Photo from www.peruthisweek.com

Español | On April 23^rd, the Spanish-speaking world celebrates the Day of Language, in which they honor the famed Spanish novelist, Miguel de Cervantes (author of Don Quixote and arguably the most important and celebrated figure in Spanish literature). In commemoration of Cervantes’ contribution to the Spanish language, the University of Chile published a report based on a 2013 survey which sought to answer the question, “Who speaks the best Spanish of Latin America?” The survey found that based on vocabulary and pronunciation, Peru speaks the best Spanish.

Photo from funnysigns.com

I’ve studied Spanish in many different places – Southern California, Spain, Panama, and Peru. Of all the places I’ve gone to battle with this beautiful language, I’ve found Peruvian Spanish to be the easiest to understand. If you’re hoping to move your Spanish beyond “¿donde está la biblioteca?”, Peru is the place I’d recommend because Peruvians speak Spanish the clearest.

I’d highly recommend you give the Lutheran Church a try for a similar reason. Attending a confessional Lutheran celebration of the Divine Service isn’t necessarily the place to go for language learning (unless you’re in Latin America, of course) but it is the place to go if you’re interested in hearing a clear word from God. In the Divine Service, you can be certain that you’ll hear God’s Word of both Law and Gospel in the clearest of terms.

In the Confession, you will be convicted of your sins as you agree with God’s clear Word of Law that you “are by nature sinful and unclean, and have sinned against [God] in thought, word and deed, by what [you] have done and by what [you] have left undone.”

Then, in the Absolution, with the same clarity, you will be comforted with God’s clear Word of Gospel when the pastor, in the stead and by the command of Jesus (as if from God Himself – see John 20) “forgive[s] you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

In the pastor’s Sermon, you will hear once again a clear presentation of the Good News of the full and free forgiveness of sins on account of Christ and His cross.

Missionary Pastor Ted Krey administering the Lord’s Supper at a new sanctuary in the Dominican Republic. Photo from LCMS Missions in Latin America & the Caribbean Facebook.

And as if that weren’t enough, in the Lord’s Supper you won’t just hear of your free and full forgiveness, you will see with your eyes and taste on your lips the Gospel when you receive the true body and blood of Christ which is “given for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that! I recommend people attend a confessional Lutheran Divine Service, because it speaks the Gospel the clearest!