But Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.’
- Exodus 4:10-12
Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.
- 1 Corinthians 14:6-12
There are many different sounds in the world, but no one is without sound. We instinctively try to communicate, but we are called to listen. We are called to learn. We must, by God’s order, open our hearts and our ears to the world around us to make ourselves less foreign and to be able to communicate love. Sure, we might feel a little less than eloquent and still have strong regrets about buying all of those boxed sets of language learning programs, but we have to trust if we approach each other openly and with a desire to build up each other up in the body of the Church, we can be successful.
Today we celebrate Innocent of Alaska, also known as St. Innocent of Moscow. He was known for his missionary work in the Russian Far East and Alaska. He used his ministry to study native languages, including the multiple dialects of the Aleutian Island peoples and the Tlingit language of the Sitka Island peoples. His time living and working among these nations led to dictionaries and grammars of the dialects and helped facilitate the expansion of the Church into Alaska, while also preserving the languages, one of which - the Attuan - is now extinct.
How did Innocent do this? He listened. Is there someone you could listen more openly to? Maybe they are speaking your own language, but it seems foreign. Maybe ask yourself, “Am I listening to build up or am I listening to tear down?”
“Open my ears that I may hear, Voices of truth Thou sendest clear; And while the wave notes fall on my ear, Everything false will disappear.
Open my mouth and let me bear
Tidings of mercy everywhere; Open my heart and let me prepare. Love with Thy children thus to share.Open my mind that I may read, More of Thy love in word and deed; What shall I fear while yet Thou dost lead?Only for light from Thee I plead.” Amen.
