Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 11:1-9 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 11Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. Verse 2And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. Verse 3And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Verse 4Then 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."
Verse 5The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. Verse 6And 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. Verse 7Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech." Verse 8So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Verse 9Therefore 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.
Devotion
Babel is closer than we think; in fact, it’s here everyday. Far from being a mere mythological story stuck in ancient cosmology, Babel is the real life of our world. In the disturbing drama of the same name, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are not having a good time. She is snipered in Morocco. Their kids are kidnapped in Mexico. All the diplomacy in the world can’t stop circumstances from crushing them.
Babel is wherever people are at each other’s throats, or stuck in situations that bring out their fear, anger, resentment or violent behavior. We all harbor certain ideas about who’s in our community, coupled with prejudice against outsiders, outcasts and strange foreigners. It’s into this world that the promise and reality of God’s life-giving spirit invades. That Holy Spirit invades through words. Only the word of the gospel of Jesus can make that new world.
Prayer
Lord, pour out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth. Help me to be a gospel word today for those who live on the outside edge. Amen.