Scripture The Tower of Babel Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSVUE)
Skit: The Youth of Union Presbyterian Church
Narrator:
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as the people migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another,
Youth:
Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly.
Narrator:
And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. Then they said,
Youth:
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.
Narrator:
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said,
THE LORD:
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.
Narrator:
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.
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word: Thanks be to God!
Youth:
— But what if God had another plan?
— What if God thought that different languages were beautiful?
— And different skin colors were beautiful?
— And different cultures and traditions were beautiful?
— What if God’s plan was diversity all along?
— Look at the trees!
— Look at the flowers!
— Look at the sunsets!
— Look at the different places—the mountains, the sea, the deserts, the plains. So many colors, textures, so many differences!
— What if God’s plan was diversity all along?
Narrator:
From the beginning, God’s creation was intended to be diverse. Look at the Honey Locust tree outside the church office, and the pine trees that line the highways. Look at the cornflowers, roses, peonies, and marigolds in our gardens. Look at the sunsets every night for a year. Look at the Susquehanna River that flows through Endicott and the Atlantic Ocean that laps at the shores of the east coast. Look at the hills that surround the southern tier, and the beaches of some coasts and the rocks of others. Look around this sanctuary. Look at us. God’s plan all along was to create a big, beautiful world, filled with more diversity than we can imagine. Thanks be to God!
Scripture Acts 2:14, 16-18 (NRSVUE)
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.
Meditation “Spirit-Filled Youth” Rev. Pat Raube
It’s important to know that we Christians didn’t come up with Pentecost. Pentecost was a Jewish feast, celebrating Moses bringing the law, from the hand of God, to the people in the wilderness. Even today, my rabbi friends tell me they celebrate Pentecost/ Shavuot by studying scripture, studying Torah with friends, all night long. It’s my understand they also try to eat foods that have milk and honey in them, which means a lot of ice cream and a lot of cheesecake. Which means, this is something I would very much like to get in on.
In our passage from the Acts of the Apostles, it is Pentecost morning, and Jews are gathered in Jerusalem for that celebration. For the disciples of Jesus, the sound of the violent rush of wind has already come. The fire, tongues of flame, have descended on the disciples’ heads. And the miracle of language has happened—the disciples are suddenly able to communicate across language barriers, and all the Judeans who have gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish observance of Pentecost, have been amazed. And, for some, skeptical—thus the crack about, “Nah they’re all just drunk on new wine.”
And then Peter steps up. He speaks to the crowd. No we are not drunk, he says. This is the moment of fulfillment of the prophecies of Joel. God is pouring out the Holy Spirit upon us all. And you see the results!
The results are the undoing of what God did at Babel. There, God confounded the people by scattering them and allowing languages to spring up and cover the earth like a blanket of spring flowers. And now, God closes that gap. Now, all can hear the words of the prophet—and the words of the Good News—each, in their own language.
And there’s something else. The scriptures are filled with the words of prophets. Mostly men, who are of an age where they can travel, and take God’s word where they must. But here, now, as the prophet Joel says, the Spirit is poured on everyone. On women as well as men. On girls as well as boys. On the young as well as the old.
The Holy Spirit is poured out upon us at baptism. And today, we recognize the presence of the Spirit in four of our young people as they plan to stand before you and reaffirm the promises their parents made for them at their baptism.
Together with their mentors, I have spent the past six months with these exceptional young people. I have never worked with a class more motivated, more truly excited to be doing this work of immersing themselves in scripture and their faith. One class we ended early, and one of opur students said, “Noooo!” This is a first in my experience as a pastor and a teacher. These young people have inspired me. They have lifted my heart. They give me great hope.
We like to say that our young people are the future of the church, but that’s not true. They are already the church. They are the church now. And their prophetic voices need to be heeded by us now. When they tell us what they love about church, we must listen. When they tell us what we can do better, we must listen. The Spirit of the Lord is upon them. Thanks be to God. Amen.