BABEL OR PENTECOST

Reflections for Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13, & John 20:19-23)

The feast of Pentecost is widely referred to as the “birthday” of the Church. On this special day, we ask ourselves an important question: what kind of Church are we building? The readings of this Sunday propose two opposing models for our introspection: the Tower of Babel (Vigil Mass) and the Pentecost (Day Mass). Let us draw insights from these two contrasting models for the three vital pillars of the Synodal Church that we are building together.

1. Communion - Babel’s Uniformity or Pentecost’s Unity: Babel speaks one language (Genesis 11:1). At Pentecost, the Apostles address each one “in his/her own native tongue” (Acts 2:8). Joel Green, a New Testament Scholar in Seized by Truth (2007, p.29) argues that the wickedness of the Babel project is best betrayed in its reference to ‘one language’, a metaphor in the ancient Near East for the subjugation of the conquered peoples by forcefully imposing upon them the language of the conqueror. The Pentecost community of Luke was itself experiencing this linguistic imperialism in the form of imposition of Greek following the conquest by Alexander the Great. To Babel, linguistic unity is the guarantee of a monolithic empire: one language, one people, and one kingdom. This uniformity principle is also the premise of all totalitarian states and kingdoms.

Newer versions of this imperialistic linguistic uniformity continue to echo in our own history while movements around the world continue to resist their imposition (resistance of Hindi in Tamil Nadu, English in Spanish-speaking parts of the USA, Russian in Belarus, French in Breton (France) and Flemish regions (Belgium) to cite a few examples). In stark contrast to Babel’s uniform monolithic city, Pentecost builds a community speaking diverse languages. Unity is not uniformity! The Holy Spirit does not build unity by eliminating diversity but by amplifying it. While the proliferation of languages leads to profound disunity at Babel, linguistic plurality leads to the recognition of new identities and the creation of a profound unity in diversity. The uniformity of Babel disperses, while the diversity of Pentecost begins the gathering of all nations and peoples.

2. Participation - Babel’s Self-sufficiency or Pentecost’s Dependence: In the plain of Shinar, the citizens of Babel come together for a rather unholy intention: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth”. The Babel building project is self-referential and solely depends on the strength of its own prowess and resources. The synodal path is essentially overcoming this risk of becoming an auto-referential community. Through listening, sharing, and collaboration, the Church wishes to shed its image of an inward-looking Babel community to become a community attentive to the promptings of the Spirit outside its traditional walls and boundaries. While our resources, strengths, and individualities do enrich the identity and mission of the Church, our building project is not aimed at self-preservation or hoarding power.

In his first Urbi et Orbi message, Pope Benedict XVI said, “His task (as Pope) is to bring the light of Christ to shine before the men and women of today: not his own light but that of Christ". We do not bind people to us; we do not seek power, prestige or esteem for ourselves. He had warned the Church against a pathology that continues to afflict our synodal path: the risk of relying on structures, the danger of wanting to 'count' on the world stage in order to be 'relevant'. At Pentecost, the disciples gather not in their own name but in the name of Jesus. The Church is theocentric and is conscious of the fact that it owes its existence to the Father who gathered his children through the sacrifice of His only Son and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is evident in Peter’s proclamation: Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." (Acts 3:6). The irony of Babel is that the more we seek to become self-reliant, the more we become vulnerable. Pentecost teaches us that our greatest strength is our docility to the spirit! Let us join the early Church gathered in Prayer at the Eucharistic Upper Room along with Mary and the apostles, acknowledging that our greatest security is our dependency.

3. Mission - Babel’s Discontinued Project or Pentecost’s Continuing Mission: Despite their overwhelming differences, there is an interesting similarity between the two episodes. At Babel, people come together (11:2) and are then scattered abroad (11:9). At Pentecost too, people come together (2:5) and are then scattered abroad (1:8). The scattering at Babel is a result of confusion created by the breakdown of communication and finally causes the people to abandon their project. Whereas at Pentecost, the scattering of the disciples helps the mission and builds bridges for the communication of the Good News. While at Babel scattering is seen as an act of judgment in response to disobedience, at Pentecost, it becomes a blessing that helps the disciples continue the project of building the Church to our day and age.

In pastoral terms, this perspective leads us to redefine the notion of belonging to the Church, no longer as an exclusive or isolated community of baptised members. The ongoing task of overcoming the dichotomy between the Church and the world (secular and sacred) is to reimagine the ecclesia as a community "dispersed" in the vast cultural, social, political and ideological diasporas of our secular societies, defined by their pluralism and heterogeneity. In accordance with Christ's kenotic model (self-emptying to become a servant), the Church is called to propose a different way of living as free subjects, responsible before God, and a counter-cultural way of relating to otherness. The Spirit continues to “scatter” us in our respective mission fields. Let us pray on the birthday of our Mother Church, for the gift of true communion that is built on unity in diversity, for the courage to be a participative Church dependent on the guidance of the Spirit and for the willingness to scatter in search of the peripheries in order to establish missionary bridges of communication. Let Jesus breathe on us (John 20:22) today to recreate (Genesis 2:7) His Church!