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| Preaching to the choir | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 10 2006, 03:31 PM (201 Views) | |
| Dewey | Mar 10 2006, 03:31 PM Post #1 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Well not the choir, but to the class. Here's the latest sermon for my class, to be delivered tomorrow morning. We were supposed to preach on any story from Genesis or Exodus. Instead of picking one of the "majors" in these books, I decided to opt for one far less frequently preached on, just to make it a little more challenging. In all honesty, I wish I hadn't done that; of the ones I've done for the class, I like this one the least. The sermon includes a few images in a powerpoint presentation that you'll just have to imagine - there are only a few of them, and they're really not crucial to the message anyway. Anyway, for your alleged reading pleasure: "The Tower of Babel" Genesis 11:1-9 "Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. " =============== As an architect, when I read this particular story, it always makes me a little nervous. You know, here we are, just eleven chapters into Genesis, and we’re looking at with the Biblical beginning of the architectural profession – and God isn’t really very happy about it. I mean, I’ve had to deal with my share of jobsite difficulties myself, but when your project is be so offensive that the Lord and Creator of the universe personally steps in, stops the work, and scatters your crew, that’s a pretty bad sign. This story is probably a pretty familiar one to most of us since our childhood Sunday School classes. It’s one of the earliest stories in the Bible, that pretty much follows right after the story of Noah and the Ark. It’s the Biblical account of how the re-dispersion of people occurred after the flood; and how our different languages came about. A lot of people view the story of the Tower of Babel as purely allegorical – just a quaint old fairy tale invented by the ancient Israelites to explain human migration and where all of our diverse languages came from. And maybe it is all or partly allegorical. But interestingly, in the last hundred years or so, linguistic experts have come to believe that all human languages really do have a common basis; that they all point back to a single, common “precursor language” that they’ve all spun off from at some dim point in ancient history. And over the last 20 or 25 years, DNA research has pretty much discovered a single common thread of human lineage from which we’re all descended. So I don’t know, it seems the more we learn about our early origins, the more possible this story actually becomes. And then there’s this. [Slide 1] This is an archaeological ruin from ancient Babylon. It’s the remains of a huge tower, of a type common to the time and place of its construction. If you remember your junior high school days, or if you’re a fan of the History Channel, you know that these towers were called ziggurats, and they were built in a sort of stepped, almost pyramid style. Since there wasn’t much good stone for building available in the area, this ziggurat was built out of kiln-fired clay brick, held together with tar mortar, just as was described in the Biblical account. [Slide 2] Here’s an artist’s recreation of what the whole, completed tower would have looked like, based on these and other archeological ruins of similar towers throughout the region. But probably the most interesting thing about this particular site is the inscription found on its base, put there by King Nebuchadnezzer, that essentially reads: “I, King Nebuchadnezzer, finished the construction of this tower. It was started many years ago, by those who came before us; but their work displeased God, and God forced the work to stop by scattering the workers to many different lands and giving them all many languages, so they couldn’t understand each other. The unfinished tower fell into disrepair, but was still structurally sound; so I repaired the lower levels and finished the upper levels, to complete the tower.” Based on this inscription, most archaeologists do consider this to be the ruins of the actual Tower of Babel. So maybe this Biblical story isn’t entirely as allegorical as some people have thought. To help put this thing in perspective, [Slide 3] here’s a building in downtown Columbus that many of you might be familiar with. It’s called One Columbus, and it sits on the northwest corner of Broad & High Streets. This picture was taken in front of the Ohio Theater, and is looking north across the front lawn of the Statehouse. The LeVeque Tower is just out of the picture; it sits just to the left of this building. Using this building as a reference, how big was this tower? [Slide 4] Based on archeological reconstruction, these two buildings would have been just about the same height, each just about 300 feet tall. In actual ‘footprint,” [Slide 5] here’s a typical floor plan from One Columbus. The building is 185’ wide and about 100’ deep. [Slide 6] Here’s the footprint of the Tower – it’s about 300 feet square. You can see, this was a big, project, especially considering when it was built. Despite the shortness of the story, it had to have have taken years to build this thing. Now, it’s interesting to think about the