Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann
Acts 2:7-11
June 4, 2017 Pentecost
Communicating an idea is no easy thing. It seems simple enough, just open your mouth and speak a thought. But, the reality is far more complicated. First, there must be an idea or message, then words must be chosen that will capture the idea adequately, those words must be formed and then conveyed across a medium where a receiver or listener collects the symbols and sounds that stand for words and then deciphers those words into an idea—which, it is hoped, will be the same idea that started in the mind of the sender. On top of this basic process are all the additional problems of context, vocabulary, dialects, social, educational, and gender factors, and non-verbal communication. Considering all the problems that can arise in the process of communication, it is a small miracle that any ideas are ever accurately communicated—indeed, I sometimes wonder whether any listener ever truly understands the full message that a speaker intended to communicate. And that’s when both the speaker and the hearer are supposed to be speaking the same language.
Communication breakdowns happen all the time. They happen between people of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds, different educational levels, and different generations. And though you might not believe it to be possible, communication breakdowns even happen in the most intimate, committed, and understanding relationship between husband and wife. Yet, the greatest of all communication breakdowns are those that afflict the communication between man and God. But, of course, in the case of this communication failure, the fault is all one-sided. The fault is all ours.
The biggest and most common form of communication breakdown between people and God is the assumption that God can’t be heard because he doesn’t communicate. It’s true that God does not ordinarily speak with a booming voice from the clouds, or with whispers in the darkness, but the reality is that God has made himself known in this world. He has spoken. In a Bethlehem stable, on the mountainsides of Galilee, in an upper room of Jerusalem, and profoundly outside the walls of that same city, God has spoken his truth into this world. He has declared his love for the world and every one of its people. He has announced his plan to reconcile the world and make it right with him again. He proclaimed this through his Son’s teaching and words of course, but also through the very life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In Jesus, God speaks. And in the church of Jesus, here, he continues to speak right into the present.
But, so many people miss what God is saying—and they miss not because God does not speak clearly—he has and he does, but because they simply aren’t interested in hearing what God has to say. You know it’s true: if you don’t think someone has anything to say to you, you don’t hear them when they speak right to your face. A significant part of good communication is cultivating an attitude of expectation so that you are tuned-in and ready to hear what is said. If your working assumption is that nothing is going to be said to you, you quit listening. This is why people claim not to hear what God has to say; and why they insist that if God did have something to say to them, he should be more explicit and clear about it. It’s not true. God is speaking. People aren’t hearing him because they don’t want to hear him. But, you know better than this. You know that you need to keep your ears and your heart in tune with God’s speaking so that you are able to hear what he has to say to you.
The communication breakdown that tends to be a problem for Christian people is not that they tune out God’s speaking entirely, but that they don’t hear all that God has to say. Somehow, many Christians have gotten the idea that God only speaks religious language. Maybe this is how you tend to listen to God. You are persuaded that God has helpful and important things to say about how to worship, what to believe about spiritual things, when to baptize children, how to celebrate Christmas, and about life after death and that sort of thing—you know, religious and spiritual stuff. But, because you believe God only speaks a language of religion, you miss all the other vitally important things that he wants to say to you about all those supposedly “un-spiritual” parts of life.
Of course, you may insist that you do actually believe that God speaks to much more of life than merely the religious aspects on Sunday morning, but does your life reflect that claim? Do you live like you believe God has something important and relevant to tell you about all those other parts of your life besides the religious and spiritual parts? Far too many Christians, it seems, are quite content to give God his place on Sunday morning, and grant him some latitude over the spiritual aspect of their lives, but they are unwilling to give him any sway over the rest of their lives. It’s as if God is can’t speak the language of ordinary life, but only knows Sunday morning liturgical responses. Too many Christians live as if they don’t believe that God has something relevant to say to them about how they do their job on Monday morning, or about how they talk to their spouse on Tuesday evening. They are not convinced that God has vital things to tell them about how they shop for a car, or choose a career, pick someone to date, or raise a child. Those things don’t seem spiritual, and so people aren’t listening to hear what God might have to say about them. But, he does have something to say about every single one of these things. When you don’t hear him speak and don’t understand what he says, you are missing out on what he wants you to hear, know, and do. You are missing out on God’s best for your life and for your family. You are missing out on much of the joy and wonder that he wants you to experience in life.
