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"Why we use Spanish here"On that first Pentecost, an astonishing thing happened. There were probably thousands of Jewish pilgrims who had come in to Jerusalem for the festival, people who were from all over the Mediterranean. The disciples were spontaneously given the ability to speak in all of their different languages, and the people understood them.
And the purpose of this miracle? It was so that the people could hear about the mighty works of God done in Jesus Christ. This was the beginning of the mission of the church. When Jesus had left them 10 days before, ascending into heaven, the last thing he had said was “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have taught you.”
So the Church began fulfilling his command on Pentecost, eventually expanding beyond the Mediterranean into Western and Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Through the centuries, the church has been motivated in this mission by imperialism, to be sure, but it has also been motivated by a deep desire to make known such Christly qualities as mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It has demonstrated the spirit of Christ by creating hospitals, schools, peace between enemies, empowerment of the marginalized, and care for the poor.
Where the church has succeeded in this mission, it has done what the original disciples did on the first Pentecost: it has spoken the Good News in a language that could be understood by the people.
This is not only a matter of actual languages, of missionaries using Swahili or Navajo or Japanese. It has also included expressing and living the gospel in such as way so that people can receive it. Jesuits adopted the dress of Chinese nobles; Sisters of Charity live among the poor in their neighborhoods; Wall Street clergy wear pinstripes; Anglican churches throughout Africa use tribal dancing in their worship.
Everywhere, the church has sought ways to translate itself into local forms, so that people in those environments could see themselves in the church, feel at home, and be able to receive the Spirit of Christ.
As St. Paul said “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews…To those outside the law I became as one outside the law…To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:20-22).
That is why our church, over the last 50 years of cultural change in our society, has needed to evolve. Our society has accepted women in every level of leadership; it has become more informal in dress and speech; it has changed in its attitudes about gay and lesbian people; it has become more egalitarian; it has become more psychological; and it has become much more culturally diverse.
The church has adapted, ordaining women, using a more informal prayer book and contemporary music, openly supporting homosexuals, speaking psychologically to a psychological age, celebrating diversity, and empowering the ministry of every person rather than seeing only the clergy as ministers. The Holy Spirit of Pentecost has given us new languages to be able to be heard in our place and time.
And so we must ask ourselves how we must continue to adapt in order to fulfill Christ’s mission in our world. We are not a club, after all, serving only our own needs and preferences. Neither are we a museum, preserving some historical relic. We are followers of the One who said “Go and make disciples in all the nations.” We are entrusted with God’s mission to spread the good news throughout the world, like our forebears before us.
This is why we have adapted our music at the 9am liturgy – it is closer to the musical language of the people in the world in which we live. This is why we have made ourselves wheelchair-accessible and why we have used sign language regularly at our 11am liturgy: so that all can hear and receive the gospel. This is why we have intentionally and publicly included gay and lesbian Christians in all our ministries, so that they know that this is their church, too.
This is also why we use Spanish. We live in a setting here in which 42% of the people are Hispanic. That means that God’s mission which we are entrusted with involves becoming bilingual.
Many churches, in fact most Episcopal churches in this country, have chosen to minister with Hispanic people in one way: by offering a Spanish liturgy to non-English speakers. This is fine, but it only serves recent immigrants, which is not our setting in the North Valley.
What we are trying to do here – and I have found out that it is fairly unique, as I ask around all over the country – is to become truly bi-cultural. We’re working to integrate the historic and future Hispanic-American culture into our worship, fellowship, and ministry. This will take time, patience, and a sustained and consistent commitment, which I intend to exercise.
We are doing this by speaking a little bit of Spanish – a minute or two in an hour of worship – and by singing a Spanish hymn once in awhile. We celebrate cultural festivals such as the Virgin of Guadalupe last December, and certain agricultural customs this fall in conjunction with Michaelmas. We will continue to support Hispanic ministry in even more significant ways as we lift up one of our members for ordained ministry and through him, establish networks with other Episcopalians in our diocese and nationwide who are also doing Hispanic ministry. Fr. Christopher, our new Associate Rector, and his wife Maren will be here July 15: both of them speak Spanish and I expect that they will contribute to our efforts.
We are adapting ourselves to our environment just like those who have done it before: the disciples who spoke in many languages in Jerusalem, the Jesuits in Chinese garb, the Franciscans living like the poor they served, the educated and well-dressed clergy in affluent parts of our country. We become all things to all people, so that all may have the opportunity to receive the gospel of Christ.
While most of you have welcomed this adaptation quite enthusiastically, some of you have been more skeptical. A few have told me that Hispanic people should learn English and not use Spanish; that all Hispanics are Catholic or evangelical and couldn’t possibly be interested in what the Episcopal church has to offer; that we’re Anglican and should celebrate only the English heritage; that we should segregate Hispanic people from the rest of us and give them their own liturgy; that we should only use Spanish occasionally.
Right now I won’t go into the reasons why I won’t act on these suggestions. But I will say that another perspective has been voiced that makes a lot of sense to me. Worship should not be a difficult linguistic exercise where we are working so hard to form words and understand what we are saying that we are unable to pray. We need to be using Spanish and Hispanic customs in ways that all of us can enter easily into worship.
This means that we will be sensitive to the length of prayers and readings in Spanish, among other things. But it also means that you who are currently monolingual are asked to make some effort, to spend some time between Sundays practicing the phrases so well that you can do it easily. Get some help if you need it. For you, too, live in an increasingly Hispanic country and church, and perhaps God is calling you to adapt accordingly.
The Spanish language is only one of many ways in which we are called to speak and act in a way that different people can find inclusion, and this effort must be an ongoing, creative process. We need to find fresh expressions of the gospel for children and youth, those who are totally unfamiliar with Christianity, young single adults, and many others.
The church is the Body of Christ in the world, a living and evolving organism. We carry out God’s mission to bring love, mercy, and reconciliation to all people everywhere. And so as we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost today, we continue to seek ways to adapt ourselves to an evolving world, so that the eternal gospel may come alive in our time and in our place.
End Document — St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church