The language of the Holy Spirit
Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, 2021, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY. Based on the texts of John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 and Acts 2:1-21 . May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. The story of Pentecost has been one of my favorites for years, starting when I was learning a foreign language in high school. Once I learned how to express myself in a second language, I found an appreciation for the power of the Holy Spirit as it acted on the disciples, letting them connect and communicate with many others around them, in their own language. Now, to be clear, Luke is not writing about speaking in tongues as Paul does in his first letter to the church in Corinth. Paul’s mention is about an ecstatic language that God understands, and occurs when someone is full of the Spirit. Luke writes in Acts about tongues of fire that appeared above each of the disciples, a sign of the presence of the Holy S