Pentecost 2016

Genesis is one of the most controversial books of the Bible.  Unfortunately it’s controversial for all the wrong reasons.  Some people insist that it is an accurate depiction of history.  Others say that’s nonsense.  Many people ask, “Is that really true?”  What gets lost in all of this is that Genesis is the first book of the Torah; the Torah being Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  It constitutes the core of Jewish scripture.  Harper’s Bible Dictionary calls the Torah the most complex writing known to exist from the ancient world.  Indeed it is multilayered and mind-numbingly complex.  It is amazing that a culture as small and insignificant as the ancient Jews would be the source of something so sophisticated.  If you ask yourself only questions about its historic reliability questions you’re sure to miss the rest.

It is significant to note that the New Testament writers, especially Paul and the author of 2 Peter do not confine Genesis to be historical.  Rather they interpret it symbolically and allegorically.

Our first reading is a reading you may know well, the story of the Tower of Babel.  There you have human beings getting together to use their brains to build a tower tall enough to reach God.  In our understanding of the universe we know this is impossible.  But if you literally think God is “up there” this sort of thing is understandable.

We don’t build towers to reach God these days, but we humans do try to use our brains to reach God – or at least think our human intellect is a god unto itself.  Many people think that with enough time and scientific discovery we can figure out just about anything.  There are plenty of jokes about scientists turning to God and saying, “We don’t need you anymore.  We can figure it out ourselves.”  Many a Tower of Babel has been built by scientific thought, only to collapse or be abandoned.

But it isn’t only scientific thinkers who believe they can reach a godlike status by their own abilities.  You may remember well that I have little regard for IQ tests.  I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a stupid human.  When I do premarital counseling with young couples who are planning on starting a family I tell them that no matter how well they think they know each other their children will know them better.  All children are experts on their parents.  From their first moment of consciousness they study and learn about their parents.  They are geniuses at getting what they want and need.  Even a newborn knows that if he or she cries eventually someone will respond.  It is a truly sad thing when you come across the baby who does not cry anymore because it has learned that it doesn’t work.

I’m sure you all can remember times dealing with your parents or a teacher or some caregiver and you wanted something, but you weren’t sure you were going to get it.  You pause and strategize.  What approach should you use?  Should you be extra kind and cooperative for a while before you ask?  Should you ask your father for something or your mother?  Which one is most likely to say yes?  Perhaps you can get them to fight with each other and you’ve learned that a fight between them may open the door for what you want.

The only truly stupid people are people who haven’t learned how to be manipulative.  And that is no one.

A man once shared with me how his two daughters had learned to manipulate him.  One day when he was working at home in his office his younger daughter came to him and asked if she could have a bowl of ice cream.  He said yes.  Then several minutes later he stepped out of the office to head to the kitchen and he saw his two daughters sitting on the sofa watching TV.  But behold, his older daughter was eating a bowl of ice cream, not his younger daughter!  He confronted her, “I never said you could have ice cream!” 

“I know,” she replied.  “She gave it to me.  I knew you would say no if I asked but you would say yes if she asked you.  So I had her ask you instead and then give it to me.”

It was one of those moments when you don’t know whether to blow up at your children or admire their brilliance.  Apparently he decided to go with the admiring their brilliance direction because he said, “You’re absolutely right.  Go ahead and eat your ice cream.”

No, there’s no such thing as a brainless kid.  And there’s no such thing as a brainless adult either.  We have all learned how to manipulate the people around us and the world around us.  Now, we may do it in benevolent and even selfless ways, but we all know how to survive.  And we know how to go about getting what we want.

Perhaps we don’t build towers to God, but it is only a small step to thinking we can manipulate God as well.

If the reading from Genesis is about building a tower to God then the reading from Acts tells us just how pointless that is.  Of course there is the connection between different languages forming at the Tower of Babel and everyone speaking different languages but still understanding each other on Pentecost.  There is something more too.

What does the Acts passage show us?  Can you ever control God, even just a little bit?  No.  Can you manipulate God into doing what you want?  Nope.  Can you predict or understand God's actions?  No.  No amount of intellect or manipulation, no tower and no theory or philosophy will ever get you in a place where God is in your hand.  The disciples did nothing to bring about the amazing events of that Pentecost day.  When Peter says, “Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning,” he is not ignorant of the fact that it is quite possible to have a terrible hangover from the night before, and it is of course quite possible to start drinking early in the morning and be drunk by 9.  He is referring to pagan rituals of the day where alcohol and drugs would be used to induce a trance-like stupor or experience.  They had done nothing to bring this about.  It was all God, and all unpredictable.

God’s unpredictability would be scary if God did not reveal his nature to be one that is gracious, merciful and loving.  And that is a very good thing.  Who really wants to be manipulative to get what you want?  And doesn’t all manipulation and deal making involve risk?  Any kid who’s ever had a sure fire plan for getting an adult to say yes to something has also discovered that sometimes the answer is still no.  And even if it is yes deals can still be broken.  People can be unfaithful.  Unforeseen circumstances can arise.  I wouldn’t want to live like that for eternity.

Let’s turn to our gospel reading and let it have the final word.  All throughout the Easter season our gospel readings were from John.  Here on Pentecost we have John again, and even next week we read from John’s gospel before returning to Luke.

You’ll remember that all of these gospel readings were convoluted and hard to understand.  Indeed, like Genesis, John is complex.  Our translations make it even more complex that it already is.  But John boils down to one simple point.  It is the Greek word menw.  It is variously translated, but it means to remain or to abide.  John uses it 34 times by my count – perhaps his most frequent word.

In our gospel reading Jesus says of the Spirit, “You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be among you.”  Elsewhere Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you.”  (15:4) When I think of abiding I imagine a little child curling up in the lap of a trusted adult.  It is so warm and safe and cozy and you can drift off to sleep in perfect safety and contentment.

That is what abiding in God is to be like.  That is what being in relationship with God is to be like.  It is not building towers or manipulating God or being terrified by what God does.  It is resting securely in God’s presence.  May you abide in God and have God abide in you always.