The story of the Day of Pentecost is told for us in Acts 2. Amid the extraordinary flames and miraculous speech, it would be understandable if we missed the point of our celebration today. On this day, the disciples were able to speak in other languages (Acts 2:4). But that’s not the only miracle of language that day. The devout Jews from every nation who were there – people who would have spoken many different languages – were able to hear speech in their own languages. They received a miracle of understanding (Acts 2:6). And of course, the Holy Spirit descends on the church dramatically, showing up as divided tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). Wow. Before Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at his Father’s right hand, he promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not abandoning his church, but rather promising the arrival of a new companion,...