Default language setting

James Cathcart June 05, 2022 0 1

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Acts 2: 1-21, Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSVA)

(Acts 2) 1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

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? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ 13 But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 “In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
        and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
    and signs on the earth below,
        blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
        before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

(Genesis 11) 1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lordscattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

A few years back I learnt that the default position of human beings is to be multilingual. Through most of history we have switched between languages easily and it’s just this last bit — with vast numbers of people only fluent in one language (like me) — that’s been different, the blip.

Humans are really good at languages (ask any toddler). Before nation states cut the world into chunks, languages flowed where they would. People grabbed a bit of whatever was needed from here and there to live, work, trade, and worship.

Without apps and classrooms and textbooks the majority of people could switch between different languages and dialects and make themselves understood. As a dad I’m witnessing firsthand how we pick up songs and stories with electric speed. If we just get on with it we’re incredibly good at it. We now have a world dizzyingly full of facts but without so many bags to carry them in. Our ancestors used things like rhyme and pattern and music to hold on to information across languages without breaking a sweat.

Humans have often made a choice to streamline — our plans, our technologies and our languages. Hence Babel, hence the tower, hence empires. We can sometimes achieve a lot in the process but often end up building ourselves into a corner.

The fact that me we are multilingual by default tells me that that this narrowing isn’t inevitable. We don’t shed languages because they’re hard, we drop them because they’re easy. In Genesis 11 there is one language and everyone makes a tower. God blesses them with language to confuse and stretch and challenge them so that they get moving.

In Acts 2 language doesn’t collapse back in on itself, instead we have a blossoming outwards, understanding across languages. God knows humans. God knows we’re big on languages.

And God. God’s not big on towers.

But friends, we’ve got this, communicating is our thing. Let’s dive into language again and learn more about what it is to be human.

PRAYER:

Lord of all,

You bless us with vibrancy

and we are so grateful.

Amen.