Christian Living: Pentecost & Baptism

Sermon planned for Pentecost Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Texts: Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21

In the past month-and-a-half we’ve been exploring a Sermon series on Christian living – examining the dynamics of discipleship during different phases of life. We looked at Childhood & Adolescence, Singleness & Celibacy, Marriage & Parenting, Middle Age, the Empty Nest and Retirement. My final part of the series was going to be about Dying, Death and Grief; but today is Pentecost and next week we’ll be beginning to look at the Fruit of the Spirit, from Galatians. At first I thought I would weave in some comments about death and dying – that baptism is a kind of death, as we die to our old selves and are made new in Jesus Christ. Instead, I want to leave the last part of that sermon series for another day – maybe sometime in the Fall.

This morning we’re celebrating Pentecost and Baptism. This theme fits very nicely into our series on Christian Living. After all, our discipleship is birthed in the baptism of Water and Spirit – it’s here, in this theme, and from this vantage point, that we ask questions about childhood, celibacy, parenting, retirement, etc… All along we’ve been asking the question – what does our discipleship have to say about how Christians retire, or about how we understand human sexuality. And so, this morning, our discussion of Pentecost and Baptism – the baptism of water and Spirit – is a fitting conclusion to our sermon series, at least for now. With Pentecost and Baptism, we’re looking at the very foundations of Christian discipleship. The baptism of water and Spirit illuminates & reorients all the phases of the Christian life-journey – indeed, it makes this journey possible. How? The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is God’s way of claiming you as His own – by giving you His Spirit as an act of adoption. In the baptism of water, we in turn claim Jesus Christ by publically proclaiming that He is Lord, and joining His body – the Church.

To get into the story of Pentecost, I want to begin by examining the story of the people of Babel and the tower that was built in that city. The city was given its name by Nimrod, the grandson of Ham, the great-grandson of Noah. The name “Babel” meant “the gates of God”, but the city’s name found a new meaning after the story of the tower. The name “Babel” came to signify the confusion of the people who were scattered from that place.

In Genesis chapter eleven we read that at that time the whole earth had one language and the same words. There was a clear understanding between all people – a shared language, and you could even interpret it to mean that all people shared a similar philosophy of life. They migrated together, from the east, and agreed to settle down in the same spot and build a city there. One of the first projects in this city was the construction of a tower that would reach into the heavens. The goal, as with most skyscrapers, was for people to make a name for themselves. They wanted a lasting monument – to make an impression on the generations that would follow them.

One part of this story that always intrigues me is the conversation that God has with himself about the people of Babel. Overlooking this city of likeminded hard-workers, God makes it clear that what’s happening in that city is contrary to His Will:
(Gen 11:6-9 NRS) 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. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech." 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 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.

God’s concern, over Babel, centered on two parts and the resulting consequences. They were ‘one people’, they had ‘one language’, and this meant that their plans would have no limit. From the perspective of contemporary liberal democracy, this was a dream city. Everybody had a voice, it was a common voice, a shared voice – they agreed with each other and worked together in harmony. Isn’t this precisely the kind of society that we’re aiming for in Canada? Isn’t this exactly what we’re aiming to get back to, with multi-culturalism? Aren’t we Canadians trying to cultivate a community in which all the various voices share a common understanding? You’d think that God would be overjoyed to see a group of people getting along so well. Instead, what we have, is God coming to the playground, trashing the sandcastle, and sending everyone off in different directions. What kind of God do we read about in this story? Doesn’t it disturb you just a bit? Why not a tower? Why not let the people live in harmony?

What if Babel wasn’t as great a place as it sounds? What if part of Genesis’ story includes a hint of sarcasm? What if the unity of Babel was one that radically excluded some? What if the problem of their unity was that it was based upon the rejection of God and a refusal to worship Him? We can’t travel back in time to get to know the citizens of Babel. But what if that city wasn’t altogether different than some of our world’s attempts at creating a united society? What if the peace and unity of Babel was like the peace and unity we hear about in the lyrics of our national anthems? – in the “Oh Canada” or the “Star Spangled Banner”? What if the unity we hear about in the story of Babel had a dark side, hidden from view? The story of Babel leaves us with a lot of questions, and the facts that we do get are somewhat disturbing. Why would God want the people confused? Why would God come to Babel in order to scatter the people across the world? What was the problem with this kind of harmonious co-operation?

The story of Pentecost, in the book of Acts, connects with the story of Babel in many ways. Already from the time of the early Church, Christians understood the Jerusalem Pentecost as a kind of reversal of what happened at Babel. Let’s look at what happened in Jerusalem more closely. The city of Babel eventually became known as a disobedient city – the home of the Babylonian culture and empire. In many ways, Babel was the enemy of God and His people. Jerusalem, on the other hand, was known as the city of God and His temple. And what do we find in this city? We find a great gathering of peoples. We find people from all across the known world of that time – from the North and the South, the East and the West.

These people were, if not all, then at least predominantly Jewish. They were the scattered children of God, but they had come together for the sake of worship in the city of God. It wasn’t a common understanding, a common culture or language that united them. What united this crew was their allegiance to Yahweh – their love for God. And instead of God coming down to trash their party and scatter them abroad – God’s Spirit descended and remained on the people and gave them understanding, despite their cultural and linguistic diversity.

