness of others … 

We’re stronger, together …  

Have you ever tried to tie a shoe with one hand?

How much better with two hands … together, we make the world better.

Suddenly from heaven …

The need for Pentecost … and we can help … 

we can help humanity tear down the walls and ease the tensions …  

when we make the faithful trek to this place, to worship the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ … 

and if we’re bedfast and homebound, if the flesh is no longer able, but the spirit is willing, we make the trip within ourselves … 

it’s the same trip … we walk with Christ in Galilee, we walk with him in the streets of Jerusalem, we sit at Table with Christ, and we hear his voice … and beside us, and all around us, the saints of bygone days, the angels of heaven, and the voices of the earth.

The church has done much good on all of this, but more is needed … more must be done … let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

Suddenly from heaven! 

Whatever happened that day, I’ll leave to your imagination …

Hallelujah and Amen!

6.5.22 "Google Translate," Westminster Presbyterian Church Pasadena

“Speak English,” she shouted at the man … “Speak English! You’re in America now! Speak English! or go back home!”

It’s sad … very sad … and it’s wrong.

Let’s do some work this morning.

First off, language is about as personal as it gets … we all have a native tongue, the language we learned as a child … it’s our second nature - we don’t have to think about it, because it’s the language of our mind, it’s how we think, it’s how we dream … language is very much who we are … who we are is the language we speak.

Language is what we celebrate … the Bible makes it clear: language is what it means to be created in God’s image … God speaks, things happen … God’s word creates the world … Jesus is called, “The word of God incarnate” … by words we learn from one another … with words we encourage one another … we say, “I love you” … we say it with words … or sign language … we write it … create Hallmark cards, make the music and write the songs …

The power of words to harm or to heal … to incite violence, or calm the heart … words to inspire, or words to mislead … we create dictionaries - these days, on line … we take writing courses, learn how to use words effectively … we have grammar software to help us express ourselves more clearly … words are who we are, and how we live together.

Now for some biblical work …

The first 11 chapters of Genesis are sometimes called a pre-history, the backstory to the story of Israel … 

The world created by God, good and beautiful … and the hard turn taken - Cain kills Abel, and so it begins - a world given to violence … 

The flood story tells the tale of a God who gives up on the human race, a God who’s had it with the species-experiment called human.

God washes the human race outta God’s hair - nothing like a good scrubbing to clean things up.

When the rain finally stops; the flood waters recede, the animals leave the ark two-by-two … all is new … or so it would seem.

The righteous Noah and his not-so-righteous family soon fall into all the familiar patterns of fear and hurt … so what’s a self-respecting God to do?

 With the rainbow in the sky, God promises to work with the world as it is … no sense, even for God, to lament what isn’t … no use crying over spilt milk … it is what it is, and it’s the world God has to love … even for God, there is no starting over; there is only one way, and that’s the way ahead.

As the story unfolds, humankind decides to build a tower to heaven  - apparently nothing better to do … they all speak the same language, as the story goes.

Ironically, even as humankind builds toward heaven, heaven comes down, and takes a look around. 

God realizes all of this endeavor, all of this pride and power, is built upon a common language.

So, what does God do?

God confuses the language … 

With one quick command, a diversity of tongues … the tower of power and pride is abandoned … folks head out to the far reaches of the earth … north, south, east, and west … to farm the fields, fish the seas, hunt and harvest … to make this world a home.

Let’s jump now to the Day of Pentecost - a harvest festival, 50 days after Passover - a celebration of hope and renewal.

On just such a day, the Holy Spirit pays a visit to the disciples.

Tongues of flame appear above their heads, and they begin to speak in other languages … 

Out they go into the streets of the city, the festival in full swing - Jews from all over the Roman world, speaking a myriad of languages, and to everyone’s surprise, the disciples speak the languages of the world. 

Just a story? Perhaps, but a story of kindness - there is no single language required … the Gospel is proclaimed in the languages of the world.

Perhaps you know something of the Wycliffe Bible Translators - for many years now their purpose has been to translate the Bible into every language of the earth. To do so, each translator has to learn the language of the people. And then the task of creating the written version, and then the task of teaching people to read. An arduous task, for sure, but at the heart of it all, a deep and abiding sense of God’s purpose - to honor all tongues, all peoples, all races, ethnicities and cultures - because every language is sacred to God, and every language can carry the joy and hope of the gospel.

I’m not saying any of this is easy - it isn’t! To live in a city with many languages is a challenge … jokes abound about taxicab drivers … it isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. 

And remember, when we’re doing something right, it doesn’t get easier.

In a nutshell, those who scream at immigrants to “speak English,” violate God’s purpose …

Use Google Translate when needed.

Last summer, my wife and I travelled in France - our knowledge of French is nil, but we found everywhere folks who were kindly on the language - they respected us as tourists; no one said, “Speak French, or go home!”

When the menu was in French, out came our phones with Google Translate - hover over the menu, and there it is, on the screen - translated - escargot and all.

As a nation, we are healthier with a diversity of tongues!

Think of a spice cabinet!

Only salt and pepper?

Not likely, 

Rather a cabinet full of little jars and tins - rich and savory seasonings - oregano, cinnamon, chili powder, sugar, turmeric,  paprika, rosemary, cardamon, thyme, and hundreds of other herbs and spices, to flavor our food and enrich our diet. 

Hats off to the bilingual … the schools that honor the language of all the children - no ridicule, no scolding, no shame, no humiliation … 

Children of other tongues soon learn English … their parents will still speak with an accent … some older folk may never learn English. 

I ask you, Is that so bad? 

Does that deserve a screaming tirade of hate?

Pentecost Sunday - a celebration of language.

The Holy Spirit comes down with flames of language … the original Google Translate … to affirm and honor the languages of the earth.

Language is sacred, language is the heart of God - God speaks the language of every creature, great and small … from the mouse of the field, to the whales of the sea … including you and me.  

We may not always understand each other, but if you’ve ever been in a situation where languages are different, it’s amazing what can be communicated with hand gestures, pointing and smiling … everyone speaks the same language of kindness - the smile, a kiss, the hug, and some laughter.

Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate, enfleshed, God’s word of love, love for all the earth … every language, every tongue … especially the children of the earth - who play and shout, dream and laugh,  cry and hurt, all the same - whatever their tongue may be.

Today, Pentecost Sunday, we honor the diversity of language. We respect one another, learn from one another.

In a thousand different tongues, in a thousand different ways … to God be the glory!

Hallelujah and Amen!