The Language of the Spirit, Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about some of the different languages
that we encounter
and interpret
everyday
The language of music
or of art
or of good food.
And I wondered out loud
about the language of the Spirit:
What is the language of the Spirit?

How does the Spirit communicate to us,
and how do we,
in turn,
communicate with the Spirit?
Is it only through prayer?
That seems a bit too simple and
a bit narrow.
Aren't there other languages through which
The Spirit communicates to us
and we communicate to the Spirit?
Love, maybe
or mercy
or tears
or sighs
or acts of compassion for someone else?

And how do we interpret the Spirit
to someone else?
How do we speak
the language of the Spirit
to another person?

I am still seeking the answers
but I do know this

Language
any language
is powerful.

Words have the power to
create or destroy
wound or heal
inspire or defeat

Love has the power to create
Mercy has the power to heal
Grace has the power to transform
Confession has the power to reconcile
Truth has the power to right wrongs

There is power in language.

God give us the wisdom
to use the power of language
and to use it wisely
not for our own purposes
but for the purposes of
of One much greater
than ourselves.

The Language of the Spirit

I have been aware of languages lately
but probably not the languages you are thinking of.

I have become aware that there is a language to things like
Music,
and food,
and art.

Take music for instance:
Blues has its own musical language
that any musician and most Western listeners
can recognize.
So does jazz
or heavy Metal
Or classical
And so does the music of other cultures
like African
or Japanese
Each has its own langauge
phrasing
and vernacular
and the songwriter uses this language to
tell us something
about herself
or
ourselves.

Or take food:
Food has a language of
textures
and flavors
and places from where the ingredients come
the Sea, for instance
and cooking methods
roasting or smoking or boiling
and all of this ends up the language of
this dish and the culture in which it was born

Or art
art uses the langues of colors and imagery
and how much paint is on the canvas
and where the light is focused
or who much of the sculpture is finished
and how much left undone
or what space is used and not used
and all of this becomes the language the artist uses
to try and tell us something
about himself
or about
us.

All this got me thinking
what is the languge of the Spirit?

Is it Scripture?
It is the sermon?
Or prayer?
Or music
Or art
Or food
Or creation
Or less tangible things like:
Love?
Or compassion
Or passion
Or conscience
Or courage
Or
Maybe
All of the above?

All I want
are the ears
and room in my heart
to
listen.