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The Old Testament lesson today explains
how God scattered the nations. More importantly,
it explains why. The people were
determined to settle in one place and to make a name for themselves. They committed themselves to this even though
God’s command was to fill the earth and subdue it. If the people would not willingly spread out
to the ends of the earth, the Lord would force the issue. “The Lord said, ‘Behold,
they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the
beginning of what they will do. And
nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse
their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.’ So the Lord dispersed
them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the
city” (Genesis 11:6-8).
The Lord loved them too much to let them be
ensnared by their sin. Rather than let
them unite against his commands, the Lord acted to break them up. The various languages became a natural
barrier between people. Since the people
could not understand one another, they would not trust one another. They were forced to separate. Once the people separated, the nations became
even more distinct. The divided peoples formed
different vocabularies, dialects, and accents.
They developed different cultures, different diets, and different
music. The separation of the nations was
a consequence of the people’s sinful intentions. And yet, God still blessed it so that we get
to enjoy a variety of ethnic foods, festivals, and traditions.
God scattered the nations, but God still loved the world. All the nations of the world would be blessed
as God acted through one particular nation.
God chose Israel to be the people through whom the Savior of the Nations
would come. God had also chosen to dwell
among the people of Israel at their temple.
That’s not to say God’s love was limited to that nation. The land God promised to give to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob was strategic. It is at
the crossroads to three continents—Europe, Asia, and Africa. The nations came to Israel. Traders and merchants would regularly pass
through that land, and the people of Israel would give the testimony of the promises
of God. The word of God went out to the
nations which had been scattered, but the house of God remained in Jerusalem.
The day of Pentecost was a monumental change. Pentecost was one of the festivals which God
required his people to meet at Jerusalem.
There, God would meet with them to bless them. Over time, many Jews had settled far away
from the Promised Land. We even heard
the roll call of nations in the reading from Acts. These ex-patriated Jews returned to Jerusalem
for this harvest festival. They were
faithful to the covenant, but had also acclimated themselves to their new
homelands—new languages, new customs, new cultures.
Pentecost
presented a major change which astounded these Jews. It had to do with the languages. The language of the Old Testament was
Hebrew. The language at the temple in
Jerusalem was Hebrew. Some have even
assumed that the language in heaven will be Hebrew. But when the day of Pentecost came, the Holy
Spirit was at work to gather in the nations.
Notice what the Holy Spirit did.
When the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ disciples, they “began to speak in other
tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). When the Jewish
pilgrims gathered, “they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them
speak in his own language” (Acts 2:6).
And they confessed, “We hear them telling in our own tongues the
mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11).
The Holy Spirit gathered in the nations—not by converting everyone back
to one language, but by having the Gospel heard in every language. Salvation and forgiveness are not intended for
only one people, one nation, or one language.
The Holy Spirit gathered into one Church many nations, many people, and
many languages.
Some pilgrims at Pentecost heard the apostles speaking in different languages
and assumed the worst about them. “Others mocking said, ‘They are
filled with new wine’” (Acts 2:13). Foreign languages often sound like gibberish. When you don’t know what someone else is
saying, you become afraid. You assume
they are talking about you, perhaps even plotting against you. It doesn’t even have to be people speaking in
a foreign language. Ask any teenage boy
who walks past some girls who speak in hushed tones and then giggle, he will be
convinced, “They’re laughing at me.” Why
do we conclude these things? Because we
are self-centered and think that there is nothing else they would rather talk
about. Even worse, in our self-centeredness,
we conclude that we are superior to other cultures, races, languages, and
nations. We see others as people to be
feared, vilified, or avoided. Repent.
Why are we reluctant to welcome different or foreign people? We are unfamiliar with their language and culture. We have a hard time understanding their accent. It takes too much work, and we like things
the way they are. Some of our excuses
are partly true. That’s why we buy them
so easily. But understand this: It is
much harder for others to come to us than it is for us to welcome them. Yes, they have a different culture; but they
are immersed in a foreign culture. Yes,
they have a different language; they are not that familiar with yours either. (Although most are better with a second language
then Americans are.) Yes, it is hard to understand
their accent; that works both ways. Yes,
it is a lot of work, but you will be richer for it.
