Speaking The Language
Have you ever found yourself in a place where you couldn’t understand a word of the language being spoken all around you? I certainly haven’t, but I imagine it must be about as disorienting an experience as one could have. I can at least identify and probably pick out a word or two in a number of European languages, thanks, in part to all the mingling of expressions in our modern era.
I probably watch too much television, but recently I noticed a commercial featuring two little boys, probably about 7 or 8 years old, sitting across from each other at a school lunchroom table. The first boy speaks in a language I don’t recognize, and the second responds in another. They look at each other with regret, and a kind of resignation, and I felt that they were getting used to this isolating situation. (Yes, I know – that’s way too much backstory for a commercial!) One of the boys is spooning up soup with noodles made into Star Wars-themed shapes, and he pauses, looks at the other youngster, and makes an unusual purring, growling sound. The other boy’s face lights up and he says, “Wookiee?” gets a nod, and just like that, they’re side by side, smiling and gesturing and finding a common enthusiasm that helps them communicate. I’m a pushover for anything featuring young children, but I also thought we could find a lesson in this little vignette.
The difficulty in communicating with people who speak different languages is universal and timeless. In the Book of Acts, we read a dramatic story, as the coming of the Holy Spirit to a group of new believers is vividly recounted. We can almost see and hear the noisy crowd, and the Galileans who have gathered are testifying, preaching, and telling of God’s deeds of power. Although those gathered are from over a dozen different areas, to their amazement, each hears in his native language. The barriers of language and other differences are broken down by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we struggle to understand and make ourselves understood in this world, we can be encouraged and strengthened by the knowledge that the Gospel of Christ crosses all obstacles, whether geographic, cultural, political, religious, or any other. Every Sunday, as we speak the words of the Apostles’ Creed, remember Luther’s explanation of the Third Article: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith . . .”
And so we are assured and reminded that we are not alone, that we have one another, all the saints who have gone before us, as well as the power of God’s Holy Spirit to speak in a language that all will hear and understand.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers