“…Each one heard them speaking in the native language of
each.” --Acts 2:6
I have spent the last couple of days at the annual “Reconciliation
in America Symposium” here in Tulsa. The
Symposium is sponsored by the John Hope Franklin Center for
Reconciliation. (If you don’t know who
John Hope Franklin was, he is worth googling!)
It has been a worthwhile,
educational, meaningful and enjoyable event. Not only have I learned a great deal, but
have been privileged to meet a whole range of people working in concrete and
specific ways toward racial reconciliation in Tulsa and other places.
One of the symposiums I attended focused on the ways teachers express care for their students,
specifically, how they express care for their students of color. Sharing her research, the presenter
discussed how cultural differences can shape how we give, receive and
experience caring. The majority of students
long to be cared for by their teachers, and the majority of teachers want to
care for their students. However, that
desired caring relationship can fail when the teacher and student are
culturally out of sync with each other.
The principals presented in this symposium extend well
beyond the classroom. If we are not
culturally aware, our best intentions can result in negative impacts. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what our
intentions are. If we hurt someone, even
unintentionally, they are still hurt. It
is the impact of what we say and do that takes precedence in our human
relationships. If we are going to
communicate our love for another, we need to do it in a language the other
person can understand.
It has always struck me that, in the Pentecost story, the “devout
Jews from every nation” are not all made to understand Aramaic (the first language
of the disciples). Instead, the miracle of the Holy Spirit was
that those gathered in Jerusalem heard the Good News of God’s love and life in
Jesus Christ in their own native languages.
The Spirit changed the apostles.
In so doing, the Spirit bridged the cultural divide so that speaker and
listener would be in sync and true hearing might be possible.
There is a lesson here for the Church today. Today, we live in a multi-cultural world –
even in our smallest communities. If we
are truly interested in building the relationships of hope, love, grace and
justice that I think Jesus intends for us to build we need to learn how to
speak the cultural languages of the people around us. If we truly want to invite and welcome all
people to join us in our communities of faith, we shouldn’t expect them to become
like us, to speak our language… we need
to welcome them for who they are - for everything they are – including all
their cultural uniqueness. We need to
see that cultural uniqueness as the gift from God that it is. Only then can genuine caring take place.
The good news is that the Spirit is still helping us
translate the Good News, communicate across barriers and build bridges of
understanding that lead to reconciliation.
I’ve seen the Spirit at work in the people I’ve met these past few days… and it is still a wonder to behold.
Peace,
Bishop Mike
Thank-you for reading.
Have a blessed Pentecost Sunday!
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