“Speaking the Language of the Father in Peace and Unity”
The collective pride of man gathered all of his might and wisdom to construct an impressive tower reaching into heaven itself. And God noticed. “The Lord came down to see the city and tower which the sons of men had built.” This mighty work of humanity was about as noticeable as a child looking at a tiny bug on the ground. The sinful desire of man to be gods had gone far enough.
And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Many generations, a global flood and some time later man wanted to make a name for himself, again. They did not council with God, but with themselves. The separation of the Fall had reached a critical point as far as God was concerned, and He was going to do something about it. It was time to break the pride of man, again.
The children of man were united in their sin, so the Lord God in His infinite wisdom came down into the corrupted creation to confuse the language of man, and to scatter them across the face of the earth. No more could the fallen children of Adam be of one mind, one heart, and one voice. The future of humanity on earth would be filled with mistrust, lies, deceit, anger, hatred, murder and wars. It should be no wonder that we have communication problems yet today, husband against wife, parents against children, and everyone against authority.
The Son of God came down from heaven to bring unity. Jesus, the Son of God, entered creation to redeem it, to buy it back to Himself, to bring words of life that unite! The price was higher than we could pay, so He paid it in divine blood. By His death on the cross for your sin, Jesus gives to you the peace from God because He comes in the name of the Father speaking the words of the Father, doing the Will of the Father.
For this peace to be understood, man needed to have the language of God, and that is what the Holy Spirit brings. He teaches and brings remembrance of the words of Jesus, which are the words of the Father. The Helper is in unity with the Father and the Son, for as the Son was sent in the name of the Father, so is the Spirit sent in the name of the Son. In the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer, the confusion and chaos of Babel is undone.
That is the miracle of Pentecost, speaking the language of God. His Word, given to us as a precious gift through His Bride the Church, Mother of all believers. As young children learn to speak the language of their parents by listening and repetition, so we learn by listening and repeating the sounds of our parents. At first they are mere sounds, which become words. In time the words gain meaning, and then they begin to express thoughts. Phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs come together to tell a story, the story of our salvation out of sin.
Yes, today we have a miracle and blessing through young believers speaking the language of the Church, which is the language of the Holy Spirit, which is the language of the Son, which is the language of the Father. So you see, when we speak the language of the Church, we are speaking the language of the Father in peace and unity. Thanks be to God!
Amen.
