"When the holy day of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover, they were gathered together in one place.
Picture yourself among the disciples:
A sound roars from the sky without warning, the roar of a violent wind, and the whole house where you are gathered reverberates with the sound. Then a flame appears, dividing into smaller flames and spreading from one person to the next. All the people present are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages they’ve never spoken, as the Spirit empowers them.
Because of the holy festival, there are devout Jews staying as pilgrims in Jerusalem from every nation under the sun. They hear the sound, and a crowd gathers. They are amazed because each of them can hear the group speaking in their native languages. They are shocked and amazed by this...
Whoever made a place for his [Peter] message in their hearts received the baptism; in fact, that day alone, about 3,000 people joined the disciples.
The community continually committed themselves to learning what the apostles taught them, gathering for fellowship, breaking bread, and praying. Everyone felt a sense of awe because the apostles were doing many signs and wonders among them. There was an intense sense of togetherness among all who believed; they shared all their material possessions in trust. They sold any possessions and goods that did not benefit the community and used the money to help everyone in need. They were unified as they worshipped at the temple day after day. In homes, they broke bread and shared meals with glad and generous hearts. The new disciples praised God, and they enjoyed the goodwill of all the people of the city. Day after day the Lord added to their number everyone who was experiencing liberation."
Acts 2: 1 - 7; 41 - 47 (The Voice)
The Spirit of Communication: In the story, we hear that the Holy Spirit gives the disciples the gift of being able to speak in different languages, so that every one of their audience understands them.
Communication is the creation and exchange of meaning. Good communication is therefore vital to healthy spiritual community. Sustaining good communication is not simple. We are highly complex beings and our communication is complicated. There are many factors influencing how we communicate, including culture, education, upbringing, neurodiversity, context, energy and emotions. We have many means of communication now, in addition to face to face interactions. We can use the telephone, email, text messages, social media applications, and so on. So many ways to be understood and so many ways to be misunderstood!
Unitarians can be fond of using many words, but words are only a small part of communication. When we communicate face to face, much of our communication is nonverbal, such as body language and facial expression. Electronic communication can be easily misinterpreted because words are isolated from nonverbal cues that provide more information. Whatever the mode of communication, the message sent is not necessarily the message received, because both sender and receiver must filter the message through their thoughts and feelings. Asking for feedback is the only way to be sure that our message has been understood in the way we intended it. Every message has content, conveyed by words, and feeling, expressed through the nonverbal cues of body language, gestures, facial expression, tone of voice, emphasis, and volume. If the content and feeling do not match, the feeling usually carries more weight, for example, if we say “I'm not angry with you” in a loud angry voice.
Different forms of neurodiversity may affect some aspects of communication strongly. For example, people on the autistic spectrum may use direct and honest speech, which may be perceived as rude. They may find it hard to pick up on nonverbal clues and to participate in small talk, which for neurotypical people can be an important part of socialising. I have recently become more aware of aphantasia, a form of neurodiversity which includes the inability to visualise pictures in the mind while awake. “Picture yourselves among the disciples” - the phrase used by the author of The Voice bible translation – would be largely meaningless for someone with aphantasia.
Being aware of these differences can help us learn about how we might adjust our communication so that we might be better understood by others. How we communicate with each other is important and so is how we talk to ourselves. I don't mean walking round the house muttering to myself, although I do that too. What I mean is the internal dialogue inside our minds.
Valarie Kaur, in See No Stranger, talks about the inner voices that exist in her mind, the voice of fear and the voice of wisdom. The voice of fear, which she calls “the Little Critic”, shames and judges her. He says things like, “What will people think?” “What's wrong with you?” “They're going to eat you alive!” Here's what she says about the voice of wisdom, which she calls “Wise Woman”, “Her voice is quiet. There is so much noise in my mind – the Little Critic but also the cacophony of noises from the outside world, an endless stream of breaking news and social media and other people's thoughts. I have to get really quiet in order to hear her. How do I know when I am hearing her voice? She is tender and truthful. She is not afraid of anything or anyone. She does not give me all the answers, but she does know what I need to do in this moment – to wonder, grieve, fight, rage, listen, reimagine, breathe, or push. She helps me show up to the labor as my best self... My most vigilant spiritual practice is finding the seconds of solitude to get quiet enough to hear the Wise Woman in me.”
Just as we stillness and quiet help us to tune in to our own inner wisdom, some of the most powerful communication between people can be entirely without words. Consider what Thich Nhat Hanh says in Peace is This Moment about what we can transmit and receive in silence, through energy and presence, “You don't need to talk to communicate. If you sit and radiate peace, stability, and joy, you are offering something very precious to the other person. If the other person is truly present and sitting with solidity and peace, you can receive a lot of energy from them. True communication is possible in silence. Silence can be very elegant.”
This brings me to the Spirit of Fellowship. The Apostles are sharing the Gospel, the good news, of the transformative power of joining the fellowship of the followers of Jesus Christ. The Spirit inspires the new and growing community to share everything – bread, prayer, possessions. What is the good news of Unitarianism? We may no longer speak in terms of forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation, but we do invite people to experience our transformational fellowship – a place where all are welcome, where people are loving and forgiving, where we share from our hearts, where the Spirit of Life connects us and inspires us to lead good lives. May we have the courage to spread the liberating message of our Unitarian faith and issue an open invitation to join our transformative fellowship for those who find a place for it in their hearts.
I have spoken about the importance of the way we talk with each other and ourselves, but let us also remember that actions speak louder than words. Our Unitarian movement is founded on deeds not creeds. Our forebears who had the courage to break away from the established church and its elaborate creeds and rituals were inspired by the simplicity of the early Christian community as described in the Acts of the Apostles. I believe this is a vision of unity that can inspire us today – gathering for fellowship and worship, sharing with those in need, with glad and generous hearts.
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