| What's Your Native Tongue? - article by Joel Hempel I would imagine most of you will say English! If you were born in the USA, our “native or mother tongue” is what we are most comfortable speaking. I write in my native tongue, but not without the help of a spell check app; otherwise, you would be tripping over misspelled words.
Those who pay attention to the liturgical calendar know that Sunday, June 8, was the Celebration of Pentecost – 50 days following the resurrection of our Lord. Although Christians don’t decorate their homes or buy each other presents, Pentecost is as spiritually significant as Christmas and Easter. Why? Because we wouldn’t know about Christmas and Easter without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, we wouldn’t be Christians!
Pentecost!
There was a lot of drama on that first Pentecost: A mighty sound from heaven, rushing wind, multiple foreign languages spoken simultaneously by people who didn’t know the language coming out of their mouths, and the appearance of what looked like tongues of fire on the heads of the apostles and others who were gathered that day.1 Then Peter – who struggled with his faith and faithfulness before this Day to Remember – stood up and preached a Spirit-led and power-filled sermon that was not from his native tongue. Oh, if you had been there, the words coming out of his mouth sounded like Peter and in a language he was comfortable speaking. But what he had to say – well, it was nothing less than divine!
How do we know Peter’s sermon was divinely inspired? You might think the obvious answer is the 3000 converts who were baptized that day. That, indeed, was miraculous. But what made his words divine is what makes our words divine when we speak on behalf of Jesus. It’s the gift of the Holy Spirit living within us and working through us.
Pentecost is the day a singular, new native tongue was given to all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. It matters not from which country you originate or the color of your skin. If you believe and trust in the Risen-from-the-Dead Jesus, you too have been given this spiritual tongue. You, too, have the power to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord. Think about it, I mean, really think about it: You have the power of the Holy Spirit in you who inspires words of love and behavior that’s pleasing to God.
Why don’t we have 3000 converts taking a knee when we share the Gospel? I suppose there are many reasons. But our job – our vocation as Christians – is not to count the numbers. Our calling is to be aware of, attentive to, and responsive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our calling is to accept our calling, and then to live the calling by God’s ever-present grace and enabling power.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses . . .2
1. See Acts 1:15; 2:1-41. 2. Acts 1:8 | 
