SPEAKING IN TONGUES

A MESSAGE FOR WHITSUNDAY

God does not perform miracles without a purpose.  Miracles are not conjuring tricks for the entertainment of those watching.  Never once will you find our blessed Lord performing a miracle in order simply to impress someone.  Indeed, when Pilate sent him to King Herod, this man was very keen to see our Lord perform a miracle.  But Christ’s answer was dignified silence.

There are certain Protestant sects, and today, sadly, even those within the conciliar Church, who profess to speak in tongues.  At their meetings, you would be startled when one of them stands up and begins to babble in some kind of gibberish, that someone else then pretends to interpret.  Why would God do this?  The purpose of speech is to communicate, so why would God have someone communicate in a language no one can understand (except of course for the one enlightened listener, who will gladly reveal all for your amazement).  

Today’s account of the first Pentecost gives us a very clear picture of what the Apostles were doing when they spoke in tongues.  Jerusalem, the center of the Jewish faith, was a place of pilgrimage, and particularly on the great feasts of the year, of which Pentecost was one.  The city was full of men “out of every nation under heaven.”  Naturally, they all spoke their own language, and many would not have understood the Apostles when they spoke “the wonderful works of God.”  And so the Holy Ghost allowed the Apostles to speak in such a way that those listening heard them in their own language. This was no silly parlor trick, but an effective way of spreading the Gospel quickly before the crowds dispersed.

Last week, we approached the whole idea of speaking as the oracles of God. Today, we remember that the first and most important objective in speaking is to communicate effectively. Whether we are speaking of the “wonderful works of God”, or merely making polite conversation, it is not worth opening our mouths unless we can put across to our listener what we want him to hear.  And in keeping with God’s will, what people hear us say should always strive to be spiritually or at least emotionally uplifting.  For like all the gifts that come from God, speech should have as its purpose the drawing of souls towards their eternal source and final end.

Speaking in tongues like the Pentecostals does nothing to raise a soul to God.  But we might want to learn how to speak so that those hearing us understand what we’re trying to say, and can actually learn something of those “wonderful works of God.”