Thursday 23 May 2024
“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” (v. 4)
Background
This is the last of the creation stories in Genesis. It is immediately followed by the genealogy that leads into the stories of Abraham. There is more than an explanation of the variety of human languages behind this passage.
Many of the creation accounts show humankind’s attempts to assert their independence from God. We see this in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), in the story of Noah (Genesis 6-9) and here in story of the tower of Babel.
What was the tower like? It is thought that any such tower would be a stepped pyramid, a bit like a ziggurat. Building a tower has always been an attempt to show power and strength. It symbolises the desire of humankind to do things without reference to God.
In the week following Pentecost it is only natural to look at this story. It is simplistic to say that Pentecost is the reversal of Babel. At Babel, they built not only for power but to prevent themselves from being scattered (verse 4). The result in the end is the opposite, and they end up dispersed (verse 8).
The similarity of course is language. On the day of Pentecost in the speech of Peter (Acts 2:6) the people all hear and understand even though the languages are different. Where Babel divides and separates, Pentecost unites. It is the Spirit of God that unites believers.
On behalf of The Methodist Church, I visited Papua New Guinea. It is a country with 839 different spoken languages. At the main ministerial training college people managed to communicate even though there were occasional difficulties. The one thing that brought students and visitors together was the knowledge of the love of Jesus. I was told that though we may be separated by language, we are one in the Spirit.
Believers are united, not because they share the same tongue, but because they share one language, that of the Spirit. Diversity of age, gender, mother tongue and colour are to be celebrated in the unity of the Holy Spirit. This is the true change brought about by Pentecost.
To Ponder:
- How can the creation stories help us understand the world today?
- How does the Church find the right balance between diversity and unity?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank you for language in all its beauty. We celebrate that we are not all the same and we speak in different tongues. We rejoice that in our diversity we can celebrate the oneness we have in the Spirit. Through our differences may our unity be both richer and strengthened. Amen.
Bible notes author: The Revd Paul Davis
Paul served for 40 years as a Methodist minister, most recently serving as Chair of the Lancashire District. He currently sits on the board of Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes.