Thought for Today

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (KJV)

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. (NRS)

        Yesterday, during the Announcements preceding worship, I reminded everyone that next Sunday is Pentecost. This morning, as I opened my devotional guide These Days, I noted that the theme this week is “The Spirit Among Them.” I suspect the subject of the Holy Spirit will be much on my mind this week. The koine Greek words are τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιόν (to pneuma to hagion). Pentecost is “The Jewish Festival of Weeks (Ex. 23:14-17), which began when the first fruits of the harvest were presented to God 50 days after Passover. On this day, 50 days after the resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit came to the church (Acts 2). It has also been called Whitsunday.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 206)

Today’s devotional in that guide begins with “Language is a pathway that leads toward connection and a sense of belonging.” It certainly can be. Regrettably, language can also be a pathway leading toward division, can create a sense of loneliness and can be a vehicle for the conveyance of hatred and misogyny.

Few of us can claim to always be fully conscious and aware of the power of language, the might of the spoken, written or even thought word. Think about this, we think in words. Try to form an idea in your mind without using words. The limitations of language are the limitations imposed on our very thoughts. One of the greatest powers and advantages of the English language is its facility for creating new words whenever required. Our language itself is an amalgam of many other languages. If you have a paper dictionary, look up any word. Almost all dictionaries provide the etymology of the words, e.g., my Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary begins its definition of etymology with “[ME ethimologie, fr. L etymologia, fr. Gk. fr. etymon + -logia -logy] That tells us that the word arrived in English from Middle English, from Latin, and from a combination of 2 words from Greek.

Languages are composed of words. Words have histories, genealogies and definitions. To all of that, our use of words can carry subtle connotations conveyed by body language, tone, and usage within a sentence.

I repeat, language can also be a pathway leading toward division, can create a sense of loneliness and can be a vehicle for the conveyance of hatred and misogyny. That is true in every aspect of our lives. It is true in business. It is true in politics. Sadly, it is true in religion. Equally sadly, it is true in our relationships with each other.

Much as I try not to, I have spoken harsh words, spoken rashly, spoken in anger. Hopefully, not too often; but, I have. Do any of us carefully think before we speak? Do we anticipate the potential effect of our words, its power to help, heal or wound? What would our world be like if we all came with a warning label saying something like “Carefully engage mind and heart before operating mouth!”?

Why am I thinking about words and language this week leading toward Pentecost and the receiving of the Holy Spirit? As is so often true in translating from one language to another, there is not a one-for-one correspondence between the Greek and English languages. I deliberately chose the King James Version for the Genesis passage because of its use of Spirit for τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιόν. Other translations I looked at use wind. My lexicon tells me that breath, life, soul or even attitude are equally valid English words and are used for τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιόν in other passages.

I love the theology of understanding that the very breath of God was moving over the face of the waters of creation. That carries forward in my mind to “Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” The same Greek word τὸ πνεῦμα, breath, wind, soul of God.

Stay safe, know that you are a living being from the breath of God, trust God,

Pastor Ray