actual size and characteristics of the Tower itself might have had. It helps to kind of put meat on the bones of the basic story, and to give us a mental picture as we read it. But really, the importance of this story to us today doesn’t have anything to do with the tower itself, or whether that particular site is the real Tower of Babel. Whether the story is factual or not really isn’t important to its real message to us. God wasn’t upset with the people building the tower because there was anything inherently wrong with building, even building as big as this. No, this project displeased God because of the reasons the people gave for building it. What were they? Were they building it to glorify God, to do God’s will? No. The story tells us that they wanted to build it to make a name for themselves. They set out to build this city, and this tower, to show how strong, and smart, and powerful - how great -they were. You can almost see some ancient Bablylonian equivalent of Donald Trump, complete with big ego and bad hair, putting the whole deal together. The tower was a symbol of the people placing themselves and their own interests above God. And what was the second reason they gave for building the city? So they wouldn’t have to be scattered over the face of the whole earth. But that’s exactly what God had told them to do – spread out, keep moving, repopulate the land. Be pioneers, on the move. Yet here they were, apparently getting comfortable in the settled life. Got a good job as a supervisor at the brick plant, with good pay and benefits. The 401k plan’s starting to build up. Nice house in a quiet neighborhood, on a cul-de-sac, with a view of the Hanging Gardens. Good school for the kids. Once a year, take the family on vacation to the beach. Can you see the picture? They started to enjoy the comforts of staying put, and setting down roots, regardless of what God had told them to do. So finally, God steps in and says, “All right, enough! You don’t want to listen to me? You want to ignore me and follow your own path, again? Don’t you remember that whole flood thing? Didn’t you learn anything?! You want to ignore my call to you, and get comfortable? I’ll scatter you. You want to make a name for yourselves? I’ll give you one. Babel – “Confusion.” And of course, the not-so-subtle message here is that it’s exactly the same with us. We can relate to the desire to settle down and take root. Let’s face it, it’s pretty much the goal in life for most of us. But if we’re not careful, we can fall into the same two traps as these ancient tower builders. We can allow ourselves to think we got where we are by our own hard work and intelligence, and to get caught up in the comfort of our own day to day life. And eventually, we stop listening for the voice of God to guide our lives. And then, things change. We lose a spouse. We develop a health problem. The union votes to accept a contract concession, and money’s going to be a lot tighter. Your best friend since grade school tells you he’s gay. Your son tells you he’s not sure he believes in God. And just like with those ancient tower builders, all of a sudden, we’re knocked out of our comfort zone. We find ourselves in unknown territory, and in uncomfortable circumstances. I’m not saying that everything that we experience in life that throws us a curve is some direct, divine punishment for something we’re doing wrong; I don’t believe that. But I do believe that God allows us to have to deal with these things, in order for us to refocus our attention back onto him - to grow, and become stronger in our faith, and to be able to hear God’s will for us more clearly. The third chapter of the Book of Proverbs puts this real message of the Tower of Babel this way – it says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don’t rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Sometimes, we have to have our self-importance and comfort stripped away in order to learn how to do that. And that can really stink. And it can be painful. And it can make us mad at God, and sometimes, in our darkest moments, maybe wonder if God even exists at all. But in the middle of all that, we have to remember this: that even with the builders of the Tower of Babel - even after putting a stop to their grandiose plans, and scattering them across the land, God didn’t forsake them. He didn’t hate them, or give up on them. He had great plans for them. In fact, the next story in Genesis is one of the greatest expressions of God’s love for humankind ever - the story of God’s establishment of his covenant with Abraham and his descendants. And it’s the same with us. If we believe in Christ, we know that even in the depths of our discomfort and doubt, God hasn’t given up on us; he loves us. And he’s building a tower of his own design for our lives - one better than any we could ever come up with for ourselves. God has a plan for us - and in Christ, we know that it’s a good plan, even when we can’t see the end of the road, or the top of the tower, ourselves. Amen. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| The 89th Key | Mar 10 2006, 05:20 PM Post #2 |
