Jeff Garrison
Genesis 11:1-11
Acts 2:1-21
May 19, 2013
When I was in
Jakarta, Indonesia two summers ago I attended a 6 AM worship service. My connection with this church came through a
Luke Society connect made by Jim Spindler.
Between Easter and Pentecost, this congregation hosted predawn worship
services every morning, praying that when Pentecost arrived there would be an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This
church is housed in a high-rise building, of which the congregation leases two
floors. I thought this was unique until
I learned the high-rise housed two other churches as well as a mosque.
We met in the children’s worship
room, where we sat around on the floor while a small praise team (a guy on
keyboards, someone on bass and a drummer accompanied by a few singers) led us
in song. The music began contemplative,
soft and reflective, but gradually became more energetic. They even sang a couple of songs in English
and Dutch. That wasn’t unusual as Indonesia
has more languages than other country in the world. Interspersed with the music were passages of scripture. Of course, I couldn’t understand the
readings, but Petra, the pastor who had invited me, whispered to me the passage
so I could find the reading in my Bible and follow along.
After about forty-five minutes of
singing and scripture, they began to pray. Everyone, at once, prayed aloud. But this didn’t result in the chaos that you
might think as the voices blended together to create a unique sound that was
very beautiful. A couple of people moved
forward as Petra and the other leaders of the church gathered around them,
laying their hands on the shoulders and heads of them as they prayed. One of the women was praying excitedly when
she suddenly fell backwards, only to be caught and gently lowered to the
floor. After about fifteen minutes of
praying in all kinds of tongues, Pastor Petra pronounced a benediction. We all moved to another room where we enjoyed
Javanese coffee and nasi timbel (sweet rice wrapped in a banana leaf).
Contrary to what most people think,
worship isn’t about us filling our tanks.
Church isn’t a filling station. We
worship out of thanksgiving for what God has done for us and this means you are
not the audience at worship. When we
worship, God is the ultimate audience. We
gather and we offer our hearts up to God and when we do so, it is pleasing to
the Almighty. If we think about worship
in this manner, the experience of hearing all the various voices in prayer
mingled together must be very pleasing to God.
For you see, we’re all been designed and created in a unique manner by
God who draws us together in unity in Jesus Christ.
Today is
Pentecost Sunday, the day we celebrate the birthday of the church. We’re already heard the passage read from
Acts, the story of the church. The
coming together in Acts is often contrasted with the dispersing of humanity at Babel. Today, I want us to look at this passage from
Genesis. It occurs at the end of what is
known as the “prehistory” in Genesis. It’s hard to take this “prehistory” literally
as there are many contradictions within the text, but these stories provide a
foundational meaning to how we are to live with God.[1] After the flood, it appears that everyone stuck
together and there is a general failure to populate the world, as everyone
works together to “build a name for themselves.” After Babel, people go
their separate ways. In the next
chapter, we see God reaching out to Abram, later to be known as Abraham. And
what is God’s promise to Abram? God will
bless him and make his name great![2] But that’s still in the future. Read Genesis 11:1-9.
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God blessed them, and God said to them: ‘Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’ Genesis 1:28
Instead the people of
the earth joined together and in a singular band traveled across the face of
the earth until they found a land of promise.
There they settled. It was a rich
valley. As there were no stones, they
made bricks with which they constructed a city that included a tower reaching
high into the heavens. From what we
know, this was the ultimate family reunion.
Everyone was together, happy and secure.
One
day God came down to earth to visit. The
Almighty looked into the first corner of the world and saw no one. So God looked into the second corner and
again saw no one, and neither did God find anybody in the third corner. This bothered the Creator. Something was wrong. Hadn’t he instructed the people to fill the
earth? As God heads to the fourth corner
of the world, he hears the sound of celebration. There’s a party going on as people are
celebrating the new city and the security which they enjoy inside its walls. God wonders why he wasn’t invited.
There,
in the middle of the city, is a huge tower reaching into the sky. Its construction is the pride of the people;
it is so big and so high. But to the Creator,
it’s not that remarkable. In God’s eyes,
it’s small, so small the Almighty has to get closer to see it. God isn’t threatened by the tower, but knows
something must be done. The human race,
it seems, is getting too big for their britches… No telling what these people might do
next. And besides, who will inhabit this
planet if everyone insists on sticking together? So God mixes up the languages. Soon the architects can’t communicate with
the construction engineers. The
bricklayers and the plumbers and the drywallers are all speaking in different
tongues.
Confusion
reigns and people began to leave the city.
