Festival of Pentecost
Genesis 11:1–9. Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then 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; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Driving through southern Ohio and Indiana, you come across a lot of road signs with ostensibly Christian messages. As a Christian leader, they generally make me angry, because instead of freeing people with a proclamation of God’s love, they tend to try to scare people into “good behavior.” An example: Coming across route 24 from Fort Wayne to Toledo, in the middle of a field, simply out of nowhere, was a white cross painted with the words, “Get right with God.”
This sort of sentiment seems to go with our first reading. People doing naughty things, in this case, building a tower. And God getting angry and punishing them by confusing their speech.
Except, I would insist that God isn’t fickle. While I don’t know that everything in life has a purpose, I would say that everything God does has a purpose. Why, then, is God so angry at a simple building project? What’s wrong with building a city and a tower?
There’s no actual mention, here, of God being angry. God is not. God is protective. Our purpose for existing is to love and to be loved. But instead of relying on God’s love, this building project is a symbol for the way we rely on ourselves instead. God creates language and difference, so that if we’re going to work together, we are forced to learn to love each other first, and to rely on God’s providing instead.
At Pentecost, the disciples are sent running out into the street to proclaim the Good News. They do not speak in other languages, at least not on that day. Instead, people hear them speaking Aramaic, but somehow they understand as if they were speaking their own language. The Holy Spirit does not give them a new language skill. But language doesn’t stand in the way of anymore. We don’t need to get right with God; we are right with God. Our differences are no longer a barrier.
Numbers 11:24–30. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Aren’t we still supposed to obey? Don’t we still need to “get right with God?” Well, yes… and no. Following God’s direction is important. But, well…
Moses was exhausted. The Israelites were busy wandering in the wilderness for forty years, not able to get to the Promised Land until they “Got right with God” themselves. And during that time, Moses had a lot of jobs. He was a political leader, a preacher, a prophet, a military general, a judge for any disputes that came up, and on and on. He began to resent his special relationship with God. “Why do I have to take care of these people alone,” he complained. “Did I give birth to them, O God? Or was that you?” The answer was obvious. “But then why aren’t you helping?”
I guess Moses wasn’t exactly “right with God” either. But instead of punishing him for his insolence, God decided to give him some help. Seventy elders were anointed by the Spirit and made Moses’s assistants. But two of them, Eldad and Medad, didn’t follow the instructions. They didn’t show up. They were disobedient. They shouldn’t have gotten the Spirit.
Not by our values. But that’s not how God works. The Holy Spirit poured itself out on them, too, and when Moses is told, he doesn’t complain. He wishes all God’s people would have that Spirit too.
At Pentecost, the Spirit does arrive. Not just on the disciples, the faithful followers of Jesus. But before the story is over, some three thousand people, strangers to the Jesus movement, are filled with God’s presence. We who would crucify Christ are now raised again with him. We don’t need to get right with God; we are right with God. Our sin, our disobedience, is no longer a barrier.
Romans 8:22–27. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Okay, okay. I said we’re right with God. But we don’t always feel right with God. Life is difficult, painful, heart-breaking. We experience death and despair. Our world is filled with violence; many of our homes are filled with violence. Our hearts, which were made to love and to be loved, fill themselves us with hatred and fear and self-loathing.
And not only us, but all of creation. I love the image in this reading from Romans, that the whole creation is groaning in pain. I love it because it’s real; it speaks of reality.
I came home from vacation yesterday, and of course, my cat, Moses, showed how very much he missed me by hiding behind the toilet for a few hours. I had to give him a shove to get him out of there. He went back to his favorite spot, under the couch, just far enough away where I couldn’t reach. Six and a half months, and he’s still gripped by fear.
But this morning, he’s been up and about. Not comfortable, but at least out in the open. And while he’s not ready to come ask for it, he clearly wants, and loves it, when I pet him. His reality is fear, but his purpose is to love and to be loved, and between the two, the love always wins out.
The creation is groaning in pain, but they are labor pains. God is producing love where there seems to be none. The Spirit makes itself felt, not gently, but like a powerful wind that can blow the roof off the house and set people’s hearts on fire. We may not always feel that way, but we are right with God. Our anger, our fear, our despair, they are no longer a barrier.
John 15:26–27; 16:4b–15. ”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.
If I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The set of values that we have as people of faith are different than those of the rest of the world. Different than even many people who say they’re Christian. Different than even other parts of our own selves! The battle between the values of our world—greed, self-reliance, power, exhaustion, fear, and despair—is fought hotly with the values of our faith—giving, self-sacrifice, giving voice to the voiceless, excitement, joy, and love.
If we were to fight this battle on our own, we would quickly get overwhelmed. Because we are both. Dividing ourselves is impossible; a house divided cannot stand. The flood waters would quickly subdue us, and we would drown.
But Jesus promises to send us an Advocate, the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father. The Spirit often sounds like a whisper, but it has the power of a whirlwind. It testifies to us the Truth, that the world is wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. Our sin is taken away; we are made righteous by Christ; the world is judged and condemned—and finally redeemed.
And so the battle is won before it even begins. God’s Holy Spirit tilts the tide, and constantly speaks to us, to remind us that we are whole. That we don’t need to get right with God; we are right with God. There is no longer any barrier between us and God. Our purpose is fulfilled. We are loved. And we love.
You also are to testify, Jesus says. You have a wonderful, exciting gift, the ability to dwell not in the lies of the world, but in the love of God. And it’s a gift that is too big to keep to yourself. To be true, sharing it with others is difficult.
But the first disciples were gathered together in one place, hiding from the authorities, for fear. And then the Spirit rushed in, and sent them rushing out. It tore away every barrier between God and his people, and sent them to proclaim the good news. The Spirit gave them the words they needed, and thousands–eventually billions–more found joy in loving and being loved.
Why be a barrier between them and God? God has already made you right with him. Go and tell others that they too are loved. Amen.