Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Babel’s reflection Genesis 11:1-9

In the ancient book of Genesis there's an account of a city in which everything made sense and then nothing made sense at all Genesis 11:1-9. The city was called Babel.

The human population of the whole earth, it was said, had just one language and the people all understood each other. And they came together in one place on earth. That really sounds good on the outside. Yes we want people to be united, but these people were not united for good purposes. They came together with big plans all their own—not plans that came from God. Now they had their chance. Now they would make a name for themselves. They planned to build a great city. But having a great city wasn't enough. They wanted a great tower to be at the heart of this great city that would reach right up to heaven.

The people believed that they'd be scattered all across the earth if it weren't for this great tower that they were going to build. They had to build it—it became their purpose—their obsession—their very reason for living. They had to build it otherwise they could never be one.

What's funny (to me) is that they missed the fact that they already were one and that they had a great and wonderful purpose from day one. They were God's own and they were made to live in the joy of knowing God's constant presence and abiding love. They were made to live in great joy. But joy wasn't enough for them.

The people of Babel thought that this tower, this man made structure, would unite and unify them as a people. They thought the glory of this tower would make them happy satisfying the deepest needs of their souls.

But in God's great and grand design they already had a common identity and an even greater purpose. In God's great and grand design they already had all that they needed. They were made in the very image and likeness of God. In God's great and grand design was greater joy than could be found in making an even bigger name for themselves on the earth. In God is found our great hope and joy. It's not in the stuff that we can get or the things that we can build. It's in knowing and loving God that we find true joy.

I've watched over the years as people live to acquire more stuff and bigger things. I've watched people in power step on and exploit others for their own selfish gain. And the one thing that surprises me the most is that somehow that identity that stuff that amount of money is never enough. The people of Babel were absolutely convinced that they needed more than just what God had given them. They thought that they needed to prove once and for all that they were great and that they were the ones who made themselves into one great and powerful people.

And God stepped in among the people of Babel. Imagine God coming, maybe in the company of angels and nobody noticed. They were so busy. Their eyes fixed on this project, this tower, and they missed God's presence in their midst. And God brought confusion. The words that once formed their common bond no longer united them. In a moment their common language and earth bound purpose were gone. And they lost any need or ability to keep on building that great tower. They'd forgotten their real treasure is not in what they can build or acquire—their real joy is found in God.

And in the moment of confusion and consternation everything that they thought had mattered just stopped mattering. And in God even after everything has lost meaning we find peace.
Peace, and thanks for reading, John

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