What are the languages we speak? I remember the languages spoken by my grandparents’ generation, and the unique twist that could be heard when they spoke to us in English even though they had complete command of the English language of their adopted home. There remain in my mind and heart the more personal meaning of certain words and phrases the way they said them.
Languages, both spoken and written, have come a long way! Our capacity to record the spoken word has developed incredibly within our lifetimes, also. What once took a whole studio of professionals and technicians can now be done at the touch of an “app” on my phone!
The great question on this Feast of Pentecost is if we have kept up with and hopefully even kept ahead of the curve when it comes to the style and content of “the languages” we speak. How much of what we say is worthy of recording? How much of what we say reaches across the gap or actually crosses the bridge as the Holy Spirit empowers us to do? I’m referring not to the official languages of the U.N. or the Olympics, but the languages of the human heart, the human mind, the
human soul. These are the languages of patience, of humor, of welcome, of encouragement, of mentoring, of disappointment and of forgiveness.
There is a lot of noise out there in our world, but the tongues as of fire rest upon us still. Amidst the noise and chaos, there is truth to speak and truth to live. There is the authentic language and voice of parent, of sibling, of leader or devoted follower, of builder and of healer. In the right circumstances, each of these might be heard and understood by all, even if the world might say “No way!” They may block their ears if they choose, but God says “Way!”