2022.06.05 | Beyond Babel
“Beyond Babel”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Eden United Church of Christ, Hayward, California
Pentecost Sunday 2022
June 5, 2022
Gen 11:1-9 & Acts 2:1-21 (NRSV)
Today we celebrate Pentecost, one of the great festivals of the Christian year. This occasion builds on the ancient Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot, which is also known as the Feast of Weeks.
Shavuot has a double significance in that it marks the completion of the wheat harvest in Israel (Ex. 34:22) and it commemorates the day when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Hebrew people on Mount Sinai.
In addition to the Jewish link with the gift of Law, the Christian Day of Pentecost is also linked with the story of Babel found in Genesis 11.
The story of Babel explains why there are so many languages, so much confusion, and so many conflicts in the world. It also warns believers about the deleterious effects that self-importance and self-interest can have on individuals and groups.
The Christian story of Pentecost, by contrast, describes the great reversal of Babel. According to Acts, chapter 2, the miracle of Pentecost occurred when people from every nation gathered in the City of Jerusalem to explore the question, “What do we do now that Christ has died and his spirit has ascended to heaven?”
The answer to that question wasn’t immediately apparent to the apostles. The tumultuous events that they had experienced required interpretation to understand what God was up to and how they should proceed.
The Apostle Peter served as the apostles’ much needed interpreter. According to the early church historian writing in Acts 2:14-40, Peter stood up among the people gathered in Jerusalem and said in sum:
The events that we have experienced were first envisioned and described by the prophet Joel. (See Joel 2:28-32.)
The world, as we have known it, ended with the death of Jesus.
Even though evil people put Jesus to death, God raised his spirit to heaven, and the Holy Spirit is encouraging us to dream dreams again.
And that same spirit is also calling us to receive God’s gifts of grace, be baptized, and continue Christ’s ministry on earth.
According to Acts 2:41-ff, all who heard Peter’s interpretation devoted themselves to study, fellowship, sacramental worship, and prayer. They sold their possessions and contributed the proceeds to a common purse, and they committed themselves to being living witnesses of the resurrected Christ.
Instead of experiencing the chaos, confusion, and conflicts ubiquitous in ancient Babel, the first apostles experienced a deep sense of calm, clarity, and communion on that first Pentecost. For this reason, the first Christian Pentecost and its annual observances have been occasions for celebration, even though we have not completely fulfilled Christ’s mission on earth. So what’s holding us back?
II
Sadly, we don’t have to do a deep dive into ancient history to learn about Babel. We are surrounded by numerous examples of individuals and groups running amuck because of their sense of self-importance and self-interest and acting on these impulses.
Examples that come immediately to mind include the unwillingness of so many to do so little to slow the spread of COVID-19, the thoughtless waste of water in the midst of California’s extended drought, and the continued promotion of a citizen’s “right” to buy military-style weapons amidst the carnage of Buffalo, Uvalde, and Tulsa.
These and other examples of self-importance and self-interest defy common sense and present a formidable challenge to life beyond Babel. And yet, we must persist. Why?
We must persist in our persuit of life beyond Babel, because our faith compels us to do so. Our faith, which has been inspired by the prophets and apostles, compels us to live lives worthy of the calling to which we have been called.
Translated into secular language, “living a life worthy of the calling…” means that we strive to live lives that matter--lives that make a difference--lives that are focused on someone other than ourselves and something greater than our own advancement.
At the end of the day, this is the difference between Babel and Pentecost: Babel is built on self-importance and self-interest, while Pentecost is the product of common cause and community service.
III
Clearly, what the world needs now is a lot more Pentecost and a lot less Babel. The world needs a lot more “we” and a lot less “me.” (If you agree, turn to your neighbor and repeat what I just said, “The world needs a lot more ‘we’ and a lot less ‘me.’”)
Carving out a path beyond Babel is not easy, but it is possible, if/as modern day apostles continue to commit ourselves to living lives that reflect “we” over “me,” and as the Holy Spirit continues to equip us for this ministry and fan the flames of hope into full blaze. And where, prey tell, where are these pentecostal sparks burning today?
