Rev. Anton Lagoutine
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Newsletter Aug 06: America: Babel or Pentecost? - 2006/08/21 22:00
America: Babel or Pentecost?
“There is neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28)
For millions of people their America began (and still begins) with the Statue of Liberty. “Give me your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” are the beginning words at the base of the statue. And so for the millions around the world, their journey to America begins with the visions of this land of the free, symbolized by the copper figure on the Liberty Island. Not that every person dreaming of one day seeing Liberty Enlightening the World will ever get to see it. But those who do get to come to the land of the free, especially via JFK – the modern day equivalent of Ellis Island – are greeted by the most recognizable symbol of the United States as their plane approaches the John F. Kennedy International Airport in Jamaica, Queens, NY. A very emotional moment for so many people, greeted by loud exclamations, laughter, tears, as passengers crane their necks to look out the airplane windows, eager to see the greenish lady with a torch. “Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (Statue of Liberty plaque.)
Whatever the “golden door” might be – an international airport or a bridge across the Rio Grande – what awaits the newcomer is not all gold, milk and honey. It is the land of different customs, language, traditions, and expectations. It takes a long time to get used to all of these diverse aspects, and some people never do get used to this new life. May be because they find themselves not in what has been called “a melting pot,” where every “wretched refuse of your teeming shore” (yet another line from the Statue of Liberty plaque) comes together and blends together. Rather, the situation is more reminiscent of the Tower of Babel, and we don’t mean the language aspect alone. The language side of it can be overcome (though one has to question the wisdom of the bilingual direction our powers that be have taken.) It is a lot harder to overcome all the other differences, namely cultural, sociological, historical, and the like. Thus too often we remain in this Tower of Babel situation, where our differences (highlighted by the linguistic gap) spread us apart.
What can bring us together? There is another passage in the Bible, a reversal, if you will, of the Tower of Babel experience. Whereas in the Genesis 11 narrative we find people no longer able to communicate with each other, thus loosing their ability to function as a unified society, in Acts 2 we find that people “came together … because each one heard them [the disciples] speaking in his own language.” From that day forth, the Word of God has been proclaimed all over the world. The Word of God overcame (and still overcomes) all the barriers: cultural, ethnical, sociological, and the like. It is only through the Word of God that we can and will become one: “There is neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28)
Rather than concentrate on all the differences we all have with our neighbors, let’s concentrate on the One that can make us one in Him. To that end, come and join us in discovering the possibilities of being once again united in Christ. We will be meeting on August 13th and 27th at Holy Cross Lutheran Church 612 S College Ave in Newton. Watch the bulletin for more announcements and talk to either one of the following: Doug Travis, Jennifer Ingle, Courtney Sigmon, Michelle Taylor or Pastor Lagoutine.
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