READ: GENESIS 11: 1-18
At one time the whole world spoke a single language and used the same words. (V. 1)
Just before dawn, a massive explosion, followed by a bright fireball extending hundreds of feet into the air, rocked the neighborhoods around a bridge that crossed over Interstate 495 near the Maryland and Virginia line. I was in the last hour of my tour of duty as the Midnight Duty Commander and sitting in the 911 Center chatting with some of the Dispatchers. Suddenly the phone banks lit up like a Christmas Tree. Early morning commuters and residents were beginning to report the huge fire engulfing the overpass. Realizing my tour of duty had just been extended by a “major incident,” I immediately left the communications facility and headed for the scene. I arrived with the first Officers and Firefighters. What we encountered was a blazing inferno with heat so intense it was melting the bridge.
The incident was the result of a gasoline tanker truck striking the support structure of the overhead bridge. The resulting explosion and fire had incinerated the truck and several vehicles that had been behind it on the highway. The fires intensity prevented any active rescue or damage assessment missions. Due to the magnitude of the event, normal communications were somewhat chaotic and disorganized. Officers at various locations were trying to give the 911 Dispatcher an assessment of the situation from their unique positions. Many kept repeating the need to immediately close down this major traffic artery to avert additional loss of life. Until we could get the Mobile Command Bus on the scene, we designated a “communications car.” This individual would be responsible for relaying the on- scene priorities and needs to the 911 Center in an orderly single voiced manner. Communications Center personnel now had one voice, instead of many, providing details and coordinating what was initially needed to overcome the challenges ahead (Securing and placing additional personnel; getting proper fire equipment and a Foam Truck from a major airport to suppress the blaze and closing down a major artery at rush hour). The establishment of effective and purposeful communications, combined with a large dose of God’s grace, enabled us to establish control over the disaster scene.
The result of the bridge meltdown incident would had been much different had we failed to get control of the communications process and left it proceed to the point of “Babel.” In today’s reading from Genesis, the people displayed unity of purpose and expressed through a common form of communication. However, instead of using these gifts from God to glorify Him, they used them to draw attention to their own achievements. Their haughty pride was brought low when God disrupted their basic communication process, reminding them who was really in charge. Pride and self-centeredness, no matter the generation, always defeats our purposeful communication with God.
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Are you building towers of Babel or actively communication with God?
Dear Lord, teach us to be humble in prayer, our direct line of communication with you.