I’m going to tell you where. They are burning right here under our noses. They were lit in and by the parents of the three youth in our congregation who are of confirmation age, who made a conscious choice to seek out and join this congregation, and to intentionally raise their children in the Christian faith.
This spark that was lit in these parents spread to their children, so that they have chosen now to claim the Christian faith as their own.
In a few minutes we will call forward two of the three youth who have asked to be confirmed this spring. As we prepare to do so, I feel compelled to say that this day was never a given.
Church membership, church school participation, and a youth’s desire to be confirmed in the Chrisitan faith are no longer a given in our society--if they ever were.
During the post-WWII era when this Sanctuary and our current campus were built, church membership and church school participation were at an all-time high at Eden and across the nation. We held two worship services every Sunday, and two sessions of church school. The pews were packed, and there was a waiting list for church school participation. If your child missed two Sundays in a row without an excused absence, their seat would be given to the next child on the waiting list.
Vacation Bible School was fully subscribed. Every youth in the church school went to summer camp. And, we closed the campus once a year, and took the entire congregation to Camp Cazadero (near Guerneville). June Schumann cooked three meals a day over an open fire for the whole congregation. A good time was had by all. And, those who participated and who were alive today still talk fondly about the blessings of having been part of Eden in the twenty years following WWII.
Back in the day, if you wanted to get a job in this town, you needed to belong to a church. If you wanted to get a promotion or get ahead, you had to show up at worship, serve on a church board, teach church school, or sing in the choir. Church membership had its privileges. Times have changed.
IV
Today, by contrast, church membership gets you nothing in the secular world in terms of employment, except awkward pauses if you mention to a colleague that you’re a person of faith.
My beloved Stephanie, for example, tells me that she is one of two employees in her entire department (these last 18 years) who is a church member. Ironically, Stephanie is far more a curiosity in her workplace on account of being Christian than she is on account of being married to me.
Meanwhile, cultural support for church school and youth programs, combined with other social changes including the radically high cost of living, the need for and advantage of having two incomes supporting a family, and lower birth rates have combined to radically curtail the number of children and families who participate in church school, Bible school, youth group, and confirmation.
The parents of most of our teens, today, don’t get anything but grief for belonging to and dragging their kids to church. My heart breaks for our parents, especially the three mothers of this year’s confirmation class, who have almost single-handedly, and against many odds, made sure that their children were raised in the Christian faith and participated in the life of this church.
And parents aren’t the only ones who encounter resistance to church participation. Our kids know that while they’re here at church, their peers are sleeping in, enjoying more screen time, or participating in social events that they are missing.
Just the other day, for example, one of our parents told me that her daughter had to decide between being confirmed today or losing her summer job. This was because her daughter had been scheduled to work this morning, and the boss said, “Show up on Sunday, or turn in your resignation.”
For this and many other reasons, I deeply respect and admire our confirmation moms and our youth who have chosen to be confirmed this spring.
I wish more kids had parents like ours, who are such great faith leaders, and who set such a great example for all of us. N.b., all three of our confirmands’ moms, this year, have been (or are now) moderator of Eden Church. Not only have these women discerned and espoused their Christian beliefs, but they have been a living example of faith for their children, they have led this congregation in times when Christianity has been unpopular, and they have lived lives of deep integrity.
I wish it were easier for all three of our confirmands, and their moms to live out their faith and to participate in church life. I wish it were possible for all three of our youth to be confirmed together today, but I understand and respect the fact that the one who is at work really needs her job, and that it’s not easy for employers to deal with absences after work schedules have been posted.
Most importantly, I underscore for all of us that we have a lot to celebrate as a congregation today despite the decline in and lack of support for religious affiliation in the US. Today we need to be out and proud that three of our youth are choosing to say “yes” to the Christian faith, “yes” to Eden Church membership, and “yes” to a deeper engagement in the life of this congregation and the community that we serve. Nobody's forcing any of them to make this choice. They are making it in spite of facing some opposition to their decisions to do so. And, they are making this decision wholeheartedly. Thanks be to God--and their wonderful mothers! Amen.