In many ways, you have the very opposite thing happening here in Jerusalem than what happened in Babel. Instead of having people who share a common understanding, language and culture, as in Babel – and having these people join together for a common project; in Jerusalem, you have culturally & philosophically diverse people coming together because of their love for Yahweh. And then you have God’s Spirit joining them, in that moment, in order to send them into the world as partners in God’s project.

That project is the same as the one started with Abraham – to call out a people from among the nations. To call them out in order to bless them so that, through them, God can bring peace and blessing to all nations. The mission of the Church, born in the fires of Pentecost, is precisely this: to receive the gift of God’s grace and forgiveness; and to be a community of this grace and forgiveness for the world. The mission is to call the world to repent and turn back to God. Return to the city! But this time, not to the city of Babel. Return to the city of God for the sake of Loving Him. Not for the sake of selfish projects; but rather for the sake of praise. Receive a voice of praise. And then join the mission of God’s project of peace and reconciliation for all.

It’s important to note that Pentecost wasn’t the full reversal of Babel. It wasn’t the final chapter of God’s project. In fact, the problem of Babel continues on. We continue to see city after city, alliance after alliance, and community after community join together in a unity that is similar to Babel’s. The unity that is symbolized by our national anthems and our national flags is a unity that also has a dark underside – a hidden dynamic. In Canada, our unity has numerous skeletons in the closet – including war, racism, slave labour, and now the growing fear of Islam. The more we unify around a common cause, the more, it seems, we have to find some group to radically exclude from our communities. To put it differently, to build up the illusion of a beautiful unity, we need to always have someone to demonize as the monstrous ‘other’.

Even in our churches we come to think that our ideas, our perspectives and interpretations of scripture are the foundation of our unity – in this way we radically exclude those who understand scripture differently than we do, or who understand discipleship in ‘non-Mennonite’ ways. This is what happens when we locate our unity in something other than the free grace of God in Jesus Christ. On the outside, we might seem like a united front, but we always need to ask ourselves: who is excluded from our unity. Do we receive our unity as a gift from God? That’s the key piece to Pentecost as we read about it in Acts. At Pentecost, we see God’s Spirit continuing the revolution begun with Abraham – God was blessing that community with a unity different from any other; different from any unity that we can manufacture or vote on or debate ourselves towards. The unity that God gives is a gift of unity with Him and, through Him, with one another. It is a unity with Jesus at the centre.

Pentecost was a demonstration plot, the first-fruits of God’s reconciling work, or a pilot project, or a demo of what God ultimately has in store for all of Creation. Although the Holy Spirit was always active in Scripture, Pentecost marks a unique event in time. That said, the Holy Spirit continued its work, filling many people – including Gentiles. Although it came later, the Spirit was eventually poured out among the Gentiles – among non-Jewish folks. This was a sign that God’s project was moving forward, from Jerusalem, with full steam. As the Church, we participate in this project. We’re partners with God’s Spirit in welcoming all people to return to the city of God; return and love Your Creator. But there are still so many who have not yet received the Spirit of God. There are still so many that live in rebellion to God’s call. And so the work of the Church continues on; Jesus’ continues calling you to proclaim the gospel to others.

This morning, we’re celebrating that joyful work as we baptize Maria D. We’re eager to join together as brothers and sisters of faith. We’re excited to hear her testimony, of how God has called her and set her aside to become an agent of God’s Kingdom. We’re filled with joy to know that the Spirit has and is transforming her life. And we’re blessed to hear her publically confess her faith and trust in Jesus Christ our Lord. She has joined us in coming to the spiritual city of God – to His throne in worship and praise.

In numerous conversations with her, I have sensed, in Maria, a growing faith and trust in God. The Spirit of God has cultivated, in her, a love for people, for serving, and for giving praise. I was blessed when, two years ago, she came and told me that she was choosing our church as her home church. She started attending our worship services regularly, coming to youth group. Her siblings soon joined her as well. Maria, whatever the reason behind your desire to come to Church – I know that the Spirit of God is drawing you closer to Jesus. That makes my day! Witnessing your choice today – it’s what the rest of us live for. It fills us with joy.

Maria: This morning, as you confess your faith in Jesus, and as you are baptized into His name, know that we’re your biggest fans. We love and care for you. We’re already dreaming of the ways in which God will make you an instrument of good news in this congregation and in the world. You’re joining a community not altogether unlike the people gathered in Jerusalem at Pentecost. We get together regularly because of the love we share for God and for one another. We’re all unique in our own way. We don’t always agree. We don’t always play nice. But we are convinced that our shared love for Jesus is far too important to allow anything else stop us from being friends. The friendship we have with one another is marked by the baptism of water and Spirit. And since it is plain to see that the Spirit has claimed you and is drawing you closer to our Lord Jesus Christ, it gives us joy to baptize you and welcome you as a member of our church, a sister in this fellowship.

On another note, Sam S. has asked to be baptized on the first Sunday in July; that’s in three weeks. After spending time in prayer, and talking it over with our Ministerial, I’ve decided that I would like to extend an invitation: if anyone here who has not yet been baptized, but would like to make this public confession of faith in Jesus Christ our Lord; if anyone here would like to be baptized – I invite you to come and talk to me after the service, or call me at home in the next day or two. If the Spirit of God is making it clear to you that you need to be obedient by receiving the waters of baptism, and if you don’t want to wait until the next Catechism class rolls around – please talk to me. We’ll take some time in the next few weeks to talk, pray and discern together.