Plenary, 27 Mar 2002
Meeting date: Wednesday, March 27, 2002
Official Report
401KB pdf
Time for Reflection
We welcome to lead time for reflection Dr Lloyd J Ogilvie, who is the chaplain to the United States Senate. Although he has come a long way today, Dr Ogilvie has also come from next door, in a sense, as he spent a year studying divinity at New College. He is no stranger to Edinburgh. Some of us look forward to seeing him again in a few days in Washington, where he is a prime mover in the tartan day celebrations. Dr Ogilvie, you are very welcome.
Dr Lloyd J Ogilvie (Chaplain of the United States Senate):
Thank you, Sir David, for the privilege of being here today. It is very moving to be here in the Assembly Hall. I recall moderators such as John Baillie, James Stewart and Thomas Torrance, who were my beloved professors next door in New College. To be here is a great pleasure. Thank you.
As chaplain of the United States Senate, I have the opportunity to serve as a spiritual enabler and encourager of men and women who have the high calling of politics. Politics is accurately defined as the practice of government, the formation of public policy and the management of public affairs. I believe that politics is one of the highest callings. Martin Luther said that the very ablest youth should be reserved and educated not for the office of preaching, but for government, because in preaching, the Holy Spirit does it all, whereas in government, one must exercise reason in the shadowy realms of the ambiguous and the uncertain, where those things are the order of the day.
However, in preaching and in politics we are tempted to live on the level of talent, rather than through the gifts for supernatural leadership that the Holy Spirit endows. Apart from God's strength and courage, nothing of lasting value can be accomplished. The motto of my chaplaincy is, "Without God, we can't; without us, he won't." Many senators are discovering that beyond the levels of education, experience and expertise, they need the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, discernment, vision and prophetic communication of truth. An election far greater than the votes of the people brought them to where they are. They need to depend on God and be riverbeds for the flow of supernatural wisdom.
What does the Lord require? In Micah, chapter 6, verse 8, the prophet thundered an answer to that oft-asked question:
"To do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Thy God".
In Hebrew, to walk humbly means to walk attentively. Listening to God and the needs of people is the politician's primary vocation, which requires intimacy with God in prayer. Intimacy means proceeding from within, inward, internal. The Thou-I relationship with God that we were created to experience requires that the real I meets the true God of justice and righteousness in grace. Intimacy with God also involves integrity of life and congruity between what we believe and what we do, between the 10 commandments and our character, and between seeking guidance from God and obeying him. Intimacy and integrity result in intentionality. Lodestar leadership is saying what we mean and meaning what we say; it is pressing on with courage, knowing we have only God to please.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, in whom a thousand days are as yesterday when it has passed, source of supernatural gifts for dynamic leadership, bless the women and men of this Parliament. Grant them strength to think clearly, speak courageously, negotiate fairly, serve unselfishly and press on boldly. Replenish the wells of their souls with your limitless power. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.