Anyone who has ever been to a political rally or caucus knows what a vibrant and exciting experience it can be. Heated discussions, spirited debate, passionate agreement and disagreement — it can be pretty heady stuff. It’s what makes our democracy work. Without the participation of citizens, without people who care and get involved, the operations of our government are given over into the hands of a few. Ideally, we would love to see every citizen registered to vote, informed about issues and candidates, and ready to voice their opinion in civil civic discourse. It is what James Buchanan called “the noise of democracy.”

            Ironically, this same sort of involvement is needed in the Christian life. God has not just called a special few to be bearers of the light of truth revealed in Jesus. God has called all of us to share in what Paul described as “the ministry of reconciliation.” Every believer should find some way to contribute his or her particular gift to God’s great mission of reconciling the world to the divine presence.

            Historically, this has not always been the case. In the Old Testament, we find the Spirit of God coming only to a chosen few. The prophets would be seized by the Spirit of God and would speak words needed for a particular time. But it was a come-and-go experience. The Spirit would not remain. But that changed on the Day of Pentecost. Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, something happened to his followers that marked the beginning of a new day for people of faith. Not only were the gathered disciples changed, but everything about the way we relate to God was changed. And most importantly, everything about the way believers function in the world was changed. On the Day of Pentecost, the world witnessed the democracy of the Spirit of God, and yes, there was noise.

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