We Have Power by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Patti Lusher)

This is Graduation season. Young people, and some not so young people are celebrating accomplishments. Some are graduating from high school. Others are getting Bachelor’s degrees, Masters degrees or even PhDs. Becca has been invited to so many graduations parties I have lost count. I went to a party last night for the twin sons of friends of ours. All of these graduates are stepping out into a new future. They have a piece of paper that says they are ready now, ready to get a job, hopefully. Ready to contribute something to society. Ready to make their mark.

Commencement speakers across the country are giving words of encouragement and inspiration. Speakers are challenging these graduates to go out into the world and make a difference. I am willing to guess that not a few of them are frightened. “Am I ready?” “Are you kidding? They are going to trust me with a classroom of children? Or a laboratory? Or to be the pastor of a church? I’m not ready for that.” But diploma in hand, those graduates will take their first job, ready or not. Sink or swim. And we will trust our lives to them.

Jesus had a word for his disciples when he knew it was time for them to sink or swim. He knew he would not be with them much longer, to hold their hands. They would be sent out, on their own, like new graduates, with the task of making disciples.

He said to them, “I won’t leave you alone. The Holy Spirit, also called the “paraclete” in Greek, will come alongside of you. The Holy Spirit will give you strength. They had no clue what Jesus meant when he promised them a paraclete. Paraclete means the one who comes alongside, the one who gives you strength. They had never heard of the Holy Spirit. Was it a ghost?  Jesus went on to talk about how he would not be with them much longer, which troubled them, and he did not say much else about this Holy Spirit.

It was sometime later, after his death and resurrection, that the Holy Spirit came. The disciples were alone in a room, probably still in grief and shock that Jesus was gone. Probably feeling overwhelmed like new graduates, wondering, “How will we be leaders in the world? We can’t do this without our teacher.”

They had forgotten all about the promise of the Holy Spirit, the paraclete who would come alongside of them. And then it came, like wind and fire, filling the room: the power of God in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit filled them and they began to speak in all the languages of the people who were gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Pentecost. They began to preach about the wonders of God. People listened and were inspired.

Then Peter reminded them what the Prophet Joel had said:

“In the Last Days,” God says,
“I will pour out my Spirit
    on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
    also your daughters;
Your young men will see visions,
    your old men dream dreams.
When the time comes,
    I’ll pour out my Spirit
On those who serve me, men and women both,
    and they’ll prophesy.
….And whoever calls out for help
    to me, God, will be saved.”

That was the day the Church was born. The disciples all began to preach, filled with the Holy Spirit, and the message of God’s love revealed in Jesus began to spread. Churches were planted in Rome and Philippi and Ephesus and all across the land. We are here because of that day of Pentecost. Because the Holy Spirit lives in God’s people.

The Holy Spirit lives in you. In your baptism your church claimed the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. And so you have power. You have that same power that we read about that was like wind and fire. You may not feel it every day, but it is there, waiting to be tapped.

The Holy Spirit fire is what causes us to disrupt the status quo in the world. When we do justice in big and small ways, that is the Holy Spirit working through us, the paraclete working and walking alongside us. Have you ever said anything and wondered how you had the courage to say it? Have you confronted a bully? Have you stood up to evil? Did you speak the truth when someone was being hurtful and say “Enough! I will not tolerate your behavior.” That was the Holy Spirit working in you.

Have you ever marched in a Pride parade? Or run in the Race for the Cure? That was the Holy Spirit working in you, saying, “I believe the world can be a better place.” “I want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

These are all disruptions. Disruptions in the status quo. That is what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit disrupts.

There are people in our world who are hurting. They are longing for us to be a disruption. They need God. People are without hope. They need us to give them a message of hope. You may not think you are a preacher or a teacher. But you are a follower of Jesus and so you have a message to share. And the Holy Spirit is in you, so the Holy Spirit gives you the power to share a message.

Here is how you do it. When you encounter someone who is discouraged, can you say, “I will pray for you”? Can you say, “I know things are difficult but I believe in a God that walks with us through difficult times and so I trust that God is with you”? Can you just sit with a friend in silence and be present? You don’t have to give any answers. Sometimes a calming presence is all a person needs. Sometimes a listening ear from someone who does not try to fix things but is just willing to listen is what is needed. Trust that the Holy Spirit is with you and trust that the Holy Spirit will work through you.  You don’t need to have the answers, just allow the Holy Spirit to work through you.

The first disciples were not perfect and we don’t have to be perfect. God just asks that we are faithful. Being faithful means that we are willing to share our love for God with others. We may fumble around for words, but the Holy Spirit will help us. Our honesty and vulnerability will make all the difference. There are people out there who are waiting. They are waiting to hear the story that we have to share. I’d like to show you this short video about telling the story.

*** SHOW VIDEO

Will you allow the Holy Spirit to work through you? Will you share your faith with the people in your life who are searching for direction? God will lead you to them. There are people in need. They need to know God’s love. We are the ones that have a story to tell.

The story is so wonderful we can’t keep it inside any longer. We have to take it out to the streets. That is the message of Pentecost. The power of God can’t be contained. The power of God, the Holy Spirit, lives in us and we won’t be contained. Our love is a fire that burns. Our love is a powerful wind that blows through the city. We make a difference when we show love and compassion and when we do justice.

Will you let the Holy Spirit live in you, and pour out through you? That is the challenge of Pentecost. To live as a strong follower of Jesus.

I think back to those graduates whom I mentioned at the beginning of my message. They may be a bit nervous but they are also on fire. Because they believe they can change the world. Armed with a fresh diploma, they are ready to make a difference.

But we are equipped with something even more powerful than a diploma or a degree. We have the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we have the power to change the world. So claim that power. Live in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Go, and live with compassion, and do justice. Share the message with your neighbor. Tell the story. God loves you, and that makes all the difference. Amen.