Let us celebrate the experience of true love and mercy (FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT)

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old order has passed away; now all is new! This is because God, in Christ, was reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s transgression against them, and has entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to us [the Church, which all of us together], (2Cor 5, 17 - 19). This merciful God speaks to us today in the first reading and says, “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt [exile, freedom from oppressive force and suffering as consequences of sin] from you.” And in the Gospel, the God in Jesus Christ, using a parable, talks about his unconditional love and mercy on us, and says “While he [all of us sinners] was still a long way off [from peace of heart, security enjoyed by children of God; when he was long way off from true love, holistic wellness, true liberty and happiness], his father caught sight of him, and was deeply moved with compassion and love. He ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.”

As we read these passages of the Scripture, I remember that the Church still have what is called excommunication. This means exclusion from the communion. It is said to be medicinal and spiritual penalty that deprives the guilty Christian of all participation in the common blessings of ecclesiastical society.  Some passages of the Scripture are quoted to confirm this rational argument. Ezra 10:8, which says, “Anyone who did not come within three days…, would have all his goods seized, and would himself be excluded from the community of the exiles.” John 9: 21; cf. 12:42; 16:2 is quoted to make the fear of excommunication by the parents of the man born blind [whom Jesus healed anyway] look like the reason for their response. We also have the example that Paul regularly excommunicated the incest Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:5) and the incorrigible blasphemers whom he delivered over to Satan (1 Timothy 1:20).

However, as we read through the passages of the Scripture today, the tone does not reflect the God who would rather cast anyone away for been stubborn, disrespectful, sinful and uncooperative. The parable says that the young man demanded for his own share of his father’s properties (it is wrong idea of freedom when we say “it’s my life, and I can do whatever I want with it.” The property is the father’s; just like our lives belong to God). He moved away from the wise counsel of his parents, away from his share of family responsibility, and from the security of life that comes from the discipline that exists in his father’s compound (the Church). God does not excommunicate anyone, we rather excommunicate ourselves. We all do sometimes disagree with the moral standard of the Church; sometimes we make God look like a sadist who does not want us to be free or to enjoy our lives. This kind of idea comes from the real destroyer that says to us “No, you will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods…” (Gen 3, 4 – 5). Whenever we begin to listen to such ideas and plan our lives based on it, we find ourselves among parasites who appear to be friends; we end up as slave workers, eating food meant for pigs; we are reduced to a level below slavery; and we judge and condemn ourselves by such worldview.

But God, our father never for a second stops thinking about us; he never stops loving us. This is why we call today Laetare Sunday; and this means “Rejoice or be joyful.” Why should we rejoice? I once listened to the story of a man that dedicates his life helping young people make better decisions in their lives. He draws a lot of people to his seminars and workshops, and his secret is the story of his own experience. As a teenager, he saw his father as strict, out-of-date disciplinarian. The Mom always helped him snuck out from the house for parties and other social fun. His transformation came after he was diagnosed with kidney problem: the consequence of too much alcohol and use of drugs. He was going to die unless someone gave him a kidney. He woke up from hospital bed after the surgery and saw the father he hated so much laid beside him, dead, and his mother sitting beside him only weeping uncontrollably. His father donated his only kidney to him so that he can live; he has also previously donated one kidney to the wife. He left him with this note “Son, live to help others make better decisions. You made mistakes in life but I believe you learnt a lot from them. I have always loved you.” So, we celebrate and rejoice because of the experience of true and profound love and mercy that renews and transforms us; it because of the love that gives us second chance. Because whenever God looks at us through Jesus Christ, he does not remember our sins; he only celebrates the honest efforts we make to return to him. The parable say that as this child is still long way off, the father sees him. While he walks towards the father; the father, pretty old though, ran toward him; he missed himself a lot. When he got to him, he did not scold him; he did not remind him how ungrateful, stubborn, disobedient and useless he was. He rather hugs, kisses and cuddles him. This is an eloquent image of the God we have in Jesus Christ. ‘Today let us celebrate; let us throw some party’; with these words, he declare a party.

