From Tower to Steeple

Delivered by Rev. Jonathan Oh of West Tokyo Union Church on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025 during the joint bilingual worship service with Japan Evangelical Lutheran Mitaka Church.

英語のテキストの後に日本語があります。

Passages:

Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSV)
The Tower of Babel
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 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.” 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Acts 2:1-24 (NRSV)
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd (Joel 2:28–32)

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

22 “You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— 23 this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24 But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.

John 14:8-17 (NRSV)

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

Sermon Text:

Opening Illustration: I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up in the United States, one of the biggest things that we wanted as teenagers was to be able to drive. I got my driver’s license at 15, and as soon as that happened, I had the freedom to drive and to get out. I was no longer dependent on my parents to get me to places. The freedom to get out, to meet with friends, and to do stuff… that was really really awesome.

**導入**: 皆さんがどうであったか分かりませんが、アメリカで育った私にとって、十代のころに一番欲しかったものは運転免許証でした。15歳で免許を取得したとき、まさにその瞬間、運転してどこかに行くという自由を得たと感じました。自分で車に乗れるようになったことで、親に頼らずに行ける場所が増えたからです。出掛けたり、友達と会ったり、いろいろなことを体験できるという自由は、ほんとうに、ほんとうに素晴らしいものでした。

Freedom: Being able to be free and to do things with others is not a bad thing. Look at what our world has been able to do when we work with others. We can find solutions to problems. We can fix things that are broken. We can achieve positive things in the midst of a negative situation.

**自由**: 自由になって、他の人と一緒に何かをできるというのは、悪いことではありません。みんなと力を合わせることで、私たちの世界が何を成し遂げることができるか想像してみてください。問題を解決したり、壊れたものを直したり、困難な状況の中にあっても、前向きな成果をあげることができたりします。

Extreme: However, we also know what can happen when we are driven as a group to do things that can hurt others. We end up oppressing people. We end up opposing good. We end up seeking to dominate others and to be in power.

**極端**: しかし同時に、集団となって他の人を傷つけるといったことも起きると、私たちは知っているはずです。私たちは人々を圧迫して追い詰めたり、善いことに反対したり、他人を支配し、力を求めるようにもなるのです。

Passage: We see that happening here in today’s passage from Genesis. God had created the world, and the people multiplied. They were living together and working to achieve great things. Except they had failed in one critical way - their desire to achieve and to succeed clouded their desire to be in relationship with God. Instead of a relationship to grow with God, they wanted to become free from God - they wanted to make a name for themselves and rebel against God. Instead of looking upward to their Creator, they desired to build a tower against the God of Heaven. The pride that the people had, along with their common culture and language, made it easy for them to think that they could work against God and to rival what God could do.

**物語**: 先ほど読んだ創世記の箇所にもそのことがよく表れています。神は世界を造り、人間が増えていきました。人々は共に暮らし、素晴らしい成果を上げようとしていました。しかし、彼らはある決定的な点で失敗するのです。自分たちの望むことを達成し成功したいという願望が、神との正しい関係に生きたいという思いを邪魔してしまったのです。神との関係の中で成長する代わりに、彼らは神から自由になることを求めます。自分たちの名声を高めようとして、神に逆らったのです。自分たちを造られた創造主である神を見上げる代わりに、彼らは天におられる神に対抗して、高い塔を建てようとしたのです。人々の自信と驕りが、自分たちの文化や言語が一つであることとあいまって、彼らは神に逆らって神の力に対抗できると考えてしまったのです。

Languages: And so, God in great wisdom chose to shake things up. Instead of a common language, God separated them by changing up how they spoke. The people now had diverse tongues. They could no longer easily communicate or collaborate, and therefore, everything that they attempted in building a great tower became nothing more than a bunch of babbling people - which is why the whole situation was known as the Tower of Babel. The tower could no longer be built, and everyone scattered from there.

**言語**: 神はしかし、事態を正そうと決めます。一つの言語を話していた人々が、異なる言葉を話すようにと変えたのです。その結果、人々はさまざまな言語を話し、互いにコミュニケーションをとることが、容易にはできなくなりました。彼らが塔を高くするために必要としていたすべては、今や、意味をなさない言葉をただぺちゃくちゃと―英語だとバブリングですが―言い合うだけになったのです。これが、この塔が「バベルの塔」という名前で知られるようになった理由です。塔は建設されず、すべての人々はそこを離れ、散って行きました。

Gospel: And yet, this was not the end of the story. For God, these things are never the end of the story. God is a God of redemption. Soon after this incident, God began working through Abraham and the people of Israel to unfold the story of redemption. Over many years, God patiently demonstrated His love to them, and over time, this eventually led to the coming of Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the enmity between God and man was wiped away, brought together by the blood of Jesus. This is what we have been celebrating in particular during the past several weeks of Easter.

