The President will see you now…
September 04, 2017
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Psalm 105: 1-7
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgements are in all the earth.
United States politics is incredibly polarised between Republican and Democrat - but in ‘The West Wing’ President Bartlet, despite being a Democrat, was portrayed in such an idealistic and optimistic way that he appealed broadly across party lines.
Given that the initial idea for the series was to have the president as an ‘offstage’ or at least minimal presence, the opening episode showed the wisdom of moving away from that format, with a glorious if unlikely scene where various church leaders and political staff were arguing over the sequence of the Ten Commandments, posing the question ‘then what’s the first Commandment?!’ and with perfect timing, Jed enters the room to deliver his opening line “ ‘I am the Lord your God, thou shalt worship no other god before me’ ”. He then tips the balance of power wrangling in the room and avoids conceding ground to lobbying groups.
Jed of course is not God but he is portrayed as a ‘father figure’ in the series, not only to his own family, but particularly to his key advisors. As written, his character has the ability to resolve tense, difficult situations, whether personally among his staff, in domestic politics, or diplomatically (or militarily) in international scenes. But even as a written character he was not a perfect president. He was one who got things wrong, who hurt his family, who did not always make the right decisions.
The God we read of in Psalm 105 is one whose acts are wonderful, whose wonders are miraculous, whose judgements are in all the earth - more so than any president, real or fictional.
Lord our God,
forgive us when we put our faith entirely in political leaders to bring about utopia;
when we enter into tribal politics, ‘them and us’, caricaturing of opposing positions.
Help us to look back, not only in Scripture but in our own lives,
to be reminded of, or to see for the first time, your wonderful acts, miracles and wonders,
your guiding hand in our lives.
Give us wisdom in dealing with others of different political and faith perspectives - not to manipulate or to get what we want to the exclusion of all else, so much as to be part of seeing your kingdom come and your will be done.
And remind us that president or pauper, we all have ‘feet of clay’.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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