Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 31, 2009 - Pentecost Sunday
[Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 OR Galatians 5:16-25; John 20:19-23 OR John 15:26-27; 16:12-15]]And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a loarge crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language!
One of the features of my very crowded new room in Austin, TX, is a small bookshelf of language dictionaries. I do enjoy studying languages and I keep these dictionaries so that if I run into a word I don't recognize, I can try to look it up! I do admit that Parthian, Medean, and Elamite, etc. are not featured in my bookcase but there are quite a few others. I can be sure, however, that the Holy Spirit will be present wherever any of these languages is spoken! In the case of the Pentecost scene, we have the first instance of "simultaneous translation" and it is all the work of the Holy Spirit! Where the Holy Spirit is present, there is the Church. Anyone who preaches and thinks about it will realize that every homily is a Pentecost exercise. Each person listening (or reading, as in this case) hears "the Word" in his or her own "language." Preachers also know that if they were to quiz the listeners after the preaching, the results would be very surprising. "I said THAT? Well...I'm glad you found it helpful!" Again, it is the work of the Holy Spirit! The first priests' retreat I ever preached (back in the early 90's) was a very daunting experience for me. What could I say that would be of help to these priests? To make matters more complicated, the audience of priests from the Archdiocese of New Orleans was multi-ethnic! I'm not sure what I said but I do recall it was well-received by that very diverse group and launched me on a ministry that I find immensely satisfying and humbling: preaching retreats for clergy. Again, only the Holy Spirit can make the Word work through my efforts. As St. Paul says in First Corinthians (first alternative for Pentecost), "there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone." My shelf of dictionaries reminds me just how diverse the faith is but how united we all are in the Holy Spirit! AMEN
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