Have you ever considered the Tower of Babel
and wondered why, why on earth or in heaven
would the good God decide that it would be a wonderful idea
if we no longer understood one another?
That this separation would rid us of the ridiculous notion
that we were like gods unto ourselves, able
to reach into the clouds of glory and heave down
the throne of the Almighty?
But then, to look at it another way,
what if God were saying that as long as we
only talk to those who speak our language
already, who conspire already to affirm that we are
made in the very image of gods, icons and idols,
so long we are missing more than half
of our humanity
What if God, in dividing were inviting us,
instead of looking within, to seek out the borders
of our understanding in order to
uncover the foundation that is
more solid than brick, mortar, and blather,
the incomprehensible mercy of a curious love?
The Revd Rosalind C Hughes is an Episcopal priest, author, and poet, who serves as Rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Euclid, Ohio. She is the author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing (Upper Room Books, 2020), and blogs at over the water/rosalindhughes.com