E=mc2, but W.W.J.D.?
The disciples, despite the presence of the Holy Spirit, were misunderstood. They were perceived,
because of their exuberant behavior, as being loaded. Sauced. Drunk. How rare it is to
experience real communication. The kind of communication where every word is clearly and
completely understood.
Years ago a conscientious homeowner wrote to a manufacturer of cast iron pipes, telling them
that he had found that by pouring pure hydrochloric acid down his drain, he immediately opened
his grease clogged pipes. He asked if there was any way in which the acid might be harmful to
the pipes.
The plumbing manufacturer wrote him back. "Thank you for your letter. The effect of such acid
upon ferrous-constructed materials is certain to be deleterious. We therefore strongly urge you to
cease such activity in the interest of the future of your plumbing."
He read their letter and responded, thanking them for their letter, telling them that he was
relieved that he was doing the right thing in using the acid on the pipes.
Another letter from the manufacturer: "We fear that there may have been some
miscommunication in our correspondence. Acid, of that density, applied to cast iron pipe, is
certain to have dubious results. Therefore, please desist from your current practices."
The homeowner read the letter, then wrote back, thanking the company for its response, telling
them once again that he was delighted that he was doing nothing which might harm the pipes.
Finally, an exasperated manufacturer sent a telegram: DON’T USE ACID. IT RUINS THE
PIPES!
The possibilities for misunderstanding are limitless.
There was a time when the whole world had only one language, when the descendants of Noah
settled in a plain called Shinar. Everyone understood everyone else. These descendants had a
plan - use baked bricks instead of stone and asphalt for mortar to build a great city with a tall
tower. You see, with bricks, you could build as high as you wanted. The sky was the limit.
They had lofty plans . "Come, let us build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the
heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the
whole earth." They wanted to reach to the heavens. They wanted to be famous. They wanted to
be like God. Baked bricks and tar were the key to their fame and future, the way people today
talk about computers, the Internet, cell phones, and beepers.
But the way God saw it, one people with one language wasn’t a good idea. He knew what would
happen when sinners learned to cooperate. He knew how we could mess things up. The
ambitious city and the tower made of baked bricks were just the beginning. And so to protect us
from ourselves, God confused our languages and scattered us. And we’ve been babbling ever
since.
Have you ever wondered why some churches can’t hold it together? We’ve all seen or heard of
churches growing from almost nothing to a exciting, vibrant church. Membership increases
dramatically. They have several services, programs for every kind of situation. It’s the church to
belong to. They’re trying to build their own present day, personal tower of Babel. Pretty soon
the leadership fails, or division comes in because people come up with their own agendas, or
they stop communicating and the church splits, or becomes spiritually dead, or dwindles away to
nothing again. Lack of communication (or not speaking the same language) will always be a
divisive thing. The language or communications barrier will always keep us from being very
efficient at getting the job done.
By following the Lectionary, every three years we look at this story of the Tower of Babel on
Pentecost Sunday. Two completely opposite events come together today, Babel and Pentecost.
At Babel, God created confusion and scattered. At Pentecost, He created order and gathered. At
Babel, the diversity of tongues brought an end to the ambitions of men. At Pentecost, a diversity
of tongues marked the beginning of the preaching of the good news of Jesus to the nations of the
world. Babel and Pentecost are about language and how God uses it - to scatter and to gather.
At Pentecost, the scattered Jews were gathered for worship. Pentecost happened 50 days after
Passover. It was a harvest festival and there was a sound of violent wind, and tongues of fire.
Wind and fire signaled that this was something special, something big. The disciples were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in a variety of languages, languages they previously
couldn’t speak. The confusion of Babel was lifted, in a sense. The languages remained, but the
Holy Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak them. Everyone heard the good news of Jesus’
resurrection in their native tongue.
They said to the people, "This Jesus is for you." He isn’t only for the Jews, or for the Hebrew
people. He died for you. for your sin; He is your Savior. You can be sure of it because you are
hearing it in your own native language.
Pentecost says that the early Christians discovered unspeakable joy in the good news of Jesus
Christ. Again & again, Paul writes, "Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always, & again I
say, Rejoice!" You see, when you & I are saved by the blood of Jesus, & added to His family,
then God expects us to do the best we can to communicate that message to a lost & dying world.
That is the purpose of the Church. And we can’t keep it to ourselves. Nor should we.
I like the story about 3 prospectors who found a rich vein of gold in California during the gold
rush days. They realized what a great discovery they had, & decided, "We’ve a really good thing
going here as long as no one else finds out about it." So they each took a vow to keep it secret.
Then they headed for town to file their claims & get the equipment necessary to mine the gold.
They didn’t say a word to anybody. They filed their claim, bought the equipment, & headed back
to their mine. But when they did, a crowd followed them. Why? Because the expression on their
faces had given them away. Their faces were aglow in anticipation of the wealth that soon would
be theirs. People knew that they must have found something very special. So a crowd followed
them out of town.
A famous motivational speaker was once asked about his most difficult speech. He answered,
"Well, it was when I was asked to speak at a national convention of undertakers. My topic was to
explain to them how to look sad during a $15,000 funeral." You see, when there is joy inside, it’s
awfully hard to keep it from showing.
There was a preacher who was active in his local Rotary club. At club meetings each week a
member gives a brief statement about his job. When it was his turn, the preacher said: "I’m with a
global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We have our representatives
in nearly every parliament and board room on earth. We’re into motivation and behavior
alteration.
We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and
nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death.
We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants. Our
original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth plus an assortment of galaxies and
constellations. He knows everything and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking.
(There’s not enough money to buy it.)
Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn’t own a home, was misunderstood
by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a trial, and
arose from the dead--I talk with him everyday."
The church is the most amazing organization in the world!
God will not honor our purposes unless our purposes are the same as His purposes. God doesn’t
build a church to be a social club, but to be a symbol of His glory. Our unity is the foundation
that God gives us to reach out. If we quit reaching out, God quits blessing.
If we are to reach people for Christ we need people with passion and power. But we also need
people with a purpose. In the late 1800’s, trains dominated the transportation industry of the
United States, moving both people and goods throughout the country.
Then here comes the car—and the railroad industry didn’t take advantage of their unique
position to participate in this transportation development. The automotive revolution was
happening all around them, and they did nothing. Problem was, the railroad barons thought they
were in the train business. But, in fact, they in the transportation business. Time passed them by,
as did opportunity. They couldn’t see what their real purpose was."
If the railroad barons had understood what they were in,we’d all be driving a Gould and not a
Ford. Same thing in the watch and clock industry. The Swiss had dominated time keeping. They
made the most precise gears and springs in the world. Their watches and clocks were perfect.
Here comes the Quartz movement. Invented by a Swiss man. But because it had no gears or
knobs or springs it was rejected. They failed to recognize that they were in the business of
helping people tell time not making precision gears. They lost their dominance in the industry.
"If Sports Illustrated magazine understood it was in the sports information business, not the
publishing business, we would have the Sports Illustrated Channel, not ESPN."
And if we, as Christians, forget that our purpose is making disciples for Jesus Christ, we will
also become obsolete. If we lose our focus and get distracted by tradition, habit, custom, ritual,
routine, we will go the way of the trains, the Swiss, and Sports Illustrated. We must remember
our basic identity. We must fulfill our basic purpose.
To do that, God’s purpose must be our purpose. We must communicate with God and with each
other. If we do this then God will “...pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.......we shall see visions.....
dream dreams.......Then everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