Many Christians still have the idea that we get to heaven by doing good deeds. This was the attitude of the older son in today's parable. He thought he could demand his father's love: "Look at all the things I have done. How hard I worked! And I never got anything in return; I expect some credit." There are still the self-righteous persons, the holier-than-thou people, and those who still find it so hard to forgive others their offences. The elder son and the Pharisees, the Scribes; those who try very hard to obey every piece of the law, just to look righteous but their hearts are darker than Hell. They sit back and assign people to Hell or Heaven. They become slaves to laws and policies that they forgot the spirit of the law. Such people suspect everyone around them of the evil that they nurse in their hearts, or what they would do if they have the courage and if opportunity will come. They do not remember that not law but love that makes God who he is; and if the Lord should mark our guilt, no one would survive (Cf. Ps 130, 3). But the older son had it wrong. No one can demand love. Nor can we earn love. In the same way, no one can "earn" heaven. People today tend to look at heaven as one more entitlement program - like Social Security. We pay something into it and when we retire, we get the benefits. Heaven does not work that way. To such people we invite today, please join the party; have some fun; try once to live like a child not like a slave. To them, we say, “our biggest challenge is to let ourselves be loved and to be healed from fear of sharing our true feelings with someone else, and fear of been in love relationship with all it demands. The Church realizes this, hence the Council of Trent has this to say about excommunication “Although the sword of excommunication is the very sinews of ecclesiastical discipline, and very salutary for keeping the people to the observance of their duty, yet it is to be used with sobriety and great circumspection; seeing that experience teaches that if it be wielded rashly or for slight causes, it is more despised than feared, and works more evil than good.”

Those who discover the real love of God and experience the depth of his mercy are those who are not afraid to go out and experience the world outside their religion, their culture and worldview; those who try to relieve themselves from the laws that bind them to a particular structure of life; those who are courageous enough to take the risk of interacting with the world different from what they know; those who are not so timid to put their thoughts and true feelings in words, and translate their words into action; and those who are not afraid to make mistakes in life. Our mistakes in life could make us become stronger and more matured in faith and love, and become more sincere and realistic in our service to God and in our neighbors. The younger son teaches us another big lesson that true confession of our guilt heals. We also learn that forgiveness has three aspects, namely: God forgives us; he wants us to forgive others that offend us, and that we will not be able to accept forgiveness of God let alone forgiveness others if we do first acknowledge our sins and sincerely forgive ourselves. So let us celebrate all those who accept that they have ever made serious mistakes in their lives, and have the courage and humility to strike their chest in honest repentance, and are ready to make confessions and corrections. We shall listen to such people because they have a lot to share with us; they will teach us how to be more compassionate, loving and humble. 

GHANA CELEBRATING 56 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE VIS-A-VIS VALUE BASED LEADERSHIP

Introduction

Leadership is an issue that affects all of humanity. But, visionary and true leaders are difficult to find. Not only are we impacted by this phenomenon, but we are also called upon to exercise it. Whether we are involved in leading government or business, guiding young minds, leading a family, a sports team or a committee, organising a dinner, a class project, a carpool or a household, or just standing for what is right. At every turn of human endeavour, everyone has a leadership role to play. In other words, we are called upon to be custodians of what is right and good, lasting and of value for those in our care at one time or another.

It is as a result of an obvious lacuna in worthy, responsible leadership in many economies of the world that these questions were thrown up not long ago: "What has happened to leadership? Have all the great leaders gone from the world scene?" The search for true, value based leadership is not limited to the global arena, but also relevant in the task of socio-political, cultural, educational, and moral transformation of developing economies such as Ghana.

However, why does a true leader need to demonstrate values in leadership? Values are regarded as esteemed qualities which are intrinsically desirable. That is why experts in the humanities have described values as "the especial essence of who we are as human beings." Such demonstrable and authentic values on which the Ghanaian society should be built upon include transparency, patriotism, personal integrity, fear of God, courage, transformational leadership, accountability, vision, creativity, knowledge, character and passion.

Leadership also, has been described as a form of service. Thus, In order to lead effectively, a leader should be willing to meet the essential needs of the individuals in the team or group. London Sunday Times published an article with the title, "Whatever Happened to Real Leaders" the time it noticed the perceptible inadequacy in the leadership of some economies in Europe. The fact not only applies in the Western world where the people combat leadership problems of recent, it is also applicable to the Ghanaian situation, as the reputed most populous Black nation on earth who needs values-based, visionary leadership. It is a powerful, well-timed plea for the emergence of a right kind of leadership that can deliver Ghanaians from the grip of its many socio-economic problems resulting from poor governance.

Nature of leadership in Ghana

While underscoring the need for anyone entrusted with the sacrosanct mandate of leadership in any human community, Walter Lippmann, a late American newspaper commentator, in his syndicated column "Today and Tomorrow", attempted another description of leaders as "the custodians of a nation's ideals, of the beliefs it cherishes, of its permanent hopes, and of the faith which makes a nation out of a mere aggregation of individuals." According to Lippmann, the term literally, refers to a keeper, a guardian or a caretaker, as it is a proactive word which implies action on the part of the bearer. He is the custodians of the people's mandate who simply holds such in trust and on behalf of others. In other words, custodianship does not imply behaviour motivated out of self-interest, which leads to the unbecoming development which Ghana daily witnesses in various aspects of their national life.

