Give Us a Good Leader
The yearning of societies for wise, faithful and caring leadership is as old as humanity. And disagreements among people about who would be best suited to fill those shoes has also been a constant. In last Sunday's sermon Fr. Garrett looks at the Biblical story (1 Samuel 8:4-20) of this yearning of a people nearly 3,000 years ago who clamored for a change in leadership. The presence of God and God's prophet Samuel was squarely in the middle of this political tug of war and it prompts questions of us about what role faithful Christians and the church should have in calling for leaders who exhibit the kinds of character traits that are consistent with the character of God. We do not live in a theocracy nor should elected leaders put their personal religious beliefs above the laws of the nation. At the same the voice of God's faithful is an important one in calling for people elected to positions of public trust and authority to have character traits consistent with a Christian understanding of God's character - honesty, compassion, mercy, justice, and respect for the dignity of all people.