Episode 27: Year A – Pentecost Sunday
In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we focus on four details that are relevant to doing apologetics. The first reading, which is taken from Acts 2:1-11 (Luke’s account of the Spirit descending upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost), gives us our first detail: the gift of tongues. The second reading, taken from 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13, has two details that give us opportunity to reflect on the salvific value of the Sacrament of Baptism and, again, the gift of tongues. Finally, the Gospel reading, taken from John 20:19-23, deals with the Sacrament of Confession as a whole. But we focus on one detail that fits within the broader argument for the Sacrament: Jesus breathing on the apostles.
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052823-Day.cfm
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Hey everyone,
Welcome to The Sunday Catholic Word, a podcast where we reflect on the upcoming Sunday Mass readings and pick out the details that are relevant for explaining and defending our Catholic faith.
I’m Karlo Broussard, staff apologist and speaker for Catholic Answers, and the host for this podcast.
In this episode, we’re going to focus on four details that are relevant to doing apologetics. The first reading, which is taken from Acts 2:1-11 and Luke’s account of the Spirit descending upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, gives us our first detail: the gift of tongues. The second reading, taken from 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13, has two details that give us opportunity to briefly reflect on the Sacrament of Baptism and again, the gift of tongues. Finally, the Gospel reading, taken from John 20:19-23, deals with the Sacrament of Confession as a whole. But we’re going to focus one detail in the passage that fits within the broader argument for the Sacrament.
Let’s start with the first reading and the gift of tongues. As I said, it’s taken from Acts 2:1-11, which is Luke’s account of the Holy Spirit’s descent on the disciples on the Jewish feast of Pentecost. Since everyone listening is probably familiar with the passage, I’m just going to highlight the relevant detail for our purposes here. It comes in verse 4: “And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”
The reference here to the “different tongues” has given rise to great controversy among Christians, both within and without the Catholic Church. The question is, “What is the nature of such a gift?”
For some Christians, especially those within Charismatic circles, “tongues” refers to a “private prayer language” that the Holy Spirit uniquely gives the Christian. Others within such circles interpret it as an utterance that to some might be unintelligible but to others is intelligible.
What both interpretations have in common is that the gift of “tongues” is not the gift to speak or understand a real language, which is the other way to interpret the gift of “tongues.”
So, which is it?
Before we answer this question, let me first say that the Church affirms the reality of the gift of tongues, although does not define the precise nature of the gift. In paragraph 2003, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states,
There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning “favor,” “gratuitous gift,” “benefit.” Whatever their character—sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues—charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church.
Again, the Catechism simply affirms the reality of the gift without defining the nature of it. It’s also important to note that such a gift must be subject to the discernment of the bishop. In paragraph 801, the Catechism states,
It is in this sense that discernment of charisms is always necessary. No charism is exempt from being referred and submitted to the Church’s shepherds. “Their office [is] not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good,” [LG 12] so that all the diverse and complementary charisms work together “for the common good.”
Now, back to our question: which interpretation of the gift should we favor?
Well, at least when it comes to the text at hand here in Acts 2 it’s definitely a real language. The rest of the passage, verses 5-11, makes this clear. Luke records:
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. 6 At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? 9 We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.
Not much commentary is needed. The gift that the disciples received was to speak the languages of the all the different nations that were present there for the Pentecost feast.
Now, I suppose someone could counter and say that perhaps the disciples were not actually speaking the language but making what would objectively speaking be unintelligible utterances that the different nations heard in their own way on a subjective level.
It’s true the text doesn’t necessarily rule that out. But it would be a stretch of the text. The natural reading is that the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples to speak the multiple languages without any prior education.
I suppose another line of defense for this interpretation is to see the Pentecost event as the reordering of the Tower of Babel. As Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch write in their commentary on this text in The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, “[W]here God used multiple languages to confuse and scatter the family of man (Gen 11:1–9) . . . [h] ere, the Spirit uses multiple languages to communicate the gospel and gather together the family of God.”
If Pentecost is the re-ordering of the Tower of Babel, and the Tower of Babel involved real languages, then it follows that Pentecost would be an event involving real languages.
Now, Christians who favor the “private prayer language” interpretation might counter, and say, “Well, we don’t deny that the gift of tongues can involve real languages, as is the case in Acts 2. We just affirm that there’s another aspect to it, which Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 14:2—’For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.’”
In response, I’d say that we can’t read verse 2 in isolation. The whole context is Paul giving them instructions about the importance of having an interpreter or translator of the tongue that is spoken by the Spirit. And Paul gives this instruction so that, as he says, we can pray in the spirit and “with the mind” (v.15). When Paul says in verse 2 that he who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God,” he has in mind someone who’s speaking without an interpreter or translator. It’s not that the tongue is some prayer language that is objectively non-translatable. Rather, it’s not translatable because no translator is there.