Whether you recognize it or not, God is speaking to you about every single part of your life. He speaks to you in words that are relevant, potent, and exactly what you need to hear. That, my friends, is the wonderful and powerful message of Pentecost. The point of Pentecost is that God speaks to you in your language---the language of everyday, real life. He speaks to you wherever you are, and whatever you are doing. God is not chained to some overly poetic, pious, King-James-esque archaic language. He speaks vividly and truthfully to you right now about every area of your life right now.
If you don’t hear what God is saying to you about your real-life situations, then you are simply not listening. If you can’t hear God speak to you about all of your life and all of your choices and actions, then perhaps it’s because you would rather not hear what he has to say. Could it be that you like your life just the way that it is, and you’d prefer not to hear about what God would have you doing differently? Could it be that you like to contain God within a Sunday-only-box and limit him to religious language alone? If you have shut-out God’s words that are spoken in the language of everyday life and everyday struggles, you suffer for it. You miss the comfort and joy that God wants you to have. You go through life dragging burdens and worries that God fully understands and desires to endure with you, but you miss his words because you think that he doesn’t speak your language. You go through life making business and personal decisions relying on nothing but your own wits and feelings and advice from other fallen creatures, when the entire time God waits to speak his words to you about the choices and challenges you face. God speaks to all of your life. Listen.
God is holy, majestic, all-powerful, and completely beyond our ability ever to comprehend him. Yet, the miracle of his love is that he transcends the impossible space between himself and his creation, and speaks to you in direct and personal ways that you cannot misunderstand. God does not require you to learn his language before you can hear him speak. No, he blesses you by speaking your language. God knows your language. He knows every human thought, every human fear, every human need, every human emotion. He knows the language of despair and the language of loneliness. He knows the language of stress and anxiety. He knows the language of debt and poverty. He knows the language of broken hearts and wounded spirits. He knows the language of indecision and guilt and shame. He knows the language of disaster and regret. He knows them all. He is completely fluent in every human language. When others don’t and can’t have a clue about your concerns and struggles, when other people just can’t understand your thoughts and your feelings and your language, God understands perfectly.
God bridges the language barrier in Christ. He knows exactly what you are trying to say, he knows even when you don’t know how to put it into words. He knows because he has joined himself to your world and has taken your flesh to himself. He knows the language of human living. He knows by personal experience. God does not just talk church talk. He does not speak only the language of religion. God is not relevant only to those parts of your life that are spiritual. Christ’s gospel of grace and forgiveness is so great and so all-encompassing that it envelopes every area of your life. Not only does the gospel assure you of an eternity of peace and joy; but it also transforms your present into a reality marked by peace and joy. God’s language of grace speaks to each of us. It’s not a magic, spiritual language. It’s not veiled in shadows and rituals. God speaks plain English. Listen, he’s talking to you right now in the words of the sermon. Week after week he speaks to you, here, giving you direction for your real life and real challenges. And in a few short minutes he will speak to you in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Here, he will speak his word of forgiveness. Here, you will hear his word of comfort. Here, he speaks the language of love in ways that you can taste and smell and hold and cherish. Don’t miss what he’s speaking to you in the sermon. Don’t miss what he’s saying to you in the sacrament. In Word and Sacrament, God is speaking your language.
In Lutheran circles, there’s an old and worn out joke that God speaks German. It’s true of course. God does speak German. And, he speaks Spanish and French, and Swahili, and Hindi, and Mandarin, and English. He’s also fluent in the language of laughter and happiness, and tears and sadness, and fear and apprehension, and shame and embarrassment, and indecision and failure. His communication never breaks down and never fails. He knows every language of every human heart. He knows your language. He hears your words and your thoughts and your feelings; and in your language, he speaks to every one your words and thoughts and feelings. God speaks the language of your heart. He’s speaking to you today, as his Holy Spirit descends again and fills his people. Through his Son, through his Spirit, he speaks. And he will keep on speaking to you about everything every day. Keep listening. Amen.