In touch	Check-in	Intercessions
In touch begins immediately below	Scroll down or click for Check-in	Subscribers only: see intercessions

 

In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

 

Time for change

Samuel regrets choosing Saul, and God shows a new way forward: 1 Samuel 16:1

 

Context

• The main UK political parties publish their manifestos.
• Surveys suggest that 20% of UK voters have already decided not to vote because of a crisis of faith in UK politics.
• World leaders promise to defend freedom and democracy at D-Day commemorations.
• President Macron announces a snap election.
• William Anders, astronaut who took the famous ‘Earthrise’ photo, dies at 90

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

• We find ourselves in a time for change in our nation. The last election produced a huge majority for Boris Johnson, but his own party rejected him, finding that he had been unworthy of the high office of Prime Minister. No doubt there were those, faced with the prospect of rejecting someone who had won such a massive election victory, who felt similarly to Samuel when he saw how Saul had turned out.
• Perhaps much of the country went along with the same feeling, but the choice of a replacement was not left to the nation through a new general election, and not left, as in the case of our Bible reading to an individual who sought out the person he saw as God’s choice. In the event the choice, made by party members against the wishes of the elected Conservative MPs, was for someone who immediately proved to be a greater disaster for the nation than her predecessor, by precipitating a financial crisis.
• Today we stand on the brink of a new election, and we find a situation not unlike that of 1 Samuel 16:1, where God has to say to Samuel, ‘How much longer do you mean to go on mourning over Saul?’ The modern parallel might be that many people are saying they have lost faith in politicians and in elections and don’t even want to vote. Surely this puts the blame in the wrong place. Instead of placing the blame on the political system for the present situation, we all need to acknowledge that, in a democracy, we need to accept the responsibility for our wrong choices and learn from them. Just because Boris Johnson and Liz Truss had to be rejected, even by their own party, does not mean that all politicians are useless. I would suggest that politicians, and the electorate, need to learn from the mistaken choices of the past and take care not to repeat old wrong choices. I do not doubt that Sunak and Starmer both have the best interests of our nation at heart. I might even suggest that the election was called early because Sunak could no long bear the task of maintaining good government alone.
• On the wider political stage there are even graver dangers. As we marked the 80^th anniversary of D Day that led to the end of fascism in Europe, there was much for which we gave thanks. It has been painful for the people of Germany and Italy, and indeed for other regimes in Europe, as in Spain. But there is today, even as the work of healing after fascism may be incomplete, a new and dangerous rise of extreme right-wing ideologies.
• At the same time, we might say that there is a rising threat from totalitarian states gearing for war. Democracy is under threat both at home and abroad, and what is vital is to preserve democracy as the guardian of moral choices which are in the best interests of all humanity, at home, in international relations and in our stewardship of the planet.

Yes, it is time for change but, most of all, as for Samuel, time to wake up to our responsibilities. Finally, the great thing about democracy is that we can learn from our mistakes and set a new course peaceably.

 

Questions for discussion

1. When are charismatic leaders a danger, and when are they needed?
2. Is populism dangerous?
3. How do we balance our own needs with those of the world and the planet?

Tom Ambrose is a former geologist and priest in the Parish of the Ascension, Cambridge.

 

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

How closely do you follow politics? And, although you may not be old enough to have a physical vote in the UK’s upcoming elections, have you considered which way you would vote?

With all the debates, decisions to make and campaigns, do you ever wonder what it was like when God was the one to select the leader? And, in the case of this week’s passage, a king. Wouldn’t that be so much simpler? But then in the same way that today’s leaders can completely change their promised policies, so did the first anointed king - Saul!

So what can we learn from this week’s passage? Change is constant. Yet throughout these changes, God is constant.

As well as praying about a potential change in the leadership and powers of the UK, why not spend some time in prayer this week asking God to guide you through changes in your life. As the end of the summer term is fast approaching, what changes lie ahead for you? Are you transitioning into a new class, a new school or even a new home as you head off to college or university?

Are there moments where you would like to change? And be changed? We’re not talking here about dying your hair or trying a new style of clothes! What are the things and ways of life that you are holding on to, that you need to let go of, and hand over to God? As Christians we have a focus to become more Christ like. And this can come with sacrifices and being open to be changed, from the inside out by God.

But on the reverse of this, what areas of your life do you need to be more like David in our passage this week? In which ways, as the world around you changes, do you need to stay steadfast and unchanged? Accepting God’s love, putting on his armour and standing firm and not changing to fit into what society might expect of you.

This week take notice of the changes around us: the potential change in UK leadership; changes in your circumstances or those of people around you; and even how the weather is constantly changing these past few weeks. Praise God for change and challenge yourself to praise him for the unchanging too.

Natasia Bullock is Director of The B Tales theatre company

Views expressed are the authors' own. Hypertext links to other websites are for the convenience of users only and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by ROOTS for Churches Ltd.

The week in focus is also available via Twitter and facebook.

ROOTS publishes weekly lectionary-based worship and learning resources online and in two magazines. FIND OUT MORE.