Today, it is no longer news in the country to see the mass media of communication inundated with scandalous and disturbing stories of reckless inflation of contract sums, disappearance of phoney contractors after collecting mobilisation funds, or oftentimes, all of the contract sum; blind looting of treasuries with impunity, brigandage, culture of wastage, outright lack of vision on the part the leadership, endless dashed hopes, and lack of creativity in statecraft, and instances of shoddy cum white elephant projects with no material relevance to the aspirations of the populace.

It is simply overwhelming these days, as Ghanaians helplessly, continue to hear or read about horrifying tales of financial malfeasance, under various guises, and obvious looting of the treasury being reported in the media. This is purportedly being committed by both appointed and elected leaders in active connivance with the largely inefficient civil servants, shameless and forceful collection of toll from transporters or motorists by men and officers of the Ghana Police Service on the nation's roads; absolute diversions of statutory allocations originally budgeted for developmental projects and programmes, into private accounts for personal use by corrupt leaders.

Moreover, a former US Ambassador to Ghana during the Kuffuor administration, at a seminar in Granada recently, made a comparative analysis of the sustained purposeless leadership afflicting Ghana with what is obtainable in the United States (US) in connection with values-based leadership. Carrington, specifically, mentioned the progressive strides the US has been recording over time to the extent that "racism and nepotism" were fast disappearing in America, thereby paving way for an African-American (obviously referring to Barack Obama) to win the support of the majority of the Americans to occupy the White House, the official seat of US Government in Washington D.C. According to him, instead of making distinct progress, the loss of a value system in Ghana has made corruption, concept of "indigeneship", vandalism and political thuggery to remain prominent in the country's body politic.

It is not unexpected to discern why some wonder aloud, if responsibility, accountability and sense of integrity could ever be restored in the political dictionary of the current crop of leaders. Perhaps, such individuals and groups who frantically, desire meaningful change in the socio-political life of the country think so against the backdrop of apparent purposeful, focused leadership that characterised the era of Ghana's founding fathers as late Dr Kwame Nkrumah,Nana Yaa Asantewaa, the Big Six, our fomer Presidents and their ministers whose work were really credibl and others who sacrificed a lot to ensure the well-being of the masses. With their own share of challenges peculiar to the management of human affairs, till this day, those erstwhile leaders are fondly remembered for good as a result of their strength of character, discipline, loyalty, and patriotism.

Indeed, with nostalgia, one cannot but be amazed at the depth of passion exemplified in the communication of these past Ghanaian leaders as regards the pursuit of their economic programmes for the welfare of the people. It is quite edifying for any discerning Ghanaian, especially the young ones, to listen and watch to the programme which I titled: "Memories of Our Heroes", a production of GTV News Directorate, which gives us a re-play of some of the events Ghana underwent before the independece and the contributions of our legends. One believes reliving and reflecting on memorable experiences of such great Ghanaians would add much impetus to the ongoing efforts and projects such as the so-called Better Ghana Agenda which has which has its own significance to its inventors.

Interestingly, it deserves a mention that in our day, there are yet men and women of substance who exemplify rare values-based leadership and courage in service to humanity in both private and public sectors of Ghana's economy. Research has shown that Ghanaians such as  Peter Cardinal Turkson, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, Mr.Kofi Annan, the many village teachers teaching in villages where the government has forgotten even the names, and other numerous to mention here fall into this category. Such ones are said to have continued to hold their heads high in and outside positions of authority despite very widespread corrupting influences around them. They are no doubt, shining examples to, particularly the younger generation.

However, a large number of the population believe that what is obtainable now is just a question of corrupt leader's associating himself or herself with any of the vicious cliques of ravenous individuals whose stock in trade is to hold their fatherland down till eternity, because we virtually lack the basic amenities (like electricity, water, LPG and other petroleum products, transport and even internetfor our schools and other public places) that makes life moving It is therefore, not unusual to hear the mind-boggling term, ‘cabal' which can be equated to a firm (company) owned by our politicians, at every turn in socio-political discourses. The masses have categorised such dubious leaders as belonging to either the oil cabal, electric power cabal, generators or rice importation cabal, political power cabal, or fertilizer business cabal among other amorphous ones. Over the years, these groups are believed to have succeeded, just as they, absurdly, continue to work against the collective will of the Ghanaian people on all fronts.

