St John 14:23-31/Genesis 11:1-9/Acts 2:1-21
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Not only has the merciful love of God planned from eternity to grant us many blessings. Not only has the Second Person of the Holy Trinity taken up your frail flesh and blood, lived an obedient life, absorbed your vileness and filth into Himself, and innocently suffered death in your place. Not only has the Father raised Him from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of power.
Not only has He done all this for you, but He bestows upon you the Holy Spirit, who is the most gracious, most necessary, most blessed gift. For He leads, sanctifies, and governs you, even in this valley of sorrow.
This is Pentecost: the Holy Spirit distributing His most glorious gifts to the people from all nations under heaven. And the Old Testament reading sets the stage.
The Lord had commanded the sons of Noah and their descendants to be fruitful and multiply, to spread out across the earth. They rejected His plan for them and His commandment, remaining sedentary. Rather than trust in the saving Name of the Lord that redeemed them from the catastrophe of the flood, they schemed to make a name for themselves.
Instead of receiving the Word of the Lord that comes down from above, and the good and perfect gifts that He delights to give (cf Ja 1:17), in their pride they want to climb up to heaven by another way; to ascend to God by their own merits and labor. Is this not what is meant when they say, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed?
But the Lord refuses their form of idolatrous self-worship. He breaks all man-made ladders that attempt to climb to God. He comes down and confounds their speech and scatters them abroad. Once there was one people, one language. Even now, we are all descendants of Adam, by blood and by transgression; but in mercy our Lord has dispersed us. And different languages exist to keep the children of men from being more wicked than we already are!
And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
But then comes the events in Acts: the nations are gathered in, the language barrier is hurdled, and the Name unites them. Pentecost is the undoing of the curse of Babel; the reuniting of brothers and sisters divided by ethnicity, culture, economics, and language; diverse and separate, no more, but now one in Christ Jesus who transcends all these things.
For God has come down again; not by a man-made tower, but in the Temple not built with hands – in the person of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Indeed He is the Name above all names, in which the peoples are called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
And this gathering occurs through the preached Word, as Peter says, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, give ear to my words. They are the very words of Christ, crucified, risen, and ascended, who said, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word. And the Word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent Me. All language has its origin in God; all words have their source in the Word made Flesh. And all Christian community is precisely this – nothing more and nothing less than Jesus, given by the Spirit who proceeds from the Father.
This is the birth of the Church of God in Christ. She is not formed by the words of dynamic men, but by the dynamic Word of One Man, Jesus Christ. The Church, the true tower is always built by words. This is how Babel is undone. For here the nations are gathered into the holy City, heaven touches earth, and we have been made by the Name. We do not ascend on high, but the Lord has come down to us and pours out His Holy Spirit upon us.
And the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sends in the name of Jesus, He will reach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that Jesus has spoken. Words. The Word made flesh, your crucified, risen, and ascended Lord, who has gone to the Father – He is delivered to you by the preaching of the Holy Spirit.
Let not your hearts be troubled. Your Jesus has not left you. He comes to you in the preaching of His Word. We have a preached God. He caused His blessed Apostle’s to remember and record all that He said – for you – because He loves you. And when His words find a home in you it brings with it the blessings of the Holy Trinity.
This is the joy of Holy Baptism, dear children. The birth of the Church, taken from the womb of the font, forgiven all your sins in watery grave tinged with the Blood of Christ. You emerge, having been immersed in the Spirit and given a peace that the world does not give. The ruler of this world has no claim on Jesus. And no He has no claim on you either. For your identity, your name is tied to His Name.
And more: you are one people again, joined by the Word made flesh and given a common language, the language of faith, the confession of the Triune God. It is, dear ones, the language of the holy liturgy. Like a common tongue that unites the hearts and minds of people of all nations, tribes, and languages.
How do you learn this language? It is not a heart song, welling up from within. You learn this language of the Church, the mother-tongue of the Christian, as you learn any language: by immersion. Like babies listening to their parents and mimicking their sounds, toddlers speaking one and two words, children turning a phrase you know came from their mothers. This is how you learn the language of faith: the Word is put into your ears and strikes your heart, so that you love it and keep it. And so the Father loves you, and the Holy Trinity comes and makes His home with you.
This is Pentecost and it is not over. We may not have the excitement of the rushing wind or tongues of fire or fluency in unlearned languages, but by God’s grace and mercy, we still have His Word. We have the Good news of the wonderful works of God for us in our own language. We have the Spirit who entered into us in Holy Baptism and has been pleased to dwell in us for mercy’s sake. We have the Word made Flesh in the Flesh, given to us for the forgiveness of sins, the strengthen and nourish us. We have the shed Blood spilled by Calvary’s violence to appease God’s wrath. That Blood speaks a better Word than the blood of Abel. For it comes from the tower that is opposite that of Babel – the tower of the crucified Christ.
Soon all things written shall be fulfilled. All the elect will be sealed and Pentecost will be over. We will reside in our Father’s house where there is but one language, one song, one holy, no longer waiting people! He will not ask you to endure a minute longer.
