Pentecost, Language, Diversity and Unity

Pentecost

Pentecost Acts 2: 1-13 (ESV)

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested  on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and 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, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

One of the earliest stories in the bible is the story of the tower of Babel, of human beings getting too big for their boots, of God scattering all the peoples across the earth, and then confusing their language so that they no longer understood one another (Genesis 11.1-9). Some see Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples ensuring that ‘every nation under heaven’ could understand what they were saying, as a reversal of Babel. But it is not. Rather than giving everyone back the same language, and rather than eradicating their different cultures, the disciples were given the ability to communicate with people from all over the Roman empire. Some said the disciples were drunk. They couldn’t cope with what felt like chaos. It challenged their sense of order. Yet I believe that God’s desire for the church and for the world, is that as we share the good news of God’s love for all humanity and creation, so we can live together more fully, more fruitfully, more faithfully, we might have to live with the way our worlds are turned upside down when we value and welcome each other’s different insights and lifestyles. I’m sure that some would love everyone to be able to understand their first language so that the confusion and chaos of today’s world would be eliminated. But I relish the diversity of God’s peoples and creation. Our differences are God-given, and if we’re made in the image of God, difference must exist within God as well.

I used to love Pentecost services in London when the two churches with their eight different congregations came together, that worshipped in four languages (English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese) and we could hear the story of the birthday of the church (Acts 2.1-11) told in 30 to 35 different languages from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas as well as the Celtic languages of our own islands. It was wonderful to share in celebrations that echoed the diversity of the city we lived in. And for that day, some of the challenges of living together with such diversity, were forgotten. It was also important, ‘though, that we did not sweep them under the carpet and there were many.

I was minister of the Chinese Church for 9 months while we waited for a minister to be appointed. Church Councils went on for 3 and sometimes 4 hours. They needed to be conducted in Cantonese, Mandarin and English, not only because not everyone understood one language, but because each one represented a whole cultural landscape that could not be communicated except through their mother tongues. And that was further complicated by each language being spoken by several different cultural / national communities. So Mandarin, for example, was spoken by Malaysians, Taiwanese and by numerous different regions of China. Each had their own perspectives on the Gospel and what they believed life in God’s world and church should look like. So, Church Councils required time for conversation within each group and between each group, before decisions – most of which were a compromise – could be made. I rarely found that to be negative, however, because I think that what I saw was the church as a microcosm of what God wants the world to be. A community of people who share their differences in constructive dialogues, so that even if we cannot agree, we can at least understand each other better.

There’s an insightful poem by C.M. Kao from Taiwan called ‘You and me’.

You saw the sun rising from the sea
I saw the sun rising from the mountains
We argued for a long time,
Until you visited me and I visited you.
We saw the different facts.
You say its summer
I say it’s winter
We argued for a long time.
Then you visited me in the South
and I visited you in the North.
We argued for a long time,
We saw the different facts.
You say, ‘white is beauty’
I say ‘black is beauty’
We argued for a long time,
The you saw the black forest in my country
And I saw the eternal snow on your mountain peaks.
We agreed that the beauty of white is in its clear brightness
And the beauty of black is in its mysterious darkness.
Sharing – face to face – friends we shall become
You and me.

(From ‘Dare to Dream’ Ed by Geoffrey Duncan, 1995:153)

We don’t need to travel across the world to see different facts. We only have to look at the divisions in the church, in our nation and our world, to see how human beings quickly jump to seeing ‘our facts’ as ‘the facts’ that should determine everyone else’s life. In this situation, the church can offer hope to the world, if we’re willing to live and see as Christ did on this earth. This can feel chaotic. So, we are called to live as Christ’s body, letting go of power and status, emptying ourselves of the facts and truths we believe we can impose on others, and living with a humility that welcomes the insights and perspectives of others (see Philippians 2.5-8). It isn’t always comfortable, but it is a far better way, that the way of the world right now.

Pray:

Come Holy Spirit.
Come into the chaos and division of our communities, nation and world.
Give to us a vision of unity in diversity.

Come Holy Spirit.
Come to all who hold power and influence in communities and nations.
Give them a thirst for justice and peace.

Come Holy Spirit.
Come to your people in every nation.
Give to each a spirit of generosity, hospitality and humility,
a willingness to stand up to those who would divide
because of the race, colour, culture, ability or economic status of others,
and wisdom to discern your desires for all people and creation.

Come Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev Sue Keeganvonallmen