Ghanaians seeking elective and political offices with nothing to offer the generality of the population ought to be discouraged henceforth. Again, as custodians of the people's mandate to serve them and manage their combined resources for the betterment of the entire society, individuals holding leadership positions should know and chart the way forward for the led, uphold what is best for all people, even if it may not be in his or her own interest to do so. Their custodial role must be approached as a temporary role, preserving something greater than the self -principles of enduring value in service. This embodies an attitude that focuses on the task at hand and not on what a leader may gain from the position he or she holds. This will certainly bring about a caring and concerned relationship between leaders and followers.

Consequently, these seem contrary to what is happening across the land. In many arenas in the country today, we see appointed or elected leaders holding nothing in trust for those they purport to serve. Instead, it is looting galore, as scores of them merely continue to advance their own ideals, hopes, and aspirations to keep their followers down and frustrated perpetually. Where there is no common vision to be shared and actualised, it is often difficult to say whether such selfish Ghanaian leaders are serving their people in any meaningful way.

Poor reward system has been identified as another serious factor, which probably instigates many a leader to consciously, greedily appropriate billions of tax payers' money to themselves in the name of "allowances", or in many instances, some resort to outright pillaging of treasuries, regardless of whatever happens to them after leaving office. But then, why institutionalised corruption in the nation's system? An unnamed foreigner who has lived in Ghana for sometime was quoted as answering this poser thus: "Becoming corrupt is almost unavoidable, because morality is relaxed in the society (Ghana), and many people struggle for survival without assistance from the state."

Mismanagement, deceit, and unfettered greed simply remain the undying features of the system, just as assumedly vision-oriented economic blueprints, development plans meant for implementation gather dusts on shelves. Yet, many questions all beg for answers. And, concerned Ghanaians have continued to ask rhetorically: Where are our leaders leading? To whom can we look for the direction we need in respect of the actualisation of the much-touted Ghanaian dream? To many, reviving the different sectors of the nation's economy for the benefit of the generality of the people appears hopeless.

Effects of valueless leadership

The self-serving nature of some leaders has led to more exigent problems in the Ghanaian system in recent times. The continued maladministration has not only entrenched a culture of corruption, impunity, political rascality, mindless looting of treasury, sycophancy, personality cults, purposeless leadership, and rampant disillusionment among the Ghnanaian people awaiting the advent of a new order in the current system.

Bad leadership has also instigated all forms of corrupt activities prevalent in the country now. These, some say, include political, bureaucratic, electoral corruption, embezzlement and bribery. Political corruption, which takes place at the highest levels of political authority, is a ‘corruption of greed.' It affects the manner in which decisions are made, manipulates and distorts political institutions and rules of procedure.

What about the direct effect of this cankerworm on the entire system? Corruption tarnishes the image of a nation; perhaps, as someone puts it recently, "that is why Ghana suffers more than most societies from an appalling international image created by its inability to deal with bribery and corruption." 

Way forward to a value-based leadership

As measures towards moving the nation forward through purposeful, values-based leadership, the nation urgently, needs to get its acts right, retrace its steps where it has long got it wrong: anyone who aspires to lead others, irrespective of which aspect of the nation's life should be one who legitimately understands the core essence of selfless service in leadership, not individuals who actually don't understand anything about leadership, but about how much he or she could steal from the commonwealth.

It also, should be realised that anyone who aspires to lead Ghanaians without possessing such exceptional values and ideals as personal integrity, forthrightness, fairness, belief in the eventual success of the Ghanaian enterprise, accountability and trustworthiness, is probably taking a stroll. The current crop of leaders should learn to lead by example and instil hope in the followership for the emergence of a better nation.

According to George Washington in his inaugural address as a former President of the United States, while encouraging fellow American leaders to shun lip-services, he was reported to have declared: "... the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."

Stressing the need for integrity in proper and effective leadership also, John Adair, a visiting professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Surrey and Exeter in England, once stated: "... I believe that holding firmly to sovereign values outside yourself grows a wholeness of personality and moral strength of character. The person of integrity will always be tested. The first real test comes when the demands of the truth or good appears to conflict with your self-interest or prospects. Which do you choose?" A food for thought indeed.

Conclusion

Leadership qualities combined with positional power magnify the ability of an individual to attract the all-important followers. Though a concept, some have described it as enlightened self-interest that promises to move Ghana forward, people entrusted with leadership responsibilities should always learn to pursue such interests that align with the nation's developmental goals. As a friend would say, "we will all benefit when we do things right."