But for now we wait, living in these Pentecost days of conversion and mission. We rejoice in the peace that is already ours. A peace that passes all understanding. No, the peace and joy will not end, but our suffering shall. The trumpet shall sound. The dead shall rise. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
To the Son be all glory and honor, who with the Father and the Spirit is one God, now and forever. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Not only has the merciful love of God planned from eternity to grant us many blessings. Not only has the Second Person of the Holy Trinity taken up your frail flesh and blood, lived an obedient life, absorbed your vileness and filth into Himself, and innocently suffered death in your place. Not only has the Father raised Him from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of power.
Not only has He done all this for you, but He bestows upon you the Holy Spirit, who is the most gracious, most necessary, most blessed gift. For He leads, sanctifies, and governs you, even in this valley of sorrow.
This is Pentecost: the Holy Spirit distributing His most glorious gifts to the people from all nations under heaven. And the Old Testament reading sets the stage.
The Lord had commanded the sons of Noah and their descendants to be fruitful and multiply, to spread out across the earth. They rejected His plan for them and His commandment, remaining sedentary. Rather than trust in the saving Name of the Lord that redeemed them from the catastrophe of the flood, they schemed to make a name for themselves.
Instead of receiving the Word of the Lord that comes down from above, and the good and perfect gifts that He delights to give (cf Ja 1:17), in their pride they want to climb up to heaven by another way; to ascend to God by their own merits and labor. Is this not what is meant when they say, Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed?
But the Lord refuses their form of idolatrous self-worship. He breaks all man-made ladders that attempt to climb to God. He comes down and confounds their speech and scatters them abroad. Once there was one people, one language. Even now, we are all descendants of Adam, by blood and by transgression; but in mercy our Lord has dispersed us. And different languages exist to keep the children of men from being more wicked than we already are!
And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
But then comes the events in Acts: the nations are gathered in, the language barrier is hurdled, and the Name unites them. Pentecost is the undoing of the curse of Babel; the reuniting of brothers and sisters divided by ethnicity, culture, economics, and language; diverse and separate, no more, but now one in Christ Jesus who transcends all these things.
For God has come down again; not by a man-made tower, but in the Temple not built with hands – in the person of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Indeed He is the Name above all names, in which the peoples are called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
And this gathering occurs through the preached Word, as Peter says, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, give ear to my words. They are the very words of Christ, crucified, risen, and ascended, who said, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word. And the Word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent Me. All language has its origin in God; all words have their source in the Word made Flesh. And all Christian community is precisely this – nothing more and nothing less than Jesus, given by the Spirit who proceeds from the Father.
This is the birth of the Church of God in Christ. She is not formed by the words of dynamic men, but by the dynamic Word of One Man, Jesus Christ. The Church, the true tower is always built by words. This is how Babel is undone. For here the nations are gathered into the holy City, heaven touches earth, and we have been made by the Name. We do not ascend on high, but the Lord has come down to us and pours out His Holy Spirit upon us.
And the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sends in the name of Jesus, He will reach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that Jesus has spoken. Words. The Word made flesh, your crucified, risen, and ascended Lord, who has gone to the Father – He is delivered to you by the preaching of the Holy Spirit.
Let not your hearts be troubled. Your Jesus has not left you. He comes to you in the preaching of His Word. We have a preached God. He caused His blessed Apostle’s to remember and record all that He said – for you – because He loves you. And when His words find a home in you it brings with it the blessings of the Holy Trinity.
This is the joy of Holy Baptism, dear children. The birth of the Church, taken from the womb of the font, forgiven all your sins in watery grave tinged with the Blood of Christ. You emerge, having been immersed in the Spirit and given a peace that the world does not give. The ruler of this world has no claim on Jesus. And no He has no claim on you either. For your identity, your name is tied to His Name.
And more: you are one people again, joined by the Word made flesh and given a common language, the language of faith, the confession of the Triune God. It is, dear ones, the language of the holy liturgy. Like a common tongue that unites the hearts and minds of people of all nations, tribes, and languages.
How do you learn this language? It is not a heart song, welling up from within. You learn this language of the Church, the mother-tongue of the Christian, as you learn any language: by immersion. Like babies listening to their parents and mimicking their sounds, toddlers speaking one and two words, children turning a phrase you know came from their mothers. This is how you learn the language of faith: the Word is put into your ears and strikes your heart, so that you love it and keep it. And so the Father loves you, and the Holy Trinity comes and makes His home with you.
This is Pentecost and it is not over. We may not have the excitement of the rushing wind or tongues of fire or fluency in unlearned languages, but by God’s grace and mercy, we still have His Word. We have the Good news of the wonderful works of God for us in our own language. We have the Spirit who entered into us in Holy Baptism and has been pleased to dwell in us for mercy’s sake. We have the Word made Flesh in the Flesh, given to us for the forgiveness of sins, the strengthen and nourish us. We have the shed Blood spilled by Calvary’s violence to appease God’s wrath. That Blood speaks a better Word than the blood of Abel. For it comes from the tower that is opposite that of Babel – the tower of the crucified Christ.
Soon all things written shall be fulfilled. All the elect will be sealed and Pentecost will be over. We will reside in our Father’s house where there is but one language, one song, one holy, no longer waiting people! He will not ask you to endure a minute longer.
But for now we wait, living in these Pentecost days of conversion and mission. We rejoice in the peace that is already ours. A peace that passes all understanding. No, the peace and joy will not end, but our suffering shall. The trumpet shall sound. The dead shall rise. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
To the Son be all glory and honor, who with the Father and the Spirit is one God, now and forever. Amen.
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