The Church calendar and the Parliamentary calendar line up during some seasons of the year. Lent may not be one of those times, but Lenten readings contrast stories ripped from the headlines every time. That includes “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.”
We all know what has become of the pro-life voice in the Liberal party; it died from lack of oxygen due to lack of conviction from pro-life Liberals within it.
Then there is Prime Minister Trudeau’s continued LavScam cover-up.
In Alberta, Jason Kenny, leader of the United Conservative Party has vowed not to touch the abortion issue and is now facing accusations of unethical tactics in his leadership campaign.
In Ontario, conservatives will never forget the complete betrayal Patrick Brown perpetrated after his win of the PC leadership race.
Former Conservative leadership candidate Tony Clement was mired in disgrace because of a sexting blackmail scandal.
Meanwhile Catholics struggle to reconcile their faith with Liberal positions on life issues. We can only hope the Liberal party will one day come back to its roots and to its senses.
It would take too long to itemize the myriad of pro-life and pro-family campaign promises that have been cast aside in spite of hard-fought wins in all parties. Nomination races, leadership races, and elections are served with a side of drama and worse. Is it any wonder we are cynical?
In the end, politics provides us with an enemy, neatly packaged and delivered daily. But we have to move beyond party politics to understand how the Lord’s teachings about leadership apply to today’s environment as much as they did 2,000 years ago. His teachings apply to the politics of any era because they are not rooted in politics at all. They are rooted in the person.
Jesus was as radical as always when he taught that leadership meant service. Given the power structures of his day, imagine the reaction of his listeners. With truth spoken in love, he suddenly challenged everything they had ever understood about the world around them. All power and privilege for its own sake was suddenly rendered valueless.
Jesus upended the table every time he taught.
The struggles today with leadership, privilege, and power are no different. People want their share, whether cheating on Ivy League entrance exams, through government budgets, or government power.
Jesus reminds the powerful not to lead like the others, but rather to lead as he did. Love as he did. Serve as he did, right to the cross.
At every juncture, God calls the desires of our heart to be directed toward him. We are very familiar with our responsibility to the vulnerable lest they lose hope in God, but we have to know God deeply cares about those who wield power, position, influence, and authority, lest they lose their souls.
When tempted to demonize along party lines, as I do, I now remember this. What ails political parties isn’t found in the system alone. It isn’t found in power alone. It is primarily found in hearts and minds.
It is the ailment common to us all – our fallen nature. We are all vulnerable but how much more those called to serve in politics.
Motivations purely for power and privilege are opposed to the heart of God. But when politicians and their advisers fall prey to them, they too have recourse to his mercy.
To quote an unknown priest: “At the crucifixion Jesus said, ‘Lord forgive them for they know not what they do.’ This is our only hope!” Just so.
Johanne Brownrigg is a Catholic freelance writer in Ontario.
