"From Different Places"

“But we hear them in our own languages. How is this possible? We are from all these different places…We are from these different countries, but we can hear these men in our own languages! We can all understand the great things they are saying about God.” Acts 2:8, 11b

The story is amazing. Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the power they needed to share the good news throughout the world. For 10 days the wait and pray together and on the tenth day they are all filled with the Holy Spirit. A sound of a mighty wind fills the room and what looks like tongues of fire stood over each person there.

They all “spoke in tongues”, or languages that none of the disciples knew or had learned. The noise drew a crowd and soon people from all the surrounding countries listened in. They were surprised because they heard them in their own native languages. Verses 9-11 list at least 19 different countries and language  groups.

The miracle surprise and astounds us. The nature of these tongues has been discussed and hashed over by theologians since the second century. And, I am sure it will be the story will continue to be well-worn until Jesus returns. No matter how the miracle occurred, there is something astounding about its purpose.

Everyone in Jerusalem probably spoke the common Greek of the day. The apostles could have preached in Greek, been well understood, and still had the “power to witness” that Jesus promised. Even though we may hear occasional stories of tongues in foreign missions, with someone preaching a language the never understood, I don’t think that is God’s primary purpose for this miracle. If it were, it would have been the standard means of communicating the good news. Instead, this is the only time in Acts that we see this particular manifestation: speaking the gospel in a language the speaker has never learned.

I think God was making a crystal-clear point: You don’t have to become a Jew to be a follower of Jesus. And, for all of us down through the ages, God wants us to know that Christianity is never meant to be laden with cultural baggage. It is not to be seen as a new Jewish cult, the “white man’s” religion, or anything else connected with human distinctions.

In fact, to be a follower of Jesus means we enter into a relationship that tears down every cultural divide. Islam insists its Torah be read only in the original language. The Upanishads of the Hindus, though adopted by some westerners, steeped in and thoroughly mixed with its culture. Even Judaism is for “Jews”. This is not to mean that “outsiders” are not allowed in. But, for the most part, one’s original culture is subdued to accept the new religious expression.

In Christ, it is different. The message is spoken “in our own languages” that first Pentecost. And, where the Gospel is declared without cultural trappings, people are free to worship Christ from within their own customs. Native Americans may sing a drum song; Old European churches use ancient texts and hymns, contemporary North America sings modern choruses. One’s personal culture is no hindrance to expression of faith in Christ.

That being true, it is of highest importance that we carry forward the message that began at Pentecost. We are not called to insist people become “like us” to follow Jesus. To the contrary, the cross of Jesus has demolished every cultural wall that separates people of different castes or classes.

This means the church must regularly preach the biblical truths that combat prejudice. It is a sad commentary that many “Bible-believing” churches do not do this. Unfortunately, this allows some Christians to imbibe freely of the sin of prejudice without hearing those attitudes are wrong.

We need to stand up and pay the price to help those who are the “other”. This may cause us to be misunderstood my some, and may be costly in terms of reputation. It will certainly be inconvenient for many. But, as the church stands up for those wounded by class culture that draws ungodly distinctions, we may see healing within the hearts of people hurt by these divisions.

We must confront prejudice when it appears in society as strongly as we confront any other “social sins”. We must not leave it to question where the church stands when it comes to treatment of people from differing classes or ethnicities. We should meet it head-to-head with the same zeal as Paul did when Peter gave in to prejudice in Antioch. (Galatians 2:11-13).

As a Pentecostal, I hope my own people who emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit will grasp fully God’s intent at the first utterance of speaking in tongues. Within the last decade two of the largest Pentecostal denominations, one primarily white, the other primarily African-American, have sought reconciliation. Though, in the early day of the Azusa Street Revival, skin color meant relatively little, as organizations were founded, people drifted into their own racial comfort zones.

May we all take notice and ask God to help us see how He has torn down the differences, and allowed the full expression of worship within each person’s cultural heritage. And may we rejoice that it is all a result of God’s abounding grace.