Pentecost and a Young Black Woman Speaking Fluent Korean
A Reflection on the Second Chapter of Acts and a Clip from Tiktok
This popped up on my TikTok feed the other day:
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
When I first saw this, I instantly held even greater compassion and gratitude than I already had for parishioners of cross cultural appointments who said to me with sincerity and enthusiasm, “Thank you for your sermon. And your English is so good.” 😎
I was like, “Your English is also of equal proficiency, Mr. Williams!” 🤭
In seriousness, this video had my head spinning…
The young woman’s vocabulary, intonation, pronunciation, body movement, and conversational substance signify not only mastery of the Korean language, but a love for its culture and its people.
This is not some utilitarian ChatGPT translator, her voice reminds me of my mother.
It conjures up the earliest memories of my own childhood in South Korea. My mother’s songs, jokes, prayers, and folk tales told to me within the intimate space of home and neighborhood… the particularity of language runs through it all.
The woman in the video even mentions a specific phrase I heard a LOT as a child:
“Ha-Ji-Ma!”
“Don’t do that!”
Pause for a moment with me, and think about your mother’s voice…
Unless you have an awful relationship with your mother. In that case… imagine you are in a foreign country and you hear the sound of your native tongue being spoken.
What do you feel?
The sound of your mother’s voice or even the sound of your native language spoken naturally and fluently on foreign soil, creates an immediate sense of safety, intimacy, and relationship.
Shared language signifies shared stories.
And this is the miracle of Pentecost.
A new story is being written among those who claim to be the followers of Jesus.
It is not a story they asked for.
They were seeking power.
They were asking about when Israel would be restored to power (Acts 1:6).
But in God’s Kingdom power is not about wielding control or building Empire.
It is the supernatural God-shaped God-willed work of hearing and seeing one’s own story in another.
All of the New Testament is the messy joining together of Jews and Gentiles at the body of Jesus. Tax collectors and zealots follow Jesus. Samaritan women follow Jesus. Lepers and the socially outcast follow Jesus. Pharisees and Roman Guards follow Jesus.
By the time Paul and the Apostles are planting churches in and beyond Jerusalem, so much of their work is forming a community of Christ-centered love that transcends tribal lines…
Of course, we still have much work to do.
Today, some Christian circles will emphasize the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The speaking in heavenly tongues, miraculous healings, signs and wonders, and the ever elusive pursuit of revival. Others will belabor Paul’s explication on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Patience, kindness, gentleness, self control, etc. Personally, I am a fan of both manifestation and character development with respect to the Spirit.
But may I not dismiss God’s desire as revealed on the miracle of Pentecost — a desire for the followers of Jesus to become the space where others are seen, heard, safe, and perplexed (Acts 2:12).
When you are filled with the Spirit of God, those around you will be amazed and perplexed because by being near to you, they feel the effect of hearing their native tongue.
May you be a manifestation of God’s desire and love.
In this season of Pentecost, may you be a familiar voice for those who feel far off.
Amen