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“Babel Reversed”
St. John’s - East Moline
Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21
05/23/10
Sometimes there are little lessons we can learn that make life easier. One such lesson involves the
yearly chore of raking leaves. Everyone knows that raking against the wind makes the job difficult and
frustrating, as the leaves are scattered by the force of the wind. The person, on the other hand, who rakes
with the wind, trusting in its power, is able to move mountains of leaves with ease, and gather them
together. Raking with the wind makes that little part of life easier and more rewarding.
This little lesson applies to more than raking leaves. We learn from today’s scripture readings that it
involves every aspect of our life. The first thing we learn from our OT reading is that...
I. The self-willed spirit of humanity displayed at Babel causes a scattering.
A. Our sinful nature is always seeking to make a name for self. It leads us to demand God’s attention for
the sake of our own personal accomplishments. In essence it seeks to dethrone God, and claim its own
sovereignty over us and the effects of that are devastating.
The story of the tower of Babel, tells about people who lived for themselves, raking against the Spirit
of God. After the flood, God had commanded the handful of survivors to go out into the world and
repopulate it. As they traveled westward, however, they came across the fertile plain of Mesopotamia.
They planted their crops, and reaped their harvests. Their herds and flocks multiplied and grew fat. And that
is where their spiritual journey ended.
Materially, everything went well for them, but spiritually they died on the plain of Shinar. They
became so self-sufficient that they turned away from the worship of God and put themselves first. Rather
than fulfilling the Lord’s will for them, they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top
in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole
earth.” They built not to glorify God, but themselves; not to make his name holy but to make a name for
themselves. Their goal was to thwart God’s will and exert their own.
Their arrogant plan was to build a personal monument to themselves; a Ziggurrat with steps that
would lead them into heaven as God’s equals. They built it out of hardened brick and mortar to be an
enduring testimony of their self-willed greatness. What pride they must have felt as they watched their tall
tower rising to the heavens.
There are still people today who spend their lives raking against the Spirit of God. They are people
who want to build their own towers in life; proud people, filled with self-importance. Their motto is “Me
First”; insisting, “I want to live my own life! I’ll do what I think is right! I will live by my rules! I only
want what makes me happy!”
The resident of our modern day Babel is someone who uses the greater part of his energy to build a
permanent and comfortable earthly home, surrounded with luxury. If his barns are too small, he will build
bigger ones! He does not see his life in this world as that of a pilgrim passing through an alien land with his
eyes fixed on a distant heavenly home. For him life, here on earth, is what it’s all about. He does not
pursue excellence in serving others, but in immortalizing himself. His goal is to secure success, wealth,
power, fame, and a reputation that will make others pause in fear or admiration.
If this person has any thought about a Supreme Being or an afterlife, he is convinced that he can win
favor by being good and doing the best he can. He is certain that He can build a proverbial tower by which
He can storm the gates of heaven, demand God’s attention and earn rewards.
Maybe you are thinking, that this in no way could be describing you! But if you were not also
tempted by such a life against the Spirit and guilty of living this way, then why would St. Paul feel compelled
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to warn you in Philippians 2: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others more significant than yourselves.”
The truth is that if you have ever put yourself first, if you have ever disobeyed or ignored the will of
God, if you have ever bent the law, refused to forgive, or failed to love; then you have lived like the people
of the Shinar valley. If you have put your own desires ahead of what you know God wants for you, tried to
make a name for yourself rather than honoring God’s name, or thought that you could build a tower to God
demanding His attention and reward because of your own efforts; you are guilty of living according to the
sinful, self-willed spirit, and against the Spirit of God.
B. The results of such a spirit is the curse of Babel which involves scattering and frustration.
The people who joined forces in ancient Mesopotamia to thwart the will of God, and make an
enduring name for themselves, were scattered, confused and frustrated. All their glorious plans came to
nothing, when God came down to that speck of dust on the plain of Shinar. He came down to that little
town of brick and mortar with its tiny tower and said no more. So that they could not continue their
rebellion and in order to crush their pride God confused their languages. He created a miracle of confusion,
a Babel, which separated the people from each other. That is what sin, and living by the self-willed spirit
does; it scatters and frustrates the plans of those who want to rob God of His place in their lives.
Like the people of Babel much too often the towers in our lives are built in vain. God sees our
rebellion, and comes down. When we have gone too far in living for ourselves rather than for God, we may
feel the effects of God’s judgment at Babel falling upon us. We sense the scattering as our sin destroys our
relationship with God and others. We feel the loneliness and separation of speaking a different emotional
language, of not understanding or being understood by others. We at times feel the frustration of trying to
build a life for ourselves only to have our plans crushed and our dreams remain unfulfilled. We have
learned the hard way what happens when we build our lives on sinking sand.
