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.”

Genesis 11:4

The story of the Tower of Babel is one that we probably all know, but maybe haven’t read or thought about in a while. It is told in Genesis, Chapter 11, right after the story of Noah’s Ark. And it almost never appears in our Sunday lectionary. Only as an alternate reading every third Pentecost. 

This is actually the first time I have included it as one of our Sunday morning readings here, and the first time I have shared a reflection about it on this blog. But I think it is important to remember this story today, and to remind all of us of this story, because it helps us understand the miracle of Pentecost in a powerful way. 

It is also a story that seems very relevant to our world today, when we seem to be very busy repeating the same mistakes made when the tower of Babel was first built. 

The Tower of Babel

The story takes us all the way back to the time right after Noah, when there was only one language spoken in the world. So what happened? Well, the story tells us that Noah’s descendants all got together and said, 

“Let us make bricks and build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves.” 

Noah’s descendants had become a proud, arrogant people, who didn’t believe that they needed God in order to become great. They didn’t even believe they needed God to go to heaven; they were going to build a tower to heaven themselves. And they didn’t care about making God’s name great; they only cared about their own name. 

So they began building this great tower, aiming for the heavens. And it is significant that they made bricks in order to do this, rather than using stones. Stones, after all, are made by God, and they didn’t want God to get any credit for this great tower, so they made bricks themselves. Building the tower this way meant that they didn’t have to rely on God to provide enough stone – they could make as many bricks as they wanted. Nothing could limit their plans. Not even God. 

And as an added bonus in their minds, they could use this tower as their escape route just in case God went back on his promise and brought another flood to the earth. No need to live by faith, they thought. No need to trust God. They were aiming to take control of their own destiny. 

Today’s Babel

When you think about it, our world today is not very different from the world then. There are still many in our world aiming to build towers to the heavens, eager to make a name for themselves, and even to create their own heaven on earth. All they need is enough wealth and power. No need for God to aid them in their plans. They are busy building their own bricks, whether it be through progress and technology, or through our wealth and power. 

There are plenty of people in our world today eager to make a name for themselves. And, truth be told, we are no better, on our bad days at least. We are tempted by all these shortcuts to meaning and purpose in this life. Which is why we should all pay attention to the next part of this story. 

After Noah’s descendants have completed their great achievement, and built their tower in Babel, the Lord came down to see it. It turns out, by the way, that their tower did not reach all the way up to heaven. None of our towers do. 

God came down to see their tower, and was not happy with what they were doing. So God confused their language, and scattered this prideful people throughout the earth. And that is why, according to this story, we have so many different languages in our world today. But this story really isn’t aiming to teach us why there are so many different languages – it is trying to teach us about what is truly important in life. And it is not to make a name for ourselves. As if we could, anyway. After all, who will really remember any of us hundreds of years from now? How many of us even know the names of our own great great-great-grandparents? If we believe that the purpose of life is to make a name for ourselves, then we are living empty, meaningless lives.

The true purpose of life is not to make a name for ourselves, but to bring honor to God’s name. It is to live our lives in a way that brings glory to God alone. All the towers we build in this life will come tumbling down in the end. We cannot build our way to heaven. And no matter how great we are in the eyes of the world, it will not matter in the end. We cannot make a name for ourselves in eternity. But we can bring honor to the eternal name of God. 

The Story Continues: Abram and Sarai

The Tower of Babel story ends with judgment, but judgment is never the end of the story. In the very next chapter of Genesis, the Lord says to Abram: go to the land that I will show you, and I will make of you a great nation, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. 

Abram and Sarai obey God’s call, and become Abraham and Sarah. They do not try to build a tower for themselves; instead, they go to the land promised them by God. They do not try to make a name for themselves; instead, they trust God to make them a great nation. And they do not try to bless themselves; instead, they live their lives trusting God’s promise that all the families of the earth would be blessed through them. And God did all of that for Abraham and Sarah. 

And, as we now know, their descendant, Jesus, would, indeed, bless all the families of the earth.

The Story Continues: Pentecost

And that brings us to the miracle of Pentecost told in Acts 2, the great reversal of Babel, and to our mission today. Think about how Pentecost turns Babel upside down: 

The Spirit came down at Pentecost, just as the Lord came down at Babel, not to judge, and not to take away our power, but to forgive and to give the disciples power. 

And while God did not return us all to one language, the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, were miraculously able to proclaim the gospel in every language. 

These disciples, like Noah’s descendants, were scattered throughout the earth. But not by force, this time through an invitation from Jesus to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. 

And finally, those who were present at the Pentecost miracle were not encouraged to make a name for themselves, but to call on the name of Jesus and to be saved.

The miracle of Pentecost reverses the tragedy of Babel in every way we can think of. 

The Story Continues: Our Mission Today

But what now? Well, this Pentecost reading ends with the promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how can someone call on the name of Jesus who has not been introduced to him? And that, of course, is the mission of the church, and is our mission today. 

We are the church, called upon to bring the gospel to everyone in our world, and it takes all of us in the church to accomplish this. 

Think of the church around the world today celebrating the miracle of Pentecost. In every major world language. On every continent. In most every country. Christians are hearing the good news of Jesus and calling on his name. 

The Pentecost miracle continues to this day. But we don’t have to go around the world to see this. Let me offer an example of how I see this happening here in Albemarle. 

The Story Continues: A Modern-Day Pentecost Miracle

Two years ago this weekend, I experienced what what I think of as a modern-day Pentecost miracle. 

It was the day before Pentecost Sunday in 2023, and my wife’s car battery died while she was getting her haircut. She texted me, and I got our jumper cables and headed over to help. While I was hooking up the cables, a couple wandered over from the adjacent Mexican grocery store to see if they could help. While we were waiting for the battery to charge, I noticed that they were holding Bibles and asked them about it. It turns out that they were there leading a Bible study that morning, and praying for a place to begin a new Spanish-speaking mission congregation here in Albemarle. I thought that our Efird Building would be perfect for them, and so we exchanged contact information. I got in touch with Pastor Mario later that week, and he visited our church. And after Council approved it, they began worshiping next door in our Efird Building. 

I believe that the Holy Spirit brought us together that day, and Iglesia Jesus el Camino has been worshiping next door ever since. Providing a place for people whose primary language is Spanish to hear the gospel, respond in prayer and praise, and to call on the name of Jesus. To me, this is a Pentecost miracle. 

That is the Church at work, continuing to bring the good news of Jesus to everyone in the world, so that everyone can call on his name and be saved.

Closing

Pentecost miracles can happen in all sorts of ways, and they can happen through each and everyone of us. Because each of us has been given a gift from the Holy Spirit that can be used to further the mission of the church. But no one can do it alone.

What is your gift? It might be the gift of languages, but it is probably something else entirely. What is God asking you to do to continue his mission today?

The great adventure of life, after all, is not to build a tower to heaven – it is to learn and live God’s purpose for our lives. It is to learn and live the part we are called to play in continuing the miracle of Pentecost. And when we are faithful in doing that, then we will make a name great. Not ours, but the name of Jesus, the Savior of the world. 

May his name be praised by us and throughout the world. To the glory of God. Amen.