Daily Devotion for Saturday 6th September 2025
Acts 2: 1 – 7
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’
Reflection
Mr Trump’s wish to buy Greenland from Denmark shocked the world (and Greenlanders). Greenlandic folk have long been subject to discrimination and interference from Denmark despite colonial rule ending in 1953. In Denmark, Greenlandic women find a faulty, Dane-centric, Parental Competency Assessment, which has now been ruled illegal, is often used as a tool to remove their children. Mr Trump’s grandiose desires made the Danish government more aware of their responsibilities to help Greenland become more economically vibrant. As a small, liberal, northern European country, Denmark has had a rude awakening about its colonial legacy (of their former island possessions only Iceland is fully independent; Greenland and the Faroes are still part of the Danish Realm.)
The history of God’s dealings with the Jewish people show a drive for them to be ever more inclusive. From the inclusion of foreigners into obligations for social justice through to Jonah’s subversive tale showing pagans could respond to the Lord, there’s a movement away from the understanding of a tribal deity to a God who holds all nations in love. At Pentecost this movement of inclusion went further with people from so many nations invited to become part of God’s people. Christians, along with so many others, find this inclusion difficult.
At its birth, the Church continued the arc of diverse and inclusive divine love. The tension between uniformity and diversity, however, has beset us ever since. European imperial projects owe much to the Church’s blessing and support; I wonder if the 20th Century moves to independent nationhood were helped or impeded by the Church. Do we recognise the rights of small nations to run their own affairs or, like Mr Trump, assume that bigger is better? Do we wish to help the Church cast off its colonial mindset, or see it return to a dangerous place of power and influence? Do we wish to see all people flourish, or assume that some cultures are better than others?
Prayer
God of all peoples and places,
help us to not just wonder at your love,
but enflesh it in our lives and lands,
that your peoples, great and small,
may flourish in justice and peace.
Amen.