Prayers (Especially) Today

Today is truly a historic day. During his Inauguration, President Barack Obama himself noted, just a few decades ago, men like he weren't able to sit at restaurant counters; today he is taking the highest oath in the land.

And taken together with the celebrations of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. yesterday, I can't help but feel the surge in hope that we have come so far and our future is so bright.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Yesterday we celebrated a man who gave his life working for justice. We don't have many national holidays set aside for a single man (except Columbus, and one could argue Columbus might be one of the least-deserving men to have a day set aside for): all our war heroes share Memorial Day; all our great Presidents share Presidents' Day (though it is celebrated around Washington's alleged birthday); all our irreplaceable patriots get are celebrated on Independence Day. And although Dr. Martin Luther King did inspire a great civil rights movement, he was far from perfect.

In fact, King's legacy is rife with controversy. Some might believe it uncouth to discuss them; I think it's sobering to recall the truth. Some might know his story better than others: the night before he was assassinated, Dr. King was spending the night in a Memphis hotel with a prostitute, a temptation he was often unable to overcome. And in 1990, an academic council at Boston University confirmed that Dr. King plagiarized a great deal of his doctoral dissertation from the 1950s. They just didn't feel it right to strip a national hero of his PhD.

I'm not trying to slander Dr. King. We all have our heroes. And none of them are perfect. This is something we need to remember -- even on this historic day.

I'm not saying politicians and athletes deserve the same level of respect and tribute, but my first hero (after my dad, of course), was probably Michael Jordan. Like a lot of little boys my age, I loved watching what MJ could do on a basketball court and I read just about every article and book on him I could find. But there were few stories which would divulge MJ's late night escapades and addiction to gambling (which some believe was the root cause of his father's murder). Not too long ago, Charles Barkley was arrested for a DUI with a sky-high blood alcohol level and Mr. Barkley has often addressed his own struggles with gambling. Maybe this is a reason he was so dead-set against being called a role model?

Others aren't so uncomfortable with the idea. One particular man I came to respect and admire, Dwyane Wade (a classmate of mine at Marquette University), is currently undergoing a heart-breaking divorce from his high-school sweetheart. He has long been a darling of the media and NBA; just two years ago, he was named Father of the Year! And speaking of Wisconsin connections, in Packerland, we cannot forget Brett Favre's addiction to painkillers or Mark Chmura's demise thanks to (at least) one inappropriate night in a hot tub.

There is a long list of men who have accomplished great deeds but who were not always virtuous. I remember the debates in high school about whether or not President Clinton was a good president. After Monica Lewinsky, it was hard to argue on the basis of his morals; but what about his policies? Surely the instances of his sexual infidelity is not the first -- or last -- time that the great office has been tarnished. Our nation's sole Catholic President -- JFK -- is considered by some to be perhaps the worse offender.

And to be sure, our Scriptures are full of such stories, too. Moses was a murderer. David conspired to kill the man whose wife he slept with. And we have to know none of the first disciples -- or popes since -- were perfect. In fact the life of the saints just as well might be called the life of the sinners. God has no choice but to work through and with us -- earthen vessels -- to effect His grace in the world.

And that's my point: we all have our own demons; none of us are perfect. I'm not trying to sit in my glass house and throw stones. And I'm truly not seeking to sour this historic day. But I would like to inject a bit of realism into what has turned into a whole lot of frenzied idealization of this moment and this one man. We might have made Barack Obama a symbol of our hope for a brighter future, a better country, and a higher road, but he is still just a man. Just like you and me. I think there's a great danger in honoring men like JFK, MLK, or President Obama. One, we can put them on a pedastal where no man (or woman) belongs. Two, we can convince ourselves that greatness (whether in service, social justice, or even athletic achievement) is reserved for only a few, pre-ordained individuals.

Instead, we ought to look for the ways WE are called to be great. MLK once said that "everyone can be great because everyone can serve." He's absolutely right. And today, while we can celebrate President Obama's historic accomplishment and the direction our country may be headed under his leadership, we also must rally together, as President Obama called for today, to promote and provide for the common good. And above all, we must put our trust solely in God and not in this -- or any other -- man.

Today, President Obama referred to words from President Washington during the Revolution in the depths of winter when "nothing but hope and virtue could survive."

I concur that we need to turn to hope instead of fear. Desmond Tutu famously claimed that Christians are "prisoners of hope." Eschatological hope is what drives us forward and revives us in the face of finitude and sin. And finitude and sin are things none of us can escape. But it also doesn't let us off the hook in terms of our responsibility to love our neighbor, the stranger, and even our enemy.

But virtue cannot be lost on us, either. Not only is this my prayer for President Obama, but it is my prayer for each one of us (and especially myself -- again, I'm not writing this from a high horse). Aristotle's notion of virtue rests firmly on balance and moderation, and leads to ultimate fulfillment, flourishing, and happiness. Surely, in days like ours, virtue in general (that is, moral excellence), and virtues specifically (like fortitude, justice, prudence, and temperance) is precisely what we stand in need of.

So as we pray for our new president, let us also pray for ourselves. Let us ask God to bless us richly, bestow on us the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to revel in wisdom that discerns well, knowledge to do right, courage that acts and speaks with integrity, just commitment to compassion for all, humble service, and piety, praise, and awe for the Lord whom we trust in above all others. Let us see in the example of President Obama and hear in the echo of MLK that we are all called to be great because we are all called to serve.

As I wrote long ago, the election of President Obama is not about the end of racism or prejudice or injustice. It is not the end of fear or dirty politics. It is not the end of a government content with the status quo and concerned with the special interests of a few. It is not the end of anything. Instead, let it be a new beginning where we work with our government to create a world of liberty and justice for all.

But let us also be about humility, balance and moderation, moral excellence, and hope -- even if unsavory stories are to surface about President Obama, his cabinet, or our newly-elected government. Let us, in the words of Pope Benedict, place our hope ultimately in “God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain.”

This is because God's "love alone gives us the possibility of soberly persevering day by day, without ceasing to be spurred on by hope, in a world which by its very nature is imperfect. His love is at the same time our guarantee of the existence of what we only vaguely sense and which nevertheless, in our deepest self, we await: a life that is ‘truly’ life" (Spe Salvi, #31).

That's because unlike the high which this inauguration has brought, our hope fixed on God will never fade, because God, unlike our human heroes and idols, will not disappoint. And to be sure, we cannot make hope our golden calf, either. Instead, let us rely also on virtue to be the means and ends to this "true life" that awaits us, and in the meantime, ceaseless work for liberty and justice for all.

Today, let us celebrate a historic feat and the start of a new era. And let us also affix our trust firmly on God and ask that His Holy Spirit guide our new president, our newly-elected government, and each one of us to, in the words of Jesus who quotes the prophet Isaiah,

"to bring good news to the poor ... to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19).

After all, we're all God has to work with: earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7). We, like MLK, President Obama, and the countless leaders before them, are still finite and sinful. Nevertheless, "those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever" (Daniel 12:3). God doesn't just call the qualified. God qualifies the called.

And all of us are called to serve one another. Let's get to work!