I love hiking.

Correction: I love the feeling at the top of a mountain or summit after I have done the work to get up the hill. I love the feeling as I’m coming down and I’m able to breathe more easily, hold a conversation, and focus solely on not tripping. I love getting to the car and peeling off my hiking boots and good wool socks, knowing that I have done the thing, climbed the mountain, accomplished my goal, and have triumphed.

I don’t love the climb up, where my lungs are burning and my quads are screaming and my mind is going:

“Why didn’t you just sleep in today?”

“You’re really getting too old to do this kind of stuff. This is what 20-year-olds do!”

“You really need to do more cardio in between these hikes.”

“Your poor hiking poles.”

“If you live through this, you need a new hobby.”

And so on and so on. My negative self-talk while starting the hike up is the stuff of nightmares. The inner voice is screaming terrible things at me while my body is sore, stiff and struggling.

This past Sunday, many Christian churches celebrated Pentecost. It’s 50 days after Easter and it’s the time when we hear the story of the Holy Spirit coming down and resting as flames of fire over each person’s head so that they can understand each other. These people were coming from countries and communities all over, speaking different languages, and yet were able to understand each other because of the Holy Spirit coming into them.

If you don’t practice Pentecost (or even if you do) this sounds like a wildly fantastical story that seems impossible. And maybe it is. I don’t stress too much about fact or fiction when it comes to Bible stories. I look more at what the story is revealing to us in this time and place.

There is no shortage of languages that are spoken around the world today. There are over 100 languages spoken in the Anchorage School District alone! Of all the languages spoken though, the ugliest one is the language of hatred — whether internally or externally. My internal voice while climbing up is not one of kindness. And while I think I’m usually a kind person, I know that there are times and places where my language isn’t building up others.

I invite you to pay attention to languages this week. Pay attention to the voice you use with yourself or with others. What is the tone you use with your children? What about your aging parents? How do you speak about those who have a different passport than you do? What words do you use to describe people who love differently than you do?

Because at the end of the day, we’re all walking uphill in this world, trying to put one foot in front of the other, while letting our lungs fill with oxygen. We don’t need any more hurtful words. We need love.

Peace,

Meredith Harber pastors at Christ Lutheran Church, 128 N. Soldotna Ave. Worship is at 10 a.m. on Sundays in person or on Facebook Live