EGOTISM
- May 20
- 1 min read
Look what happened to the people who built the Tower of Babel. They said to themselves, without any reference to God whatsoever:
Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves (Genesis 11).
What was the result of this godless egotism?
The Lord dispersed them all over the face of all the earth.
Its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth and dispersed them.
Common language collapsed. Communal life disintegrated.
In our time, genuine discussion has become more than difficult. Shared values are no longer.
Pentecost reverses the disorientating experience of Babel:
Something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire. These separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech (Acts 2).
The tongues are symbolic:
The tongues symbolise eloquence.
The light from the fires symbolises wisdom.
The warmth of the fire symbolises love (St. Robert Bellarmine).
Speak with eloquence, wisdom, and love. Things will change – quickly.
AMEN.
