Thought for Today
Genesis 11:31 Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
Nehemiah 9:7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham;
Acts 2:7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
This next Sunday is Pentecost. Hopefully, at some point someone has told you about the Greek word πεντηκοστή (pentecosta), meaning fiftieth. It was originally celebrated as the Jewish Festival of Weeks, which began when the 1st fruits of the harvest were presented to God 50 days after Passover. Equally, I hope you have heard or read, “Acts 2:2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.”
In some ways, I believe the story of Pentecost is one of the strangest but most meaningful stories in scripture. I have long been fascinated by those ‘Divided tongues, as of fire,” wondering just what strange phenomena of meteorology they might have represented. If you ever watched the television special Lonesome Dove, you might remember the cattle drive scene where lightning strikes the horns of one of the longhorn cattle and then spreads throughout the entire herd from horn to horn. I have always imagined that first Christian Pentecost to have appeared in a similar fashion.
Even more intriguing, however, than those divided tongues is the issue of linguistics. I am not a linguist. Seminary and then our move from Texas to New England both combined to spark an interest in languages. I grew up speaking Texican. It is similar to but different from English. For example, in Texas we did not have trash barrels, we had trashcans. Barrels were one of the 2 most common units of measure in the oil industry, the other being dollars. Texican and English are different languages but similar enough to each other to be almost immediately understood by both. Some of the words in my sermons may sound a bit strange to New England ears or may seem to be used in odd and unusual ways, but the meaning is usually understandable.
The seminaries I attended and my sponsoring denomination required that I study biblical Hebrew and the koine Greek of the New Testament. I became fascinated with words, with the meaning and usage of words and with how one conveys thoughts and ideas with words. Even today, long after my student days, I find subtleties and shades of meaning in scripture by reading in the original languages.
As I read the Bible, I am always alert to the issue of languages. I wonder whether Chaldean differed substantially from Haran. Did Terah, Abram and Lot struggle to understand the language of their new home? Later, after the move to Canaan, did Abram and Lot once again struggle to learn the new language?
One of the characteristics of living languages is that they change over time. Some are more adaptable than others, but change is inevitable. Hebrew was no longer a living language by the time of Jesus. It existed only in the scrolls used in worship. I wonder how much the Hebrew spoken in Israel today differs from the language in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
As I think about what is being described in Acts 2:7-8, I am as mystified today as I was the first time I read Acts. This week, as you anticipate Pentecost, read Acts 2:9-10 and note the litany of nations. Most of us have read or heard that Aramaic was a sort of lingua franca during the time of the New Testament. “A lingua franca . . . also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language . . . is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups of people who do not share a native language or dialect.” (en.wikipedia.org)
The Bible is clear, this was not a case of lingua franca usage, “we hear, each of us, in our own native language.” This was something entirely new and different linguistically. This was the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. This was God’s own intervention allowing all full and complete access to the gospel message of God’s love.
Stay safe, thank God for the miracle of Pentecost, trust God,
Pastor Ray