Day 127: Giving Peace

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  John 14:27

Happy Pentecost!  Come Holy Spirit!

Today is the day that is usually identified as being the founding of the Church.  It is the day of yet another promise fulfilled.  It is a day we remember Jesus bringing all of us together under one accord.  It's also a day where we celebrate the diversity of languages, which is something that I hold very dear.

For the past few days, I'd been thinking about what the language trope meant in the story of Pentecost.  Sure, it was a way for the people to show that they were fully equipped to preach in every place.  It was also a concrete sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit.  But, when I went through the readings in the Lectionary Page, I saw that the Tower of Babel was in the readings as well, which gives a different perspective on language diversity.

I found that a major theme in Pentecost is the idea of redemption.  God scattered the people from the Tower of Babel and confused their language.  God then starts to unite people through a gift of the Holy Spirit - that of language.  Language diversity comes about because of sin, and then it comes back as a blessing.  These are two almost opposing views on language diversity, but they are important for our growth.

There are so many different things happening in our lives right now.  There are things that keep us going, and there are things that keep us back.  However, God is the one who can show us how to manage everything.  We have the Holy Spirit as a guide in our turbulent lives.  The Holy Spirit is a breath of fresh air when we are trapped inside an office, a basement, a hospital.

In the language learning communities I am a part of, I see many people who want to see language diversity to go away.  They see the diversity as a barrier, and, in reality, they have quite a point.  Imagine if we could get all our ideas across without any challenge in terms of language.  There are others, though, who want to learn more languages so that they can gain more perspectives on life.  I like to see languages as a gift from God.  Yes, I wish I knew how to speak all of them, but the fact that I don't and probably won't is beautiful, because it means that there are people who will always have stories to tell me.

Jesus has also shown us how to look at things in a very good way.  Throughout his earthly ministry, he guided his disciples very closely.  He made sure that they understood everything with his teaching.  However, he also had to depart from them and head to heaven.  In the end, they were left with peace.  Jesus offers peace to all of us.  We can concern ourselves over all the challenges in our lives, but at the end of the day, we can relax on the peace that Jesus leaves us.  Unlike the gifts that we can give, ones that can only be used for a certain amount of time before fading, the peace and the Holy Spirit are gifts that guide us throughout our entire lives.

So, when you look at the big picture of your life: all the struggles that lie behind and ahead of you, the problems that face you, the difficult things that might scare you; remember that we have a way to get through the trouble.  It involves an open heart to receive the peace that Jesus has given us.  It's knowing that the hills are there so we can have something beautiful to look at on our journey.  It's knowing that we have no reason to be afraid.  It's knowing that no challenge is too big for us.  It's knowing that God is gathering all of those who have wandered off with comfort.