The Gift of Unity

Acts 2 v. 4 ‘All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability’

Many of us will have enjoyed foreign travel; some of us will have been bold enough to venture on our own and forgo the security of the organised tour. It can be wonderfully exciting – an opportunity to immerse oneself in the culture of another people. But trying to book a hotel room with the aid of a less than perfect phrase book, or understand the explanation of the car mechanic as to why your car won’t go – it is at times like this that we may wish we enjoyed the gift of the apostles that first Pentecost. Trying to express our self in another language can be frustrating – how easier if we all spoke the same language.

There is a story in Genesis which seeks to explain this division – men and women built a tall tower in the plain of Shinar, attempting to reach the heavens and, by implication, to be like God.  As a result of this act, God scattered the peoples at Babel; they all spoke different languages, now divided and separated from each other and from God. This is a story that would have been known to Luke and in the outpouring of the Spirit that first Pentecost, the unity, lost at Babel, is now restored. This is surely the point of this story – unity – God’s gift to men and women and the truth which underlies the apostles’ ability to speak in different languages. A cynic might remark that the Jews present in Jerusalem for the festival would probably all have spoken some form of Greek, but, again, this is to miss the point of the story. This story is so much more than the ability of the apostles to express themselves in different languages. It is nothing less than a revelation of the nature of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is manifold – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control as Paul reminds his friends in Galatia. To these fruits Luke would add sharing – sharing the good news with all around, and unity – unity between God and men and women.

This is the unity which comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus; sin has been defeated and we have the possibility of new life, new beginnings. As we celebrate the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, perhaps we can reflect on how we show God’s gift of unity in our own lives. Unity is not uniformity – that quality is left to best dairy butter – it does not mean being all the same. But it does mean accepting each other in love and humility by seeking to express our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ, redeemed by his love and empowered by the Spirit. 

The Revd Derek Spears is vicar of Earley St Peter’s, Berkshire.