Don't use it as a badge of spiritual superiority so you can look down your nose at others who are not pneumatic. And please don't call it charismatic. T he story of Babel ends in confusion. The story of Pentecost ends in clarity. And, as I said, we are not Babel-ers but the people of Pentecost.
Clarity begins at home, to be sure, but it quickly spreads into all the world.
The languages you heard this morning during the reading of the second lesson are all languages which are spoken and understood by certain people in the world. The Bible is translated into these and hundreds more languages, not to impress people, but to reach them with the Good News of the Gospel. The liturgy of Word and Sacrament is conducted throughout the world in many different languages, not to confuse people, but to make the grace of God accessible to them. For the mission of the Church is based on Pentecost, not Babel. The mission of the Church is to proclaim the mighty acts of God so clearly that all may hear and believe and have salvation.