(Jesus said) “Stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

Pentecost, the day of fire and wind, of confusion and exuberant joy. A day of mystery with the Divine working in human lives. A day of promises fulfilled, of young men and women prophesying and the old dreaming dreams. 

After pondering what it meant to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit’s coming, the small community of Christ followers, searched the scriptures. In the prophet Joel, they found words that made sense of what they were experiencing on the first Pentecost.

“This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.’” Acts 2:17-18 (Joel 2:28-29)

Jesus said they would receive power when the Spirit of God came upon them. And power they did receive. These frightened disciples, who were hiding in fear just weeks before, boldly proclaim that Jesus was the Christ, the son of God, the one who came to save.

These once frightened disciples go off into the world spreading the word of Christ’s Resurrection, and some would say, turned the world upside down.

Because when the Spirit gets loose in the lives of Christ’s followers, lives are changed, grace is given and new life is born.

Positive change agents in this world . . . People like Martin Luther King Jr, William Wilberforce, Clara Barton, Jane Addams, George Washington Carver and others . . . those who started hospitals, marched for civil rights, improved medical care, founded educational opportunities, passed child labor laws, fought against slavery or delved into the mysteries of science . . . have been people of faith. People touched by God’s Holy Spirit who received the power of endurance and strength, persistently fighting for justice and the betterment of the world.

God’s Spirit continues to be poured out on us, a Spirit that searches for justice, a Spirit weaving into this world strands of love, compassion, mercy and grace.