A WORD FOR TODAY, May 22, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you are blessed by this daily devotion.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, May 22, 2026
“Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.” Acts 2:1-4, WEB
I consider myself a theologian. Of course, I’m not a professional theologian. I haven’t trained for the role. I’m not an expert in any sense of the word. I am a theologian because I spent time thinking about God. I found this description online, “The term theologian comes from two Greek terms: theos, which means ‘God,’ and logos, which means ‘reason.’ (Logos is the word from which we get our word logic.) A theologian is one who studies (reasons about) God.”
When I began teaching my adult bible class at church more than a decade ago (!), I wanted it to a place where theologians could gather and talk about God. The staff member in charge of adult education counseled me against using the word “theologian” because she thought it would intimidate those who might attend, scaring them with big words and expectations. I didn’t agree but took her advice and we called the class “God Talk” because we talk about God. In the ensuing years, those who choose to attend the class accept that they are theologians, because talking about God is exactly what we do.
The staff member might have been right in a sense: language does make a difference. I have attended a number of theological conferences, and I have to admit that sometimes the speakers made it difficult for me to grasp what they had to say. They used fifty-cent words, quoted in biblical languages like Greek, discussed topics that were beyond my ability to comprehend. I always managed to get something out of those lectures, but I usually left dazed and confused. I never intended my class to be like that; I wanted those who came to feel comfortable talking about God. I do sometimes use fifty-cent words, quote in biblical languages like Greek, and discuss topics that are deep enough to be difficult to comprehend. However, we have those discussions in a way that doesn’t leave everyone dazed and confused.
We are all theologians when we talk about God, even if we don’t realize it. We simply use language that makes sense to us. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Our business is to present that which is timeless (that which is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow) in the particular language of our own age. We must learn the language of our audience. And let me say at the outset that it is no use at all laying down a priori what the “plain man” does or does not understand. You have to find out by experience. You must translate every bit of your Theology into the vernacular. This is very troublesome and it means you can say very little in half an hour, but it is essential. It is also the greatest service to your own thought. I have come to the conviction that if you cannot translate your thoughts into uneducated language, then your thoughts were confused. Power to translate is the test of having really understood one’s own meaning. A passage from some theological work for translation into the vernacular ought to be a compulsory paper in every Ordination examination.”
The ability to translate the things of God so that the minds of God’s people can comprehend began when Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost, which we will celebrate this Sunday. They did not experience a breath like when Jesus breathed upon them in the Upper Room after His resurrection, or an outward covering of the Spirit as happened to the chosen in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit came into the world in a whole new way. The disciples were not just kissed by the Spirit. The Spirit did not just land on them. At Pentecost they were filled with God’s Holy Spirit. God was no longer going to work at them from the outside, pushing, leading, guiding; now He would move them from within. They would not just learn God’s Word in their heads; it would be written on their hearts. The words they spoke, though in their own voice, would be God’s Word as He spoke through them.
We are also recipients of the promises Jesus gave to His disciples. He is faithful to this very day. He has not left us. He has prepared a place for us. He has given us the Holy Spirit and everything we need to continue His work in this world. At Pentecost, the Jews celebrated the outward giving of God’s Word to the people of Israel, and we continue to celebrate Pentecost to this very day. As Christians, though, we celebrate something very different. For us Pentecost is the day God sent His Spirit to dwell within the hearts of believers, each child of God filled with His Word. In faith we live with the same power and authority that the disciples were given so many years ago at that first Pentecost.
We are called to share the Good News with our neighbors. He gives us the opportunities and fills our mouths with His words. We don’t have to be professional theologians to talk about God, we just need to speak to those who cross our path about the amazing grace of Jesus, the hope we have in Him, and the love He promises to all who believe. He will give us the words, but even more so, He will help them understand. He will fill their hearts and their minds so that they will believe and be saved.
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