May 27, 2020

Daily Lectionary Readings for Year A
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2099;%201%20Kings%208:54-65;%20John%203:31-36&version=MSG

I find it helpful and fun to read different translations of the Bible. My primary preference is the New Revised Standard Version. The NRSV is based on the most recent sources and scholarship and whenever appropriate chooses inclusive language. I read this morning’s lections using The Message, a modern translation. Eugene Peterson’s Message is often poetic and revealing. The part I keep reading over is this, ”The earth born is earth bound and speaks earth language.”  

I am thinking a lot about language this week.  Sunday is the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit swept in and allowed for people to understand the Gospel in their own language. It can be difficult and even frustrating to understand what others are saying, sometimes even while you are speaking the same language!  But the one who came from above, Jesus, speaks God’s language. And in that truth there is peace, hope, love, and life.  
What languages will you encounter this week that you have difficulty understanding?  Can you find in Christ a common language?

Peace,
Dean