Pentecost

I would like to begin by asking you all to imagine that you live in a world with one language—pick your favorite. How much different could your life be, or have been, if you were there instead? For some of you, this might be an appealing notion. For others, perhaps not.

The story of Babel was probably intended as a creation myth to describe why human culture is so diverse. It allows us to look back and imagine what such a world—where all are one—could be like. Unfortunately, the tale is often taken as a way of juxtaposing God’s intended world with our own. According to the traditional interpretation, in the world which God intends we exist as a single body for the sole purpose of praising God. Being the humans that we are, we see a way to use this ease of communication to our own advantage. So we all take off in one direction on the path of human achievement; and take pride in ourselves for doing so. God realizes our folly—accomplishment without the wisdom to put it to the right uses—and decides to cut the problem at the root. As punishment, God splits us up into many factions and essentially says, “Good luck now!”

Now, I see some basic problems with this interpretation. Not so much with the pride part, there is no question at this point that arrogance is an inescapable part of what makes us human. I do not particularly find myself agreeing with the “punishment” idea. Rather, by splitting humanity up into so many factions, languages, cultures, God is challenging us—seizing a teachable moment, so to speak. Think back to our hypothetical world where everyone communicates in the same way—is it really so great? Is it not better, in a sense, which we have been given the opportunity to realize and cherish our diversities—whatever they may be? This is God’s great teachable moment, where so often we have failed and let diversity create divisions between us.

So, you may ask, how does all of this relate to now, relate to Pentecost? We recall that according to Pentecost, we see a group of people much like ourselves—they are in Jerusalem, a crossroads of the world with a plethora of languages and cultures all scrambled together. You might imagine it as the United States today, or a sort of Babel—backwards. The Bible says that a great rush of wind and divided tongues of fire sweep down upon the crowd and unite them. All of the people are able to understand the rest; but more importantly, they are able to understand God. To relate to how they must have felt, you may recall the old story of the blind men and the Elephant. It goes something like this:

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, “Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he;
” ‘Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

Moral:

So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

To understand Pentecost, you might imagine the Elephant as God, and ourselves as the blind men. Now imagine that fire, the Holy Spirit, opening your eyes for the very first time. And there, before you, is God in all of God’s grace and glory. And as you experience this wondrous feeling, ask yourself what the world would be like if everyone were to be united as such under the Holy Spirit. Our world would be much different than it is today; and it would be different even from that hypothetical world we began with as well. All of this, for one reason: we are in it with, as, and for God. There would certainly be no need for racial or class warfare—or warfare of any sort—not because we are all the same, but because we are able to transcend our differences and realize that the one thread which unites us all and is above all other priorities is God. So you see, quite simply, this is what Pentecost must have meant so long ago and must mean to us now; that terrific moment when we are finally unified once again, this time under and as one with God through the Holy Spirit. The door has been opened, now we have only to cross the threshold.

Amen.

Jason Stubrich

First Congregational Church, UCC
Las Vegas, NV
May 23, 2010