| Redeemer Lutheran Church 1084 W. Bullard Ave. Fresno, CA 93711 Phone: (559) 439-8500 Fax: (559) 439-8585 office@redeemerfresno.com The Reverend Clarence Eisberg Phone: (209) 725-9082 Cell: (209) 631-3108 pastor@redeemerfresno.com Worship ~ 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Family Ministries ~ 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion ~ 2nd & 4th Sundays |
| Connecting People to Jesus www.lcms.org |
The Reverend Clarence Eisberg |
| “Boasting Can Be Dangerous” |
| In Jesus Holy Name Genesis 11:1-2,4 I would like for you to imagine a scene with me for a moment. You are a licensed and bonded bricklayer. You are on your way to work at one of the most prestigious and momentous building sites in the world. You are laying the brick foundation for the tallest religious building ever built a temple of monumental size. It is to be a temple that displays the authority and power of the people who are building it. Until today, the building of the temple had gone smoothly. Until today, all the crews working on the site were able to communicate with one another and work together in unison…carpenters with bricklayers with plumbers, plumbers with electricians and electricians with foremen, foremen with architects. Today, as one support wall and the flooring beneath it were brought together, a strange thing happened… the craftsmen, were unable to communicate with one another. No only did you not understand one another’s “trade talk”, it appeared you were not even speaking the same language. As the workers tried to communicate….the support wall began to sag and collapse… no one could understand each other mass confusion rippled across the work site ... the sub floors like dominoes began to cascade down on top of one another. The site was soon abandoned. People drifted away finding others who spoke the same language. (read the text) There is perhaps no construction project more familiar to us in the entire bible than the building of the tower of Babel. This is not a nice story at which we can look and simply reply…”Oh, what a nice story about how there came to be different languages.” The story of the tower of Babel is the story of harmony destroyed, the story of unity destroyed by the sin of pride, the worship of man instead of the worship of God. V 4 “They wanted to make a name for themselves” The world is an unsettling and disturbing place. The consequences of the Tower of Babel are still with us. Given enough time, enough energy, enough knowledge, human skill will fly you to the moon…. Enough time and money and there will be medical miracles by the thousands. Enough time and knowledge and man can build twin towers that withstand hurricane force winds, earthquakes and fire… they dominated the sky line of major city…. until they came into the flight plath of two planes. Mankind’s ability to conquer the world, to use technology and science can bring great benefit to humanity, but it can also lead to the worship of man instead of the Creator who gave the gifts of knowledge, creativity and skill. Proverbs states: “When pride comes, it is followed by disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” (11:2)”Pride goes before the fall..” (16:18) Here’s the flaw at Babel… “By doing something great I can become someone! By doing that which benefits humanity… God will look upon my labor and find favor in my labor.” When the Children of Israel, having experienced God’s miracles in Egypt and having experienced His guidance through the Sinai wilderness for 40 years, were about to enter the promised land God spoke to them. He said: “I am the one who delivered you. I am the one who made sure that you were fed. I am the one who made sure your clothes did not wear out. I am the one who has brought to this point in time.” When you enter the land, I promised you.. I want you to remember… “You will be tempted to say: “My; power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth…” don’t believe it! That’s what God’s people in every generation are to do. We are to remember. Remember God who has given us everything. It ought to be easy. It ought to be elementary. But it isn’t. As proof I can say that every nation in the history of the world has managed to forget God and succumb to the sin of pride. Every nation which has become a global leader, after having enjoyed a few generations of prosperity, looks around and concludes that they, not God, have earned what they have. These nations are very much like the family in “Grimm’s Fairy Tales. You may remember the story of the father, mother, and son, who lived in the grandfather’s house. Grandfather had gladly welcomed his extended family into his home. He made it clear that everything he had should be considered theirs. Saying he really didn’t need such a big place. Grandpa’s bedroom was soon given to the mother and father; his fields were planted and harvested as if they belonged to the mother and father. As first the young family was most thankful. But, then as the years past, grandpa’s presence in their lives became a burden, a nuisance, a disgrace and embarrassment. When friends came to call, grandpa was shuttled off to the upstairs. When conversation was made at the dinner table, grandpa was ignored. The food fell of the fork, hit his shirt, and ended up staining the table cloth. Upset over the mess the mother talked with her husband and they decided to move grandpa away from the table. And so it was. Grandpa was given a spot in the corner of the kitchen where he could sit on a stool and eat from a bowl. He sat in silence, watching his family eat his food, from his plates, in his kitchen. Then on day, as the mother was bringing food to the table, it looked like she would trip on one of her son’s toys. Grandpa raised his voice and called a warning. As he stood up to catch the mother the food went flying. Distraught, grandpa’s son shouted… “If you can not eat better than a pig, then you shall eat like a pig.” And the son built a small wooden pig trough for his father. Grandpa was banished from the kitchen and moved to the front porch. There, by himself, he ate his meals out of the trough of a pig. Things might have stayed that way for ever, if it had not been for that day when the mother and father came upon their little boy laying out in the yard with some small pieces of wood. They asked, “what are you making?” With pride, the boy held up his project, smiled, and said, “I’m building a trough for you and mama. That way, someday, when I’m big, I’ll be ready to feed you the same way you feed grandpa.” “Now, because this is one of Grimm’s happy ever after fairy tales, the story ends with the mother and father realizing grandpa’s value, bringing him back to the table, and being appreciative of all he had done for them. This is a fairy tale, but fairy tales do not always translate into real life. The truth, many nations of the world have banished God to a corner and are even now, in classroom and courtroom, debating about whether they should put Him out on the porch. They want God out of the way so they can convince their people that they, not God are the providers of everything. They may roll God out for elections, but most of the time they want him in the corner. Christians are not immune. James says it better than I ever could. “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. The desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:14- 15) Left on our own, believers are tempted and often end up committing the same transgression as do unbelievers. Pride or boasting about our business success, our church, our or ____________. The congregation at Corinth allowed the sin of pride, you know… “I’m better than you…” “My gifts are better than yours..” destroy the fellowship. (read I Cor. 11:17-22) Read Deuteronomy 8:10-11,17-20 Babel stands as a warning against human pride, the desire to replace the worship of God with the worship of man. Like the grandfather in the story, God waits patiently. God waits patiently for people to invite Him to their family dinner tables, to welcome Him back into their homes, and thank him for the ability, the wisdom, he has given. Understand, God does not force you to remember. He wants you, voluntarily to remember. God in mercy waits. If God were to deal with us justly, this world would never see the dawning of a new day. If he were to punish us for all our transgressions, the breath that now fills your lungs would be your last. God has offered you forgiveness and freedom from your past sins, Satan and death. Jesus came into our world to die on the cross in our place. He restores peace and harmony. |
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