Furthermore, in verses 9-12, Paul compares the unintelligible tongue to languages that are unintelligible to foreigners. He writes,
9 So with yourselves; if you in a tongue utter speech that is not intelligible, how will any one know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning; 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves; since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the Church.
This strongly suggests that Paul views the gift of “tongues” as the supernatural empowerment to speak a real language.
There’s another attempt that a Christian might make in favor of the “private prayer language” interpretation. In 1 Corinthians 13:1, Paul speaks of an “angelic tongue,” when he writes, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” The idea here is that Paul seems to recognize that there is a sort of angelic language that we can speak, the assumption being that we speak it in prayer.
I think Jimmy Akin has a good response here. Here’s what he writes in his article at catholic.com, “The Nature of Tongues”:
[I]n context, it is not clear that Paul thinks [speaking the angelic tongue] a real possibility. He posits it as the greatest imaginable kind of tongues, parallel to knowing all mysteries and knowledge (the greatest imaginable extent of prophecy, 13:2a), having faith that can move mountains (the greatest imaginable gift of faith, 13:2b), and giving away all one’s possessions and delivering one’s body to be burned (the greatest imaginable expression of selflessness, 13:3). Paul isn’t saying that speaking in angelic languages occurs (or even that angels have languages). He is using Middle Eastern hyperbole to say, “Even if I could speak in the tongues of angels, that would not profit me if I did not have love.”
So, given everything that we’ve said about the gift of tongues, I think the more reasonable interpretation as to the precise nature of the gift is that it’s a real language.
Let’s now turn to the second reading. Again, it comes from 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13.
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
There are two details that we’re going to briefly highlight. The first is Paul’s teaching about the different gifts being given to each individual. Some Christians interpret this to mean that everyone who’s been “baptized in the Holy Spirit,” which often is taken to mean having a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit, that you will have all the different manifestations of the Spirit, one of which is the gift of speaking in tongues. And if you don’t have such a manifestation, then you don’t have the Holy Spirit.
But this view is false. The evidence for this is not found in this reading, but is found a few verses later in 1 Corinthians 12, particularly verses 28-30. There Paul writes,
“God has appointed in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
These are rhetorical questions to which the answer is obviously no. So, everyone does not have the gift of speaking in tongues. The Spirit is given to the Christian. But that doesn’t mean every manifestation of the Spirit is given.
The second detail from the second reading is Paul’s teaching that we enter into Christ’s mystical body through baptism: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (v.13). The assumption here is that the one body is the one body of Christ. So, through baptism a Christian is in Christ.
Now, to be in Christ is to be justified or saved. Consider, for example, Romans 6:11: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” To be dead to sin and alive to God is the essence of being justified or saved. Therefore, to be in Christ is to be saved.
Since baptism puts us in Christ, and being in Christ is being in a saved/justified state, it follows that baptism saves us.
Now, this has apologetical significance for those who deny the spiritual efficacy of baptism—that’s to say, those who think baptism is merely a symbol and does not save us. Paul’s teaching proves otherwise.
Finally, we turn to the Gospel, which is taken from John 20:19-23. Here’s the passage:
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 [Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 n Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained
There’s a lot that we could say about this passage, and its apologetical significance. But there’s one detail that I want to focus on, and it has relevance to Pentecost Sunday, namely, Jesus’s act of breathing on the disciples and giving them the Spirit.
What’s interesting here is that Jesus’s act of breathing on the disciples proves that what he’s doing here is something new. Never did he breathe on them. Also, never did Jesus give the disciples the Holy Spirit. This also indicates that what’s he’s doing here is something new.
Now, why is this important?
Well, some Christians interpret Jesus’ instruction to “forgive” and “retain” sins as merely a reference to the preaching the forgiveness of sins. One problem with this interpretation, among many, is that if Jesus were merely commanding the disciples to preach the forgiveness of sins, then there’s be nothing new here. Jesus sent the apostles to preach the gospel years before when he first called them. Mark records:
And [Jesus] called to him the Twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. . . So they went out and preached that men should repent (6:7,12).
Since what Jesus is doing in John 20:19-23 is something new, it follows that Jesus was not merely commanding the disciples to go out and preach the forgiveness of sins.
For more explanation on this passage and its apologetical relevance, I recommend my book Meeting the Protestant Response: How to Answer Common Comebacks to Catholic Arguments.
Conclusion
Well, my friends, that does it for this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word. Pentecost Sunday gives us several apologetical topics to reflect on:
- The question of the nature of the gift of tongues.
- The question of whether everyone who has the Spirit has the gift of tongues.
- The salvific value of the Sacrament of Baptism
- The question of whether John 20:23 refers to the Sacrament of Confession
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I hope you have a blessed and powerful Pentecost Sunday.