St Edburg's Church - Bicester

Something extraordinary happened in Jerusalem, 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection.  At an international gathering of Jewish pilgrims, everyone could understand the apostles, no matter what their native language (Acts 2). Did Simon Peter speak Parthian? I doubt it. Did John speak Mesopotamian?  probably not. Did James speak Cappadocian?  I shouldn’t think so.

 

So how can we explain that everyone understood them?

Perhaps it was that their actions were “speaking louder than words”. I mean, if their actions were praying, blessing, inviting, serving, reaching out, they were giving out signs of love which could be understood by anyone from any country.  Or perhaps it was the marvellous, mysterious magic of the Holy Spirit, inspiring both the apostles, and the crowd.

 

Whatever it was, they were communicating. Language was no longer a barrier.

Barriers were being broken down even as they spoke. That tells us that the gospel is a universal language. And the Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to find ways of sharing it with everyone.

 

And that’s so important, because if they could only communicate with people who spoke Aramaic, or perhaps Greek, the Gospel wouldn’t have got very far. It would have stayed in Palestine. But the Holy Spirit enabled them to communicate, and the Gospel spread round the world.

 

We live in a world where language should no longer be a problem. The Bible has been translated into every known language, and whatever country you are in, church worship will be in the language of that country.  But are there other barriers that prevent people from taking the Gospel to heart?

 

Communication is a two-way process; do we only communicate the Gospel in our own terms, or do we try to understand the audience we are seeking to communicate with?

Perhaps there are barriers of class or culture between us.

 

If we are open to the Holy Spirit, God will inspire us to find ways of communicating effectively to people outside the Church today. In our own daily lives, God’s Holy Spirit enables us to share the Good News, to have confidence in living our faith, and to inspire the loving actions that speak louder than any words.

 

Michael Kingston