Genesis 11:1-9
Been mulling over this passage more than with anything for a while, and I may linger here for a while yet. I’ve preached on this probably a half dozen times but I’m looking at this in new ways. So far, every time humanity has messed up, God has pronounced some judgment on it, but there has been a way through. This seems different. Is the scattering here simply on judgment on human temerity? Is it, in a more positive sense, God’s way of further fulfilling his will for humanity to go forth and be fruitful? Is it both? This is the end of what the scholars call the “primeval history” section of Genesis, with the beginning of the story of Israel about to begin in Chapter 12. What’s the significance of that? Stay tuned. I think we'll spend a few days at this transition point.
Prayer:
God your Word is both mystery and truth. Thank you for the marvelous ways in which you have shared yourself and your will with your creatures. Give us a special measure of discernment as we enter into this part of your Word. Direct us through your Word to the living of our personal lives and the shaping of our life as your church for our place and time. In Christ. Amen.
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3 comments:
'go vertical,' you said a few weeks ago. in abandoing the tower of babel, i guess it wasn't time for humanity to go vertical yet. what was the original language? let's presume it's the one noah and adam and eve spoke, and indeed, the one used in the garden of eden. not speaking the original tongue strikes me as a further metaphor of our difficulty in communicating with god. another metaphor: building a tower with human-made bricks, not god-made stone. i guess we, as a species, weren't ready to be in full communion with god, then (and we're still working on it, eh?).
OK, here is God talking again to someone ABOUT humanity. WHO is he talking to? "Come, let us go down" I think it's like a father talking with a mother.
Humanity is always focussed on setting itself apart from Nature. I wonder how God will scatter our bricks now? We certainly don't speak with one tongue now.
"nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them" .... we gotta get in on "the plan."
"the plan" -- god's plan? to love god with all our body and heart and mind and to love one another as we love ourselves.
our lives are so short how could we plan otherwise. i can't make reliable plans on my own, plans apart from god, a week ahead.
but we, as a community in midland, are planning for growth. the box stores on 93 and by wal-mart are just the latest in our local babel. site 41 is another folly.
i listened to the all-candidates meeting on tuesday, and thankfully there are candidates who stress caring for local community first. not surprisingly, these candidates are active in their churches:
pat file and zena pendlebury (ward 1) are from st. paul's, and peter thomas (ward 2), director of the food bank, is from the salvation army, i assume; also, gord mackay was very impressive; i don't know if he attends church, but is coordinator of the out of the cold program and evidences other acts of loving one another.
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