There is but one body and one Spirit—just as you were called into one hope when you were called.
Unity. It is the theme of World Communion Sunday. But when we talk about “unity” in the church, what are we really talking about? Are we talking about everyone believing the same thing, thinking the same way, being on the same page when it comes to matters of faith and practice? Are we talking about sharing the same set of values and moral principles? Are we talking about one particular style of worship? What does “unity” in the church really mean?
I believe the ancient story of the Tower of Babel can help us with this.
In the eleventh chapter of Genesis we read:
“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. 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 whole earth was one. One language. One people. One tribe. One race. And they all came together to live in one place. They all came together to build something special, something great, something wonderful that would be a symbol of their unity.
Unity, oneness, togetherness, harmony, people of the same minds living in one accord. Isn’t this the will of our God, God’s great purpose for humanity?
So what’s not to like in this seemingly perfect picture of unity in Genesis chapter 11? As it turns out, according to God, the creator of all that is, not very much.
Let’s look at God’s reaction to this oneness in verse 7 of our story: “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…”
What? Are you serious? What is wrong with this great portrait of human unity, of one race of people, one nation, one language, all of one mind, coming together, to build something great, to celebrate the pride of one master race?
The truth is that the builders of the great tower in Shinar had accomplished not what God wants for humanity, but what many throughout history, including the likes of Adolf Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan, have wanted for humanity: One master race of people coming together to form one supreme social order, one culture, sharing the same ideals, values and moral principles.
For so many, diversity is a threat. Diversity is something to fear. Diversity is something to segregate and discriminate. Diversity is something to scapegoat. Diversity is something to send to the gas chambers, lynch in the trees or shoot in the streets.
I am not sure if anyone in my lifetime has articulated the thinking of the people of Shinar better than Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker back in 1999. Some of you may remember his response when he was asked by Sports Illustrated if he would ever play for the New York Mets or New York Yankees.
Rocker said:
“I’d retire first. It’s the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the number 7 Train to the ballpark looking like you’re riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing… The biggest thing I don’t like about New York are the foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there.”[i]
The story of the Tower of Babel teaches us that what John Rocker said “racked his nerves” in the world is exactly what God wills for the world. In verse 4 we read that the purpose of building the tower was to avoid what depressed John Rocker on the No. 7 train leaving Manhattan for Queens, and to avoid what John Rocker heard in Times Square.
The purpose of settling in Shinar and building that tower was to live in a world with no foreigners, no confusing babbling in the streets, no queers or kids with purple hair to encounter on the way to work, no eating in the marketplace with people on strange diets, no rubbing elbows with people wearing weird clothes, head coverings or dots on their foreheads.
No sitting in the same pews at church with people dress differently than we do on Sunday morning and definitely no people who think differently, believe differently, or worship differently.
The people in Shinar said: “We will be truly unified! We will look alike, think alike and believe alike. We will sing worship alike, sing alike and pray alike.”
So they came together and said, let’s build a tower of unity “to not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
And God’s reaction to this kind of unity? Let’s “scatter them over the face of the whole earth,” to create a world of diverse languages and cultures, to create a world of foreigners.”
God was only accomplishing what God had always willed for the creation: diversity. In chapter one of Genesis, we read that the original plan for creation was for humankind to “multiply and fill the earth.” And after the flood in chapter ten we read where God sanctions and wills all nations to be “spread out over the earth.” (Gen 10:32). Simply put, from the very beginning of time, in spite of our will, in spite of our fear and our racial or cultural pride, God wills diversity.
Therefore, if we ever act or speak in any manner that denigrates or dehumanizes another because of their race, gender, language, beliefs, dress, nationality or ethnicity, we are actually disparaging the God who willed such diversity. According to Genesis, diversity is not to be feared, avoided, prevented, lynched or shot. If we want to do the will of God our creator and redeemer, diversity is to be welcomed and embraced. In other words, if we love God, we will also love our neighbor.
And this is what should unite us as Christians!
It is the love of God for all of us, a love that God wants us to share with others that unites us.
I believe it’s why Jesus called it the greatest commandment. Loving God and neighbor is what should unite us; not race, not correct doctrine, not a set of beliefs, not one style of worship, but love. It was Disciples of Christ forefather Thomas Campbell who said: “Love each other as brothers [and sisters] and be united as children of one family.”
And the Apostle Paul wrote: “I therefore beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.”
The story of God’s displeasure with the Tower of Babel is God’s gracious stamp of approval, of blessing, on every race, every tribe, and every language in every land. It is the fulfillment of God’s original purpose for creation. The song we learned as little children cannot be more true: “Red, yellow, black and white, they are all precious in God’s sight.”
God is not color-blind, as I hear some say, for God creates, wills, blesses, and loves color. And it is this love that unites us all, as we have all been created to harmoniously see humanity as God sees it: as a beautiful, diverse, colorful rainbow created by, sanctioned by, and graced by God.
As Bible-believing Christians, our nerves should never be racked on Sunday mornings, [as my mama used to say, we should never get in a tizzy!) if we look around the congregation and see some diversity—see some folks who not only dress differently and look differently, but see folks we know believe differently, live differently, worship differently, interpret the Bible differently, and yet they still choose to partner with us through this church, united by a commitment to share the love and grace of Christ we have all received with the world.
And it should rack our nerves all to pieces on Sunday mornings, if we look around the congregation and only see a bunch of folks who look just like us.
And if we are not immensely bothered by a lack of diversity in this sanctuary, if we are not partners in ministry with those who differ from us, if we would rather remain homogenous by remaining divided, I believe we need to remember not only this story in the first book of our Bible that describes a beautiful and diverse creation willed by God, but I also believe we need to think about a about a passage in the last book of our Bible that describes a diverse eternity willed by God.
And we must as ourselves the question: If diversity bothers us now, what are we going to do when we get to that place we think we’re are going after we die to live forever and ever.
Because guess what? According to Revelation, heaven looks more like Times Square and that No. 7 train on the way from Manhattan to Queens than some affluent suburb outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
In Revelation 7, we read these words:
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’
And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures [each representing the diversity of all creation], and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.
Let us pray: Thank you O God for the diversity that is in this place we call Central Christian Church. Help us to accept it, embrace it, love it, as we partner together to be the church you are calling us to be in this city and in our world.
[i] Read more: John Rocker – At Full Blast – York, Braves, City, and League – JRank Articles http://sports.jrank.org/pages/4014/Rocker-John-At-Full-Blast.html#ixzz39oVUCEtA
Just Love 