I want to start this by asking if you have ever really
considered the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis Chapter 11. This is one of those uncomfortable stories in
the Bible as far as I’m concerned. Up
until just a few years ago, this is one of the stories that actually kept me
away from Christianity entirely. I found
the whole concept of the story to be absurd and historically impossible and
therefore, the Bible must be wrong. At
least that’s how I thought of it. For
me, the Bible itself was a stumbling block toward Christianity. How scary is that!
The story of the Tower of Babel and a few others were
serious stumbling blocks for me, until I had a long conversation with an
Episcopal priest who said some things that totally changed how I look at the
Bible. This is not the right time or
place to get into the specifics of that conversation but the bottom line is, he
helped me see that the Bible is a guide to our relationship with God and a
guide to our relationships with our fellow human beings. He showed me that the Bible contains nothing
but truth about those relationships and that is isnt necessary to look at the
Bible as a history book.
Do you know how freeing it is to study the Bible without
worrying about the historicity? The
TRUTH of any story is about how we relate to God and our fellow humans. Those truths are a lot more exciting when one
stops questioning whether or not certain events are literal or not. If you study the Bible this way, it doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t believe certain parts of it.
It just means you are reading the Bible to figure out what the point of the story is. This kind of Bible study is extremely
liberating.
Take the Tower of Babel in this context. The biblical story is pretty short and light
on details. A first century historian
named Josephus who specialized in Jewish history adds a lot of color to the
story but it is still the same story. The
essential story is that descendants of Noah were feeling pretty powerful. They all spoke the same language and because
of that, were able to achieve just about anything they set out to do. They decided to build a city and tower to
reach the heavens. They literally wanted
to be on the same level as God.
Josephus goes a step further by saying that it was Ham’s
grandson, Nimrod, and he was certain of man’s prowess and felt it was man’s
courage that brought happiness. He
didn’t ascribe any of man’s strength to God.
He was arrogant and prideful. He
directed the tower to be built in order to show the power of man. He gave no credit to God.
In response to this level of arrogance and pride, God didn’t
destroy man as he had done just two generations earlier in the flood. This time, he simply caused confusion by
making them all speak different languages.
This led to a scattering of the people over the whole face of the earth.
So leaving aside any discussion of linguistics,
anthropology, migration, culture or history in general, what is the “truth” of
this story? It is actually quite simple:
When we deny God, when we get full of ourselves, when we are
blinded by arrogance and when we think we are superior, we are headed on a path
of destruction. The natural result of a
loss of humility is that we can’t hear what others are saying. Others may as well be speaking a foreign
language because we just are not listening.
That really is the truth isn’t it?
When we decide we are right and everybody else is wrong, we stop
listening to what others have to offer.
We also stop listening to God and we lose sight of what is important.
The story of the Tower of Babel is the story of the natural
result of human arrogance. That is truth
and it is really that simple.
So what happens when we drop our pride and arrogance? That is when we can hear our fellow man. Right at the beginning of the story, it is
pointed out that God realized that when people could understand each other, they
could accomplish great things. We can
truly serve others and we can hear the voice of God telling us what he wants
for us…
…Which brings us to what we are doing here today. Are we here to glorify ourselves? As we hear in Pslam 139, you are “fearfully
and wonderfully made.” This week is
about using our gifts, our time and our talents in serving and helping others to
find God.
Let’s focus this week on building up others and let God use
us for His purpose. Let’s not let our
pride prevent us from hearing the needs of others. Let’s figure out ways to better understand
our fellow human beings and in the process, we will hear God.
On my Secret Saint form, I didn’t put a favorite Bible
verse. I put down the Prayer of St.
Francis and as we depart, I want to share the words of that prayer. I think it perfectly sums up what we are
doing here and how we prevent ourselves from becoming like those that built the
Tower of Babel.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much
seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal
life
Prayer Requests
Closing Prayer:
Almighty God, Father of
all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
