Recently in the news was the tragic story of the bus crash that killed several on its way to a Vietnamese religious celebration in Carthage, MO. Every year thousands of Vietnamese from across the country make the trek to the small Ozarks town of Carthage to celebrate Marian Days. Carthage is home to the largest Vietnamese Catholic Seminary in the US. The town of twelve thousand residents swells to a population of sixty to seventy thousand people for that first full week in August.
I pastored in Carthage for nearly thirteen years. The seminary was located directly across from our church. The roads leading to our church were always closed that week, including Sunday. Every year we took our girls and walked through the gathering. We would pick a food tent and experience the cuisine and the culture. The menus were in Vietnamese. The waiters and waitresses and crowd spoke Vietnamese. The music was Vietnamese. As Caucasian Americans, we were definitely a minority on the grounds. One of the first years we went, my oldest daughter remarked, "Dad, this doesn't feel like Carthage." It was always a surprise what we got to eat and drink.
In this passage in Corinthians, Paul gives some sound advice to the Corinthian church regarding speaking in tongues. Paul isn't anti speaking tongues, however he notes that if some unbeliever comes into their midst and everyone is speaking in tongues, they are going to be freaked out, thinking everyone is out of their minds. The likelihood of those people coming to Christ is going to be slim to none. He goes on to say, if there isn't any interpretation to the tongue being spoken, keep it to yourself.
On the other hand, Paul encourages prophesy. Prophesy in biblical terms isn't telling the future. It's sharing a message from God. Sometimes a prophesy comes with a warning, as often seen in the Old Testament. But the heart of prophesy is about speaking God's truth. Paul says that he would rather speak 5 intelligible words that teach people about God than 10,000 words in a tongue. Why? Because Paul is more concerned about people coming to Christ, learning about Christ, growing in Christ than about some personal experience.
It's amazing to me how many believers today want to experience something that makes them feel something special. They want some ecstatic experience or to be wowed or something that makes THEM feel alive in Christ. Although those experiences are great for us, what about those outside of Christ? What about those struggling in sin or confusion or loneliness or with direction for life? What about the people with real life questions?
People need to hear instruction to grow. They especially need to hear God's Good News if they are outside of Christ. The ecstatic experience only adds to the confusion of people seeking answers. It's like walking through a strange culture where you don't understand anyone and can't read the menus. The food or drink may not satisfy your need or nurture your soul.
God, as a believer it would be easy for me to just focus on soaking you in and experiencing more of you on a daily/weekly basis. Yet, God you called us to be your light, your messengers, your ambassadors to a world who needs to hear your message of hope and victory in Jesus. Help me, Lord, to speak your word clearly to those surrounding me, especially my neighbors, friends, acquaintances who need to hear your Good News.
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