The king you have chosen

This year, the people of the United States will choose a new President.

The political battles are intense. People argue not just about particular issues or the personal qualities of particular candidates: they also argue about what the role of government should be in the life of the people.

On one level, today’s first reading (1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a) is also an argument about the role of government in the life of the people, as Samuel warns people about choosing a king.

The more fundamental issue, however, is not Israel’s rejection of tribal confederation in favor of big government: it is a rejection of God.

It is not you they reject,
they are rejecting me as their king.

Who is our king? What rules our life?

Are we ruled by pursuit of pleasure? By ambition? By greed? By fear?

Who is our King?

In what we say and what we do, in all of the choices of our lives, may Christ always be the King we have chosen.