The readings for Pentecost are taken from Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21; and John 14:23-31.
Genesis records the origin of different languages. The tower of human construction that would reach heaven is so small that God must come down in order to see it. In time, the Son of God would come down and take on human nature in order to fix it. Though scattered and unable to understand each other, people persist in their attempts to build their own kingdoms—far from heavenly.
Acts is a history of the redeeming work of Jesus working itself out in the world, from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth. Pentecost was a celebration of the first fruits of the harvest, which was a parable of the first fruits of people who would celebrate God’s redeeming work among them. The Holy Spirit made the apostles able to speak in the native languages of the many people who were in Jerusalem to prove that all people have been redeemed by Jesus and that His redemption comes immediately through God’s Word and Spirit.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus explains how the Holy Spirit will come with His Word and finish the working out of redemption among the people. Our love for God comes from and depends on our holding on to His Word (“keep” here means to hold on to, not “obey,” though obedience is also a work of God’s Word and Spirit in us). The Holy Spirit brought the words of Jesus to the remembrance of the apostles, which has been written down and preserved for us. God’s Word regenerates our souls and in so doing brings us all together again into a single family of God. We have a single purpose: not to build our own way, but to reach others so they join us with Jesus, who is the way. While there are still so many languages in the world, the single language of God’s grace and truth has reached and continues to reach out to everyone, making a peace that endures and an enduring Pentecost celebration.