Gen 11:1-9, John 14:8-17 (25-27), Acts 2:1-21

In 1990 I was fortunate to be able to spend some time traveling through Europe. One of the things that really stood out for me was the range of different cultures that could be experienced in a relatively short time. Coming from an island country where you have to make some effort to get to another country, and quite a lot of effort to get to a distinctively different culture, this was quite an adventure. I loved the way that each country was quite identifiable by the different flags, languages, currencies, car number plates, buildings and so on. Having never been outside New Zealand before this, I embraced these differences with relish. Despite the relative openness of the world these days, without immersing ourselves in another culture, we do tend to think as though New Zealand is the world. For instance, I remember expressing my amazement at finding that ‘Sunlight’ liquid was not actually a NZ brand! It was so familiar that I just assumed clever New Zealanders had invented it, made it and then kindly shared its greatness with the rest of the world - such was my naivety! And we are encouraged to be proud of our small country’s achievements, which is not all bad, however, it can sometimes be not all that realistic either. The English friend I was with when I discovered the truth about ‘Sunlight’ liquid mumbled something about the arrogance of the colonies who think they are all there is. I would have something to say back to that now, but I was much too shy and polite in those days to feel anything other than embarrassment at my lack of worldliness! I also remember the laughter when I explained that we didn’t have anything called marzipan in New Zealand; I was asked what we put under our icing on Christmas cakes, ‘Oh’, I replied, we use something called almond icing – which is, of course, marzipan by another name.

But during that trip I recall feeling a growing unease about the moves being made back then toward European Union. The press was full of how great it would be particularly in countries like Ireland, which stood to receive serious financial support. And, in fact, when I returned to Ireland in 1997 it was clearly obvious they had made good use of the EU grants that went their way. When I was there in 1990 I met some people traveling with a caravan. At that point in their journey they had two cups left out of an entire dinner set – such was the state of the roads back then. By 1997 the roads were newly paved and smooth. But my unease about the proposed union came from wondering how these countries would retain their distinctiveness once they were pulled under the umbrella of the EU. There was, of course some resistance to the EU format, Britain to this day has held out on joining it’s currency to the Union. It seemed to me that there might be something to be learned from what was going on with what had been the Russian Federation of states. At roughly the same time they were busy dismantling the union and returning the member states to their own governance and identities. I wondered if those behind the move to the EU format were being careful enough to respect and honour the individual countries differences, or whether the stronger cultures would effectively wipe out the smaller ones. There must be a way, I thought, to work toward the betterment of everyone without losing the things that make them different. Difference does not have to be synonymous with inferior, or necessarily bring division. Unity does not necessarily require sameness. I wonder if anyone remembered the story of Babel; the story of what humanity tried to do once before when ‘the whole earth had one language and the same words’ as the words of Genesis tell us of the time just prior to the building of the Tower of Babel.

Of course, we too get caught up in this push to have one language and the same words. We are as much affected by the subtle maneuverings of globalization as anyone. Youth culture in particular is mostly global now, increasingly there is subtle pressure to wear the same clothes, speak the same language, and watch the same internet sites. The world is getting smaller we say, but are our minds and our desire to search out that which is not like us also shrinking. What is this drive for sameness about? Is it merely a fear of difference because our inability to live with difference has led to painful times in the past, and we don’t want to go there again? Is it merely pragmatic, a common language to make trade easier? It is of course easier to accept a move to one common culture when that culture is not vastly different from our own. It seems logical that English be the common language – maybe because it is our language and that doesn’t ask much of us, and, being able to buy the same burgers anywhere in the world removes the element of surprise from what we eat. And, we think that when we are all reduced to some degree of sameness the human race will be so much stronger, so much more able to work its own future out; and with increasingly less need of God thus ultimately, then able to relegate God to the mythical sphere. After the flood we are told that the families of Noah’s sons spread abroad on the earth. They spoke the same language, they had the same words and they were keen to express their strength in this: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its tops in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” They identified security in unity but they also sought unity in their own strength, why? Was it, perhaps, an expression of humanity’s tendency to want to do away with God and go it alone, a tendency first expressed in the Garden of Eden and one we are certainly not done with yet?

It’s an insidious thing this creeping belief that humanity can be God. This understanding of ourselves that raises humans up to become the subject of our worship. If not humans, then nature, but either way it is worship of the created rather than the Creator. Nor can it be dismissed as a worldly problem; the same tendency has found a voice in our churches too. A colleague of ours sent a rather sad email to us recently telling us of her recent experience at a church service. She was replying to a clip Martin had sent, in which some characters have a light-hearted but pointed go at some of the newer styles of worship which they facetiously called ‘comtemporvent (a play on the pressure to be contemporary and to make worship relevant). She had found herself at a ‘contemporvent’ service recently and after acknowledging that they did the welcome and hospitality bit very well she went on to say, “I loved the dry ice on the stage and the counter up on the screen that counted down the minutes, seconds and milliseconds etc to 10 o'clock when, with a drum roll, everything kicked off. Very nice touches I thought and I've asked our Parish Council if we could introduce those things here at our church, but I couldn't get them to take me seriously. The funniest thing about the service was when it came to the offering time...and they turned all the lights off!!...honestly I couldn't see a thing....I rummaged around in my wallet and put in the first note I could put my hands on....I thought it was a $20, which was what I'd intended to give....but afterwards realised it was only a $5...oh well, their loss in the name of 'contemporvent'! The worst thing was at the beginning of the service we were told to turn to the person next to us and say 'this morning is all about me'....there we are, she concluded, that sums that kind of church up. I found I had to rummage around in my handbag at that point thereby avoiding having to speak heresy.”

In order to be contemporary and relevant it has to be about us. How sad that some churches have become so desperate to gain cultural approval they are willing to leave people believing that we are at the centre of things. How did they get to this point? Have they become so desperate to make a name for themselves that even the point of worship has had to be abandoned? We keep making idols, we keep building towers because we can’t stop trying to make things work our way. And we forget our call to work with what we have been given and to love that which we have been given. We want more and it seems we will keep pushing people and our environment and even God, until we reach our goals; if indeed the goal posts are ever allowed to stay still!

The story of Babel speaks not just of the human drive for unity through language but also through knowledge, economics, law, education, housing etc. We often resist the diversity that is part of who we are as creatures of the One who made us all. And yet the One we worship is the ultimate diversity in unity; One God who is Three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; distinct yet One. When we learn to live with that tension then we might find it easier to believe that the diversity around us need not deny unity. But we won’t get there while we seek through unifying systems and programmes to ‘raise our heads to the heavens’ and become like God controlling all around us. It is not all about us this morning or any morning! In fact, this is the morning that we hear again that the Holy Spirit comes among us, in the soft breeze and in the rush of a violent wind; and the Spirit, not us in our own strength, is what enables us to live our diverse lives, in unity. On the day of Pentecost they spoke in other languages yet each one heard in their own native language. Through the Spirit the diverse were made one, can still be made one and will be made one. If we read the Babel story as one where God achieved the purpose of diversity against the resistance of humankind, then we can see the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as saying that even in God’s immensely diverse world, with all its richness, the good news can speak to all and that God in the Spirit provides a way for that to happen. Amen.