When we hear the phrase, "babbling fools," we think of people who are speaking, but not making sense. Two women were awaiting their turns at the beauty parlor. "Did you know," said the woman reading the article in the magazine, "That it takes seven Angora goats to make one of those beautiful sweaters you see here? That’s what the article says."

The other woman, looking up from her magazine replied, "It’s really wonderful what they can teach animals to do these days, isn’t it?" Babbling fools.

A pastor in an agricultural community was asked to perform a wedding, and he invited the young farmer and his sweetheart to his office for pre-marriage counseling. The pastor told them about some of his expectations and that they would have to have a blood test.

As the couple left that session, the prospective groom pulled the pastor aside and said, "Sir, can you tell me the best way to study for that blood test?" Babbling fools.

A man, wishing to embarrass the local pastor, rose and suddenly called out quite loudly, "There is no God."

The pastor went to him, calmly laid his hand on his shoulder, and said, "Friend, what you have said is not at all new. The Bible said that more than 2,000 years ago."

The astonished man replied, "I never knew that the Bible made such a statement."

The pastor replied, "Psalm 53:1 tells us, `The fool says in his heart, there is no God.'' But there is one great difference between that fool and you. He was quite modest and said it only in his heart; he didn't go about yelling it out for the entire world to hear." Babbling fool.

Earlier, our passage from Genesis detailed a story about whom some could call babbling fools . . . literally. This is only ten chapters away from the garden, where God had created life, and all is fruitful and multiplying and lush and teeming with species. This took place after the story of Noah and the flood. The previous verses detailed Noah’s descendants. Life on earth was fairly uncomplicated. This passage is before the call of Abram, the creation of God’s chosen people Israel, and the Ten Commandments. Everyone spoke the same language and used the same words.

This nomadic people moved east and chose a flat plain in which to settle. They decided to give some permanence to their new settlement, so they made bricks and began to build a city. They also decided to build a skyscraper, in hopes of making a name for themselves. As I said earlier, this people were not given the name of Israel until later. They were nameless, yet wanted to have a name, so they decided to make a name for themselves. They also wanted to stay on that plain, rather than be scattered abroad; God had told Noah to fill the earth; these on the plain were contented to stay right where they were and control how their future might unfold.

God noticed this tower and knew the consequences of their actions. Their desire to stay in one place and try to outsmart God was foolish. Relishing in status quo existence undermined God’s desire for humans to have free-will; speaking, thinking and acting alike defied God’s intention for creation. So God decided to garble their speech. Without the commonality of language, they failed to communicate and thus scattered abroad. They were speaking to each other, yet not being understood.

This happens even today. A teacher in Tennessee tells about reading one-on-one with a first grade student who encountered the words "thank you" for the first time in print. Hoping the student would use some of her newly learned reading strategies, the teacher gave the girl plenty of time to work out the words herself. After a few moments though, the teacher actually said the word "thank." When the student didn’t respond, the teacher said more emphatically, "Thank. Thank."

The little girl responded in her native Tennessee twang, "I AM thanking. I AM thanking."

While we sometimes have difficulty understanding our different dialects, those in the Genesis passage could not understand each other, because they were actually speaking different languages. Verse nine from The Message translation reads, "That's how it came to be called Babel, because their God turned their language into "babble." From there, God scattered them all over the world." The people in Genesis 11 could be called babbling fools.

Our texts were read from three languages; hopefully as you read these texts from an English Bible you gained an understanding of Genesis 11 and Acts 2, even though most of us could not understand the German, Korean, and Spanish. While H.O., Suki and Lisa all spoke with discernible inflection, I don’t know those languages, therefore I didn’t understand a word they were saying. But as I read the English texts as they were reading the texts in a different language, I experienced a glimpse at what happened at Pentecost.

Our New Testament text today essentially is the reverse of the Tower of Babel story. What was read from Acts 2 details what happened fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus. The Pentecost text begins similarly to the Babel text. The Old Testament passage began, "Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words." Our New Testament text read, "Many were gathered together in one place." While the texts begin in similar fashion, they have very different outcomes. One hundred twenty people were gathered in Jerusalem and after the arrival of the Holy Spirit, they began to speak different languages, just as had happened at Babel, but on Pentecost, individuals understood each other, even though they were speaking different languages. The miracle was in the hearing.

