Native Tongue

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 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?

(Acts 2:5-8)

What is your native tongue? It's with this most natural language that we typically, instinctively communicate love and acceptance. While any human language - including sign language - would certainly qualify, there are many other ways we communicate with the world around us. We may cook our way into the hearts of those we love, or tell stories that lift spirits and bring smiles to those we encounter. There are those who speak the language of service or giving. Such "love languages" are often an embodiment of home, acceptance, and welcome.

The day of Pentecost, recounted in Acts 2, was a day when Jewish people came together to celebrate God's gift of the Torah. Most were far from their native lands, and they would not have expected to hear their own languages from a group of unknown men from Galilee. As suspicious as some of them were of the spectacle they were witnessing, they did stop and listen. They heard the words of welcoming inclusion that sounded like home.

God's Holy Spirit rests on each of us as the tongues of fire rested on the disciples, that day, empowering us to meet others where they are and invite them to experience the freeing power of salvation. May we extend home to all who are lost and lonely.

21 "Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:21)