**救済**: しかし、物語はここで終わりません。神にとって、これらのことは決して終わりではないのです。神は、救う神だからです。この出来事の後まもなく、神はアブラハム、そしてイスラエルの人々を通して、救いの物語をつむぎ始めます。長い年月、神は忍耐強く人々への愛を示し、長いときを経て、それはついには神の子、救い主であるイエスの到来へとつながりました。キリストの死と復活を通して、神と人との間にあって関係を邪魔してきた敵意は取り払われ、神と人とはイエスの血によって一つに結び合わされたのです。私たちは特に、イースタにはじまるここ数週間、このことをおぼえ祝ってきました。

Redemption: And then, today, we read another important chapter in the story of God’s work of redemption. In our Acts 2 passage read in many different languages, the Holy Spirit rushed in among the disciples who had been waiting as Jesus commanded them, and all of a sudden, Jews who had been scattered to lands all around Europe and Asia but had come into Jerusalem for the feast, heard the Good News of Jesus in their own native languages. People who were divided by language and culture were able to have peace with God and with one another in Jesus Christ. No longer was language a barrier to hearing the work of salvation and redemption. Now, the people could hear and believe. And in this, people who had been scattered thousands of years before are now brought together in Christ, given new life and redemption in Jesus.

**贖い**：そして今日、私たちは神の救いの物語におけるもう一つの重要な章を読みました。多くの異った言語で読まれた使徒言行録2章は、イエスの言葉に従い待っていた弟子たちの間に聖霊が突然降りてきたことを、そして、普段は各地に散らばって住み、しかし祭りのためにエルサレムに集まっていたユダヤ人たちが、この弟子たちによって、自分たちの母国語でイエスの福音のメッセージを聞いたと伝えます。言語や文化で分断されてきた人々が、イエス・キリストにおいて神と、そして互いに、平和を持つことができたのです。もはや言語は、救いと贖いの業を聞くにあたっての障害ではありません。なぜなら、今や人々は、聞くことができ、信じるようになったからです。数千年にわたって散らされ、分断されていた人々が、キリストのうちに共に集められ、イエスのうちに新しい命と贖いとを与えられたのです。

Diversity: Christ, in His life on earth and His death on the cross, showed that salvation was never just for the Jews. God wanted to redeem the world, people from every nation, tribe, and tongue, and reconcile them to Himself. Instead of the people building a tower of rebellion to make a name for themselves, they instead are gathered together underneath a steeple of a church pointing upward in worship of the name of God. Instead of raising fists of rebellion, we bow our knees to our King, worshipping Christ, whom the Father has set all things before His feet. And members of the Church, the body of Christ, consists of people from all different nations. We can see that in God’s work of scattering the people in Genesis, God was merciful. The people were not scattered beyond despair, nor were they confused beyond understanding. We see the beauty of the languages that God created at that time, and on Pentecost many years later, God poured out His Spirit so that the people would hear the Good News in many different tongues because the message of the Gospel is for people everywhere.

**多様性**: その地上での生活と十字架の死をとおして、キリストは、救いはユダヤ人だけのものではないと示しました。神は世界を、あらゆる国や部族、言語の人々を贖い、ご自身と和解させたいと考えていました。人々は、自分たちの名誉のために神への反抗の塔を建てる代わりに、神を賛美する、上を向いた尖塔に象徴される教会に集まります。神に拳を振り上げる代わりに、私たちは私たちの王の前に膝をつき、父なる神がすべての物をその足元に置いたキリストを礼拝するのです。そしてキリストの体である教会に集まるのは、あらゆる国から来ている人たちです。創世記で神が人々を散らした出来事の中に、私たちは神の慈しみを見ます。人々は絶望へと追い込まれたわけではなく、理解を超えた混乱に陥ったわけでもありませんでした。そのときに神が造られた諸言語には、美しさがありました。そして、長いときを経たペンテコステに、神は、様々な言語でよい知らせを聞くことができるようにと、人々に聖霊を注ぎます。福音のメッセージは、その人がたとえどこにいたとしても、その人に、そしてすべての人に向けられているからです。

Point: God demonstrates His love to us over and over again. We celebrate Pentecost because it is when we see the birth of the Church, when God shows His love again - this time in a way that brings shalom, harmony, and unity in Christ. Sisters and brothers in Christ, let us rejoice in this amazing work of peace and reconciliation that Jesus accomplished on the cross and unfolded in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. As the disciples testified to the work of salvation, may we, empowered by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, also in our speech and actions testify to the grace that God has given to us. May we declare the love of God to our neighbors here and far, for we build not a tower for ourselves but declare the goodness of God to the glory of God forever. Amen.

**教訓**: 神は私たちへの愛を、繰り返し示してくださいます。私たちがペンテコステを祝うのは、それが神が再びその愛を示された教会の誕生だからです。神は教会を通して、キリストにあるシャローム（平和）や調和、一致をもたらしてくださるのです。キリストにある兄弟姉妹の皆さん、十字架でイエスが成し遂げ、聖霊の注ぎによってもたらされた平和と和解という素晴らしい業を喜びましょう。弟子たちが神の救いの業を証ししたように、私たちも、聖霊によって力づけられ、言葉と行いとによって、神が私たちに与えてくださった恵みを証しすることができますように。私たちが、近く、また遠くにいる私たちの隣人たちに、神の愛を宣べ伝えることができますように。なぜなら私たちは、自分のために塔を建てるのではなく、神のすばらしさを、とこしえに、神の栄光のために宣べ伝えるからです。アーメン。