Because it was a festival time, many Jews had come to Jerusalem for the celebration, and they began to witness the commotion. Something unexplainable was happening. People from every language group surrounding the Mediterranean Sea were speaking in their native tongue and were being understood.

In January 2000, my family left about a foot of snow in Kenbridge, Virginia and spent four days at Disney World. The Magic Kingdom and the other three parks truly were everything they had been billed to be. Friendly people; clean parks; beautiful landscaping; blue skies and warmth in January; our stay was magical. Yet, a surprise greeted us as we visited Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios; a variety of languages filled the air. I heard words uttered from languages whose homes spanned the continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, and I rarely understood any word spoken.

Perhaps, that same curiosity was the talk of Jerusalem: people from all over the known world speaking different languages, but at Pentecost, what they said was being understood. And this became news.

Phenomenons which are inexplicable create their own stir. No spin from the local broadcasters proved necessary for the locals to ask questions about what they witnessed and heard. "What does this all mean? There has to be meaning behind it."

And the only plausible answer offered by the nay-sayers was, "They are drunk; they are just a bunch of babbling fools whose intake is now playing tricks on people who think they are comprehending what is being said."

Peter, who at this point in his life lays claim to the mantle of leadership and has the backing of the remaining disciples, offered a rebuttal by preaching a sermon using the prophet Joel as his text. "Here’s the deal: while you might be saying, ‘It’s 5:00 somewhere,’ it’s only 9:00 in the morning, and it is far too early for these people to be drunk. Joel predicted that this would happen; remember what he said would happen in the last days? The only pouring this morning has been the pouring of God’s Spirit on every kind of people. Sons and daughters will be preaching; young and old will be looking to the future, because it will be bright. While people may think that the end has come, that life is hard, and that hope is scarce, take heart: the end has not happened yet.

"The presence of the Holy Spirit will provide the assurance that God will never leave anybody, no matter the circumstance; instead, whoever calls out to God for help, will be saved." No doubt that even then, some called Peter a babbling fool after hearing his sermon espousing equality among people, upholding God’s presence amid confusion, and offering a God of hope rather than a God of wrath. Those who preach these messages today are also called babbling fools by some.

Perhaps like at Pentecost with the miracle coming in the hearing, many today are dubbed "babbling fools." We sometimes call those who don’t exhibit their smarts by what they say "babbling fools." With a literal play on words, we call those at the Tower of Babel "babbling fools." Those who didn’t understand what was happening at Pentecost could have called those speaking different languages and being understood "babbling fools." Many who heard Peter’s sermon could have called him a "babbling fool." Perhaps interpretation of the content rather than the content itself determines if a person can be called a "babbling fool."

In his first letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul wrote, "For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God . . . For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe." (Verses 18 and 21) We know that our preaching is not only in words and more often should come in our deeds. Because Paul preached about a God who loved the world enough to send Jesus to die for us, some called him a "babbling fool." The gospel which Paul preached was called foolish by some people.

Seven days ago was Youth Sunday; our youth offered us a thought-provoking and challenging worship service and provided us an introspective Sunday School lesson asking us how we live out our role as the Body of Christ. We also heard from six high school seniors, one of whom is now a high school graduate. Their words of how to cooperate and operate as the body of Christ gained authenticity by their actions. Some might call those six youth "babbling fools," but that label would only come from those who don’t accept this inclusive gospel and from those who don’t appreciate how the body of Christ works.

Jennifer concluded that worship service with a quote from Margaret Meade, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can make a difference; in fact, it is the only thing that ever has."

Some may call us "babbling fools" for believing and saying that God can make a difference in this world. Others may call us "babbling fools" for acting as the Body of Christ cooperatively, doing more together than we could do alone. If that is the case, count me, along with the Apostle Paul, among those who are considered babbling fools, for I wholeheartedly believe that God through the Body of Christ can and does continue to make a difference in this world. I do think that a small group of thoughtful people can make a difference. I do believe, as foolish as it sounds, that love does conquer all. I am convinced that God has no favorites, and that every person is equal, created in the image of God. I do want my life to communicate that nothing is more important than my allegiance to Jesus Christ, even though in some circles I am called a fool.

Join me in being a fool for Christ, not only believing that God loves us all the s that a small group of thoughtful people can make a difference ame, but foolishly sharing that love with others.