Like the ancient people of Mesopotamia we need to know that God’s answer to our demands for
attention is judgment. As Paul writes in His letter to the Galatians: “All who rely on works of the law are
under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of
the Law, and do them.’” (Gal. 3:10)
By frustrating the plans of those who live against the Spirit, God demonstrates the vanity of a
self-glorifying existence. The self-willed spirit of fallen humanity brings about only scattering and
frustration. In the events of Pentecost, however, we see a reversal of Babel, as life by the Spirit brings a
blessed and productive life.
II. The Holy Spirit of God causes a gathering.
A. While we cannot make a name for ourselves, God seeks to make a name for us by calling us to be His
children.
In Holy Baptism we were adopted into God’s family, and given His name, the name of the one
true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Through Baptism we received the gift of the same Holy Spirit who
was poured out on the disciples, so that God’s name may be honored and glorified in the forgiveness and
salvation we have received.
As the apostles taught on the first Pentecost we know that the structure that lifts us to heaven is not a
Ziggurat but a cross. We confess that we cannot by our own efforts build a tower to heaven, or climb by
obedience the innumerable steps that are required to reach the holiness of life that God demands. Living
by the Holy Spirit we trust in His power to blow us along and bring us to faith and forgiveness. By faith we
cling to the small, crude cross on Golgotha to lift us up with Christ. We look to Jesus, who was put to death
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for our sins, and raised again so that we may be justified, and declared righteous, before God. We believe
that there is only one name under heaven that has been given to us by which we must be saved, and it’s not
our own, it’s the name of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
The Spirit of God which was poured out at Pentecost now helps us realize that the only towers worth
building are those which are monuments to God’s glory. Living by the Spirit we are no longer interested in
success, wealth, fame, or reputation. We will not waste our time building monuments to ourselves of brick
and stone.
By the power of the Holy Spirit working in us we set our hearts on living every day to give
glory to God and bring honor to the name of Jesus. We live with such love for one another that people will
know that we are disciples of Christ. We live with such a dedication to doing God’s will that people see our
good works and praise our Father in heaven. We live to share the Gospel with others so that we may be
instruments in building the Kingdom of God.
By the Holy Spirit we learn that we cannot storm the gates of heaven, but God brings us right through
them by His undeserved love and mercy. We enter those gates here in worship when the keys to heaven
are used; when the pastor in the stead and by the command of Christ forgives our sins, and by the Gospel in
Word and Sacrament we are brought to faith. St. Peter tells us plainly in His answer to the people who
wanted to know what they needed for salvation: “Repent and be baptized everyone of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Eternal
life, a restored relationship with God, and the promise of life in heaven are all gifts that come to us by God’s
grace in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
B. As we see in the events of Pentecost recorded in our reading from Acts, the result of the Holy Spirit’s
work is a gathering together and give success to the labors of those who rake with His power.
As the Spirit comes to us with the one message of salvation and life through Jesus Christ, the effect of
the tower of Babel are reversed. To the casual observer it may appear that the apostles were just
babbling, each of them speaking in a different language. But the difference was that this was not a
confusion of languages, but the gift of speaking in the languages of all those people who had been scattered
to draw them back together under Christ. This speaking was not a curse but a blessing, not the mumbling
of drunken fools but the fulfillment of prophecy as they spoke the Gospel clearly. By the power of the Holy
Spirit people who were once separated were being gathered together through faith in Christ. From that
time on, we learn from our reading in Acts, they became one in the fellowship of the apostles’ teaching, in
the sacrament of the Lord’s table, and in prayer. What was once scattered by working against the will of
God, was gathered as the Holy Spirit worked through a handful of disciples. Even now, we are gathered
together here today by the Spirit’s power and the many become one in Christ as we devote ourselves to
fellowship in the apostle’s teachings, to the breaking of the bread and to prayer.
We are now given a new outlook on life. We see the proper towers being successfully built;
temple-towers which are built by God out of living stones. And each one of us is a part of it. Daily God is
adding to our number those who are being saved, with the mortar of faith He is building us up to be His
household, the temple in which He lives. As Peter tells us: “As you come to him, the living stone rejected
by men but chosen by God and precious to him you also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual
house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ...”
Our life together, a life committed to being built into and building onto God’s spiritual house, will never be in
vain. Led by the Holy Spirit we find real purpose and fulfillment as we live according to God’s will.
God’s response to our humble reception of the Holy Spirit is to give us a heart overflowing with joy and
love. We live as people God has created, redeemed, and renewed. We live as people with the great and
noble purpose of exalting God’s name by trusting and honoring the power of the Holy Spirit.
Concl.:
When you get down to it, there are two approaches to life: Raking against the wind to cause
scattering and frustration, or a surrender to the wind to be blessed by its power with success and a
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gathering together in joy. May the Lord grant that each of us become humble servants who trust in the
power of the Holy Spirit to gather us together in the fellowship of Christ, and empower us to be instruments
of gathering others to become part of this spiritual household of faith, so that the curse of Babel may be
reversed in and through us. Amen.
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