The LCA Provides This Sermon Edited for Lay-Reading, with Thanks to the Original Author s8

The LCA provides this sermon edited for lay-reading, with thanks to the original author.

Pentecost, Year C Genesis 11:1-9

Would you agree that God desires that all people be united in love and faith and purpose? Don’t you think God grieves when people become divided?

Then, what on earth is God doing, dividing people in this placed named Babel?

Here are a group of people united in purpose, and God deliberately mixes up their languages so they can’t communicate properly with each other, and then disperses them over the whole of the earth! No wonder we live in such a divided world – it seems that God is the one who divided us!

So, what on earth is going on here? Why does God intervene in such a way? Why did he divide and separate people, and yet we still believe he wants people to be united?

Well, God created everything perfectly. He not only created everything, but established an order so that his perfect creation will be preserved. At great risk - but out of love for his creation - he gave humans authority and blessing to create more humans in their image. He instructed them to be fruitful and multiply – and they did.

As part of God’s order which sought the preservation of God’s perfect creation, he instructed his human creations to not eat from one tree in the garden. Unfortunately (like most of us when told not to do something) that was exactly what they did do! Adam and Eve ate the fruit from this one forbidden tree in order that they might become like God. They rebelled against God in order to become gods themselves. As a response, and in order to preserve his human creation, he removed them from his private garden.

Soon afterward, the first humans born of Adam and Eve rebelled again. Cain, jealous of his brother, rebelled through violence, killing Abel. Did Cain think in some perverse way, that he would gain God’s approval by killing his brother - the one God approved of?

Human corruption and rebellion had soon spread so much that God decided to wash clean his good creation in order to preserve it. His baptism of the world through the washing of the flood, cleansed it of evil. But he also preserved his good creation through an ark, preserving animals and the family of Noah.

Although it may not seem like it at first, the event at Babel was also a rebellion – a revolt against God the Creator and his plans for them. This time the rebellion was hidden in the apparently noble cause of human progress. They were united in purpose, but this purpose was to build a tower so tall its head would be in the heavens, and some people still try to do this today with their skyscrapers. This way, they would make a name for themselves. You see, by uniting on this one project, they would reach the heavens where the gods dwelt and therefore would become like gods themselves in name and accomplishment. They also agreed the one thing they didn’t want to

1 happen was to be dispersed over the whole earth, even though God had told them to be fruitful and fill the whole earth.

Still today we humans think we can become our own gods and control our own destinies. For example, if all humans were to unite in the battle against global warming – if we all switched off our lights, stopped using fossil fuels and imposed a carbon tax then we’ll have an impact on our weather patterns. If we caused global warming, then we can fix it ourselves, by working together, right?

This is an oversimplification, but many people do think that if we unite and work toward the same purpose, then we’ll have an impact on our destinies and our children’s destinies. We want to become gods in order that we can control and manipulate people and events and nature. Some people have become famous and made a name for themselves by encouraging us to do just that. Yes, we should look after God’s good creation and be responsible with the gifts of nature he’s given us, but we must also understand that he’s God and we’re not. We can do nothing without God’s help even if we do all work together.

Back to the Tower of Babel… here are these humans trying to reach up to God and become their own gods, and instead God came down! This time God didn’t come to unite, but divide. He intervened in this monumental building project by confusing their language. Since they spoke different languages, they couldn’t understand each other. Their confusion and division became a sign or result of their rebellion.

In our own relationships, we often experience division, many times because of failures in communication. Husbands and wives don’t always listen to each other. Children often rebel against their parents, teachers, and other authorities. Even congregations experience divisions, splits, and cliques. In this “age of communication”, we really don’t communicate very well! We don’t listen attentively to each other, and when we do express our feelings, we’re often impolite, manipulative, or abusive.

The problem in communication often boils down to wanting to be our own gods. We try to manipulate each other to get our own way. We get abusive when we don’t get our own way. So, the next time you’re in a disagreement or conflict with someone, ask yourself how you’re trying to be god in that situation. Once you understand and own up to your own idolatry, only then can you begin to approach the other person about their idolatry.

God also dispersed the people of Babel over the face of the whole earth. Now they would be fruitful and fill the earth with their offspring. In this way God intervened in human history so that his creation and order will be preserved. Although we can’t be certain, a number of historians believe that the place once known as Babel would later become Babylon, known to the Hebrew people of God as the seat of sinfulness and rebellion against God. Many years later they would return to Babylon as exiles and slaves, separated from their God and their land.

Now, coming back to our basic belief that God would want us united, how would he achieve this now that he’s confused everyone’s language and dispersed them across the earth?

Well, God had a plan.

2 In Genesis 10, the descendants of Noah and his three children: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their achievements are described. After the events at Babel, the descendents of Shem are described in more detail, focussing on a particular line of children that would end with Abram. It would end with Abram because he and his wife Sarai couldn’t have children. Yet God’s plan of unity and salvation began, using this dead-end line of people.

So remarkably, out of all the people of earth, God chose to give a promise to one person who had no future. God wouldn’t build a tower made of bricks so that people might reach him, but he would come down and save his people by building up a heritage and fulfilling a promise. He builds up his name by putting his own reputation on the line, making a promise to this wandering man named Abram, promising that through him all the families on earth will be blessed.

Eventually Abraham’s grandson Jacob would have 12 children. Jacob’s name changed to Israel, and his 12 children would multiply to become the nation of Israel. God saved them from slavery and led them to the Promised Land. He taught them how to worship him, but they too had a history of rebellion. Exiled and oppressed many times, it was during the time they were being ruled by Rome that God came down to intervene once again in human history in the most remarkable and unexpected way.

God himself became a human being, living and walking and breathing among his good but rebellious creation. He still sought to preserve and save his creation, including his most rebellious of creations, human beings. God, in the human form of Jesus, didn’t rebel, but was obedient all the way to death. Before he died, he promised his followers a helper, an advocate; the Holy Spirit.

So, soon after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ followers, and here’s where God’s plan of unity reveals itself in an unexpected way.

Where once God confused the language of all people so they couldn’t understand each other, now all people can hear and understand the one message in their own language. The one message spoken in so many different languages is the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. At Babel the people sought to make a name for themselves, but now the holy name of Jesus Christ would be proclaimed among all nations so that every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

In order to unite and bless the people of earth, God didn’t change the languages back to one language again, but instead sent one message in many languages. Today the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ is proclaimed in every language on earth. In our worship, even though we still seem divided into separate churches and denominations on earth, we are truly one in faith and confession. This is what it means to confess the one holy catholic church. The one holy catholic church we confess in our Creeds is this one universal and complete church that crosses the boundaries of language and denomination. Today people of all nations, tribes, races, and language gather in the holy name of our Triune God.

It can be humbling to realise we’re not God, but it can be liberating as well. We don’t have to work our way up to God or make our own names great. Instead God has come down and built a heritage for us, a kingdom for us to live in forever. He has given us a name by which you can be saved – the

3 name of Jesus Christ. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we’ve heard and grown to understand this promise of salvation and the power of Jesus’ name, and, as mentioned in today’s reading from Acts, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Even though the people were once dispersed among the nations, the event of Babel has now been undone as the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.

Therefore, by the power of the Holy Spirit who truly unites us, may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard our hearts and minds as one in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.