The Holy Spirit gathers in the nations.
They nations may be different, but all have much in common. All are sinners. All are dying. All have regrets. All bear burdens of guilt. All wish they could do better. All need to know that there is mercy from
God, that Jesus has taken away the sins of the world, and that there is
salvation in the Christian Church alone.
Only where people meet in the name of Jesus are sins taken away—sins of cultural
superiority, prejudice, and even racism.
Only through Jesus Christ do people receive the righteousness they need
to escape a judgment of death and hell. Whether
that is declared in English, Spanish, Hindi, or Arabic, it needs to be
proclaimed. That is how the Holy Spirit
gathers the nations.
The day of Pentecost was shocking to the Jews for a number of
reasons. St. Peter assured them that none
of it should have surprised them. He
quoted the prophet Joel who had foretold these events with particular clarity. “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I
will pour out my Spirit on all flesh… Even on my male servants and female servants in
those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17,18). The Holy Spirit
would not be just for a few, but for all—regardless of race, language, sex, or
age. The Holy Spirit would be poured out
to gather the nations into one Church. For
there is one Lord, one Savior, one faith, and one Church.
The prophet Joel
had foretold the events that inaugurated the last days, too. “I will show wonders in the heavens above and
signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be
turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord
comes, the great and magnificent day” (Acts 2:19-20). Surely the people would have vivid memories
of the events from just 50 days earlier—the sign in the heavens as Jesus was
suspended above the earth; the signs on the earth when the earth shook and the
rocks split; the sun turned to darkness when Jesus was on the cross. The great and magnificent day of the Lord
came when Jesus rose from the dead! God
had kept his word. It should not have
surprised anyone.
But the great
surprise and the great change following Pentecost are where God’s people gather
in his presence. Again, quoting Joel,
Peter declared, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). Wherever the name of the Lord is proclaimed,
there the Holy Spirit gathers the nations into the Church. The Church is no longer confined to one place
in Jerusalem where the priests pray and preach in one language. The Church is in every nation, among all people,
spoken in all languages. Wherever people
call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, there is where Jesus is with his Church
to bless, to strengthen, to encourage, to comfort, and to save.
The Holy Spirit
gathers the nations. The Holy Spirit sanctified
every language so that God’s word is confessed and proclaimed in all places and
among all peoples. What unites all of
God’s people is not language, nationality, politics, or culture, but faith in
God’s promises. As odd as it may seem, even Russian Christians and Ukrainian Christians who are enemies under different flags remain united by faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens,
and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus
Christ in the one true faith.
There will probably
always be a desire to have people unified in one language. It seems like it would be easier, that people
would become more trusting, and we would enjoy a more peaceful world. It seems like it, but it would not be. Even English speaking people don’t agree on vocabulary. It might take our new missionary to London a little
bit to learn his boot from his bonnet (trunk of car from the hood) or where to
get a good spanner (wrench). But fear
not. The Lord has never intended to make
us clones with identical personalities, interests, cultures, or languages.
The Apostle John
was in Jerusalem at that first Pentecost, and he got to witness the Holy Spirit
gathering the nations into the Church.
In Revelation, St. John got a vision of the end result of that work. “I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes” (Revelation 7:9). Even
in heaven, the nations spoke with their various languages. And like a choir’s voices blend to sound
forth magnificent music, so the languages, dialects, and accents of the nations
blend before the throne of God to praise him for his salvation and, one would think,
of his diverse creation of peoples.
The Holy Spirit gathers the nations. At Pentecost he used the disciples to declare the mighty works of God’s salvation; he can also use you. Regardless of heavy accents, stammering tongues, or limited vocabularies, let God’s word be declared and his promises be heard. The Holy Spirit will gather in more, and the voices that praise God will increase.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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