They form new cities where everyone speaks the same language. “Now,” the Creator thinks, “people will learn
to depend on me for their security and they will no longer need the protection
provided by brick walls which erode away.”[3]
I retold the story of the Tower of Babel in
order to clear up several hazy points. First,
the tower plays a minor role in the story. The story is really about the city.[4]
In fact, God never says the tower is
sinful. We have this image of the people
building a tower into the heavens so that they can storm heaven, but that
vision comes from the active imagination fueled by our memory of Jack and the
Beanstalk. The text never gives us the
idea an invasion of heaven is imminent or even contemplated. Instead, the tower serves as the unifying
symbol for the residents.
If
we pause to consider this story for a minute, I think we’ll see that it’s funny.
It was a story told around campfires
that brought a smile to people as it taught them an important lesson. The God of the Universe has to come down from
heaven in order to get a look at what humanity is up to. This giant tower isn’t large enough to be
seen from Outer Space! Of course, this
doesn’t mean that God doesn’t know what’s happening on earth when he’s in
heaven; instead, it is a statement of human inability.
Furthermore,
the sin in the story isn’t the tower nor is it the city. The tower and the city are symbols of the
people’s sin, as they think their accomplishment speaks well of their
abilities. They are proud people who have
failed to heed God’s command to fill the earth and have decided they can depend
on each other for their needs. There is
no need for God. The people in this city
never mention God, from what we’re told.
They’re going merrily on their way as if they are in control of their
own destiny, which in the mind of God is arrogance. The division of people into various language groups
isn’t for punishment.
Instead, the potential of a future calamity is avoided as God sees to it
that the mandate set forth in Genesis is fulfilled.[5] God desires the world to be filled with
different people. Diversity is celebrated within God's kingdom. Unity doesn’t come from human effort but from
a common need of all people to look to the Almighty for their security and to
worship God for their blessings.
Unity
comes in Jesus Christ who prayed for his disciples’ unity.[6] In the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, God
sought to bring believers into a church that may be split by language and
nationality, but is united in its belief in a common Lord.
We should note a
fine difference in the use of language between our stories from Acts and
Genesis. In Genesis, the emphasis is on
what people can do by communicating together with each other. Such ability enables them to do things on
their own without having to depend on God.
In Acts, the emphasis isn’t on speaking in tongues (any more than the
Genesis story is on the building of a tower), but on people hearing the gospel
in their own unique language. These two
passages, the scattering of people through language and the bringing together
of people on Pentecost, go together.
They show our God’s desire for a unity focused on Jesus Christ, not on
our own wishes and desires.
On Pentecost, we
celebrate the birth of the church, an institution that’s not perfect because
God has entrusted it into our hands. Nonetheless,
the church is the means that God has chosen to use to tell the story of his Son
to a world that is lost and, as that only song from the 60s goes, “on the eve
of destruction.”[7] On this day, we not only celebrate Pentecost,
but thank those who have played a role in the sharing of God’s good news
through our Sunday School classes, Bible Studies and Youth meetings. Thank you for stepping up and doing your part
to help First Presbyterian share the good news.
Also today, we’re
going to be meeting after the second service to discuss making changes to our
worship schedule. It’s your opportunity
to provide input to help the Session make a decision. These passages remind us that although the languages
of worship are varied, the purpose of worship isn’t. It’s all about glorifying God, our Creator,
our Redeemer, and our Sustainer.
Babel fell into
ruin as the people dispersed, but that doesn’t mean that God is against cities
or human achievements. The collective
ability of the human race is vast as we see in this story and that can be
celebrated, but we must never forget our limitations and the fact that we need
to depend upon the Lord in all things.
The word “Babel” means the “gates of God;”[8]
however, from what we know from the text, God wasn’t considered by the
inhabitants of this city, which leads to their downfall. This should serve as a reminder to us. Giving ourselves the right name isn’t enough;
what’s important is how we relate to God. Are we trying to glorify ourselves, or do we
live to glorify God? Another way to ask
this question has to do with our motives.
Are we trying to build a name for ourselves or are we content with the
name God has given us? These are questions
we need to always be asking, for we are always being tempted to put something
else in God’s place. Amen.
[1] In
Chapter 11, all people live together but in Chapter 10, we learn of Noah’s
children going their separate way and starting cities.
[2] Genesis
11:4 and 12:2. See Donald E. Gowan, Genesis 1-11: From Eden to Babel (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 118.
[3] For the
foundation of this story, see Gowan, 115-120 and Walter Bruggemann, Genesis: Interpretations, a Bible Commentary
for Teaching and Preaching (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982), 97-104..
[4] Gowan,
115.
[5] See
Bruggemann, 99-101
[6] John 17
[7] “Eve of
Destruction” sung by Barry McGuire, 1965.
[8] Gerhard
Von Rad, Genesis: The Old Testament
Library (Philadelphia: Westminster Press,1972), 150.
