The Language of Pentecost
One fascinating part of the Pentecost story is the moment when the holy spirit comes down like a flame, and the disciples become able to speak to those assembled in their native languages. It’s a great reminder of how language can sometimes feel like something that divides us, but it can be a powerful connector as well. This week, explore this idea with your family!
Start with these two resources: The Prayer Covenant and Bible for Children. The first has some cute animated Bible stories that you can watch in multiple languages – they have dubbed and subtitled the same moving images in a variety of tongues. The second resource isn’t quite as flashy but does have an added bonus: an interactive map of the world. You can click into a continent, zoom into a specific country, and see all of the languages are spoken there! Choose one and access all of the resources available in that language, from illustrated Bible stories to full videos. There are a staggering 646 languages represented, so dig in as deeply as you’d like.
Consider choosing a story and watching in your native tongue first, then watching again in an unfamiliar language. Talk about what it’s like to follow along with a language you don’t speak – does the story speak for itself, even if you don’t understand the words? Is it frustrating, or freeing, or a mix of both?
Next, lean into the ways in which language can connect us! If there is somebody in your life who has a different home language than you, choose a story and try to learn some of it in their language (if nobody comes to mind, just choose a language that interests you). You can even try to translate it yourself – there are lots of online translation resources out there. Learn a few words, a few sentences, or the whole story, and then tell it to them! Don’t worry about having perfect pronunciation, just do your best with an open heart and remember that speaking to someone in their language is a beautiful way to connect. Just ask the disciples.
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