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Very nice Dwain, it would be wonderful to sit in one of your classes one time. Just a personal note, you might want to add: As an architect, when I read this particular story, it always makes me a little nervous. You know, here we are, just eleven chapters into Genesis, and we’re looking at with the Biblical beginning of the architectural profession – and God isn’t really very happy about it. [Wait for laughter]I mean, I’ve had to deal with my share of jobsite difficulties myself, but when your project is be so offensive that the Lord and Creator of the universe personally steps in, stops the work, and scatters your crew, that’s a pretty bad sign.[Wait for laughter]
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| big al | Mar 10 2006, 05:21 PM Post #3 |
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Bull-Carp
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Dwain, do you only deliver your message to the class for critique or is there a preaching assignment in the pulpit somewhere now or later? I think you have discerned a valid message for us today from a very old story that as you point out has a tendency to simply become just that, one of those stories we heard as a child in Sunday school. I like your idea of reviving it as a text with a lesson for us now. Big Al |
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Location: Western PA "jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen." -bachophile | |
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| Dewey | Mar 10 2006, 05:44 PM Post #4 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Al, I have an assignment to preach for evaluation by our regional "Committee on Ministry" next month. After that, and completing the final quarter's classes of this first year, I'll be considered a "Certified Lay Preacher," which means I'm elegible to fill in for out-of-town pastors. After completion of the second year, I'll be a "Certified Lay Pastor," which makes me elegible to not just fill in, but pastor a congregation. So while these sermons that I'm doing for the class aren't specifically destined for future use with a congregation, they may, or may not, be pulled out some time. If I'm asked to stand in for some pastor who was suddenly ill or had to run out of town for some emergency, and I didn't have time to prepare a new one, I could see dusting off and delivering one that was already "in the can," assuming it went well the first time. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| Dewey | Mar 10 2006, 05:52 PM Post #5 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Actually 89th, you've hit on a very important point. When I prepare this, I hear it in my voice, delivered to specific people whose lives I know a bit about, and I know when and where I'm going to pause, or speed up, or give an ornery smile, or thump a finger on the pulpit, or let my shoulders drop after making one point and before developing it further. There's no way that just the written words can ever capture that. If it were just writing, it would be written very differently. You may even have noticed that my wording in that sermon is somewhat diffeent than the way I usually write here online, specifically because it's a written "representation" of something that is primarily to be expressed orally, and in person, and of the moment. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| Mikhailoh | Mar 10 2006, 07:28 PM Post #6 |
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
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Dwain, if I were not tied up this weekend I should love to come hear you teach sometime. It would only be an hour or two drive for us. |
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Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
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| Larry | Mar 10 2006, 07:56 PM Post #7 |
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
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Dwain, that was excellent! |
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Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
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| Dewey | Mar 10 2006, 07:57 PM Post #8 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Mik, when I'm not just doing this for a closed class or the COM, but for the "real world," I'll let you know. Who knows, our Presbytery runs from just south of Toledo down to Portsmouth. If I get asked to fill in for some pastor in, say, Washington C.H. or thereabouts some Sunday, it wouldn't even be that long a drive - and I'll keep you posted. (although that exact example probably isn't likely, as one of my fellow classmates lives in Washington C.H.) |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| Dewey | Mar 10 2006, 08:00 PM Post #9 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Thanks Larry! I'm actually sitting -well, standing - here working on its delivery right now, at a makeshift "pulpit." I'll admit, I'm having more problems "internalizing" this one than the others I've done for some reason. And it's continuing to be revised for better speaking, I've made several changes to it since I posted it here. I've got to get this down soon, I have to be at the church by 8:30 tomorrow morning, and I definitely need my beauty sleep beforehand. :lol: |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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