Needed: another Nelson Mandela

Elections will be held next week in South Africa. When we lived there in the 1990s the country was a budding democracy brimming with hope. Newly-elected President Nelson Mandela encouraged people of all races to form a rainbow nation that would work together for peace and prosperity. The bid for the 2010 soccer World Cup grew out of that dream.

But cynicism has obscured the rainbow. Political corruption is treated as normal and no reason not to be a candidate for president. There are well over a million orphans in the country as a result of rampant AIDS. Incest and child rape are all too common. While I was in Johannesburg last month, taxi drivers went on strike in fear that a more efficient bus system might put them out of business. They dragged commuters from private cars, beat them and forced them to walk to work.

Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness....
(Psalm 72, verse 1)

So prayed King Solomon when he ascended the throne of Israel after his father, the great King David. He anticipated an international influence that would be the envy of modern leaders.

All kings will bow down to him
and all nations will serve him. (verse 13)

And on what did he base that international reputation?

For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight. (verses 12 to 14)

The needy cry out in South Africa. The afflicted look to government agencies and too often find no one to help. More than five million South Africans are living with HIV/AIDS today, many weak and close to death. And as to violence--Johannesburg has one of the highest murder rates in the world. How precious is the blood of the people in the sight of those on next week's ballot? More precious than the wine of power? More precious than the friendship of the oppressor next door? More precious than a Swiss bank account? South Africa needs rulers at every level, endowed with justice and the righteousness of God.

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen. (verses 18 and 19)

Proud to Be an American

Tuesday, November 4, I was the first person in Jackson Township to cast my ballot. I have voted before, although not in every presidential election. We were disenfranchised a couple times because of postal systems that didn’t get absentee ballots to us in western Brazil, and later, Mozambique until too late to return them on time.

What moved me most in this election was the first-time voters—a Sudanese ‘lost boy’ who just became a citizen, young people eager to make a difference, and older African Americans who finally felt like their voices mattered. Those who took their children to the polls or to the victory celebrations because they wanted them to be part of history made me think of the day Nelson Mandela was elected in South Africa. Our church in Kempton Park held a prayer meeting in the early morning before members went to stand in line together to participate in South Africa’s first democratic elections.

Today the whole world is celebrating with the United States. There is dancing in Kenya as well as in Chicago. Many hope that a new face in the White House will mean a real change in American attitudes, someone who will work for peace and justice for all.

It’s not a job I would want. I couldn’t organize a women’s retreat much less run the country. The issues of the economy, the war in Iraq, and America’s role in world leadership are so huge that there is no way Barak Obama will solve it all any more than Nelson Mandela could provide instant jobs and housing in a post-apartheid era.

Election morning brought an e-mail from an African American friend. She didn’t endorse either candidate. She challenged us to pray for whoever won. What progress might he make if those who voted for him or against him committed to pray twice as much as criticize?

I look at president-elect Obama and all the excited young people enthusiastic for his cause and pray there will be no Monica Lewinski among them. I look at his beautiful and gifted wife and pray that her abilities will be used, her presence will inspire and that their marriage will stay strong. I see those two precious little girls and wonder what life will be like for them under the magnifying glass of public scrutiny.

I join Kersten in asking you to pray whether you voted for Obama or not. Pray for his relationship with God, for his family, for his advisors, for his policies, for his relationships in Washington and with world leaders. Pray for the physical and mental stamina that will be needed to carry him through the next four years.

Tuesday we exercised our right to vote. Now we must exercise our responsibility to lift up our leaders before the King of kings.