The Lessons of the Pentecost

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2

The lesson of the Pentecost, in my opinion, is that to understand each other we must first be filled with the Holy Spirit who translates everyone’s language so that they can understand each other.

As a student, I was never able to learn other languages easily, but as I look back over the last forty-two years of my recovery I have come to learn the following languages.

▪ Christianity
▪ Science
▪ Psychology
▪ Self-Help/Twelve Steps

Before I address each of these disciplines, let me point out that all of them stem from Catholicism which was the church that Jesus built to bring the world closer to him and to find peace.

From Catholicism came Christianity, as interpreted by the Protestants. From the Protestants came science and psychology. From psychology came the self-help movement and then 12-Step programs. In other words, as Jesus put it, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 in

Let me get back to my point. Each of the disciplines listed above has it own language or different group of words to describe the same thing, and I believe that some of us are obligated to translate the words of the Holy Spirit, much like a student teacher would help the teacher in charge.

What do all these languages have in common?

▪ Literature
▪ Ideology
▪ Charismatic leader
▪ Fellowship
▪ Rituals

Christians have the Holy Bible and Catechism as their literature. Their ideology comes from tradition and scripture as interpreted by the church leaders. Their charismatic leader is Jesus in the form of the Trinity. There fellowship is church or mass. Their rituals include seven sacraments (if you are Catholic) and communion and baptism if you are a Protestant.

In science, the literature is endless and written by those who study the universe. Their ideology is that there is no God. Their charismatic leaders include scientists like Albert Einstein. Their fellowship comes from conferences, scientific journals, and conventions. Their rituals are their experiments.

In psychology, their literature comes books and articles written by psychologists. The founding fathers are Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Their fellowship comes from conferences and conventions. Their rituals include therapy sessions, which were originally known as analysis or listening to a client and interpreting their “Freudian Slips” (slips of the tongue) and dreams. Today, it includes feedback from from the therapist. Their fellowship comes from conferences and conventions.

In self-help or 12-Step programs , the original literature currently comes from the book Alcoholics Anonymous (1939), which is a translation of Christian Ideals about how to heal from addiction. Today, their literature also includes translations of what psychiatrists have to say about how to get well. Their charismatic leader was Bill Wilson. Their fellowship comes in the form of meetings. Their rituals are “working the twelve steps,” “working with a sponsor,” and “serving others.”

All of these disciplines are part of God’s plans and they sometimes overlap. For instance, psychology comes from science, but it also comes from religion. The word “psychology” is defined today as “science of the mind.” Originally, however, it meant “science of the soul.”

▪ Sharing wisdom with others in Christianity is called “testifying.” In self-help programs they do the same things but call it “sharing.” Self-help and the twelve steps come from Christian ideals as interpreted by Bill Wilson and the Oxford Movement.

▪ The concept of self-help comes from simplifying complicated psychological insights. This is similar to Christ speaking to the disciples in parables.

▪ While Albert Einstein was a renown scientist, he believed in God.

▪ While Carl Jung was a well-known psychologist, he believed that spirituality was necessary for healing. Alcoholics Anonymous was based on his theory that one needed a “religious conversion” to stay sober.

In my own personal life, I have studied all these disciplines and consider myself a translator. Not only in terms of the different disciplines, but in terms of taking a complicated concept and expressing it in a simple, easy-to-understand way, which is why the Holy Spirit created these new disciplines in the first place.

In this way, I can relate, and speak, to different groups of people in the modern world who need to know the original message from the Holy Spirit in today’s vocabulary. For example, I have gone into San Quentin prison with Alcoholics Anonymous and talked twelve-step language, but in other institutions I have offered Bible study.

Why do I do this? Because I am a teacher and this is what the Holy Spirit has asked me to do. Also, it furthers what the experts call communication. We all need to communicate. We all need to understand each other. For it is knowing each other that we learn to love each other and to get along. In time, this will bring peace into the world. This is the lesson of the Pentecost.