Conversation Point

Pharisees Among Us

Sometimes I wonder if we really grasp the power of technology.

I suspect that Karl Rove, Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush, is kicking himself this morning over his own ignorance of what can be dredged up from the depths of a hard drive that has no ethical or moral issues causing it to withhold information. Eight U.S. attorneys were recently fired despite excellent reviews. There have understandably been some questions raised. It appears the prosecutors were released from their work because they wouldn't follow the lead set by the Bush administration's blatant disregard for the law. The White House has denied anything but minimal awareness of the Justice Department's actions in the firings.

But America Online reported today that Karl Rove's emails say he knew a lot and was involved heavily with making the decision to remove the prosecutors from their positions and that the actions were politically motivated. Specifically the article said, "Emails released this week, including a set issued Thursday night by the Justice Department, appear to contradict the administration's assertion that Bush's staff had only limited involvement in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, which Democrats have suggested were a politically motivated purge." Although not uncommon for a president to replace federal prosecutors at the beginning of a term, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle such things. Pushing people out of jobs at which they have excelled because they annoy you, and then lying about it, would clearly be the wrong way to handle such things. It never fails to amaze me how people with power forget that they are both human and accountable. Human, because they can easily trip themselves up. Accountable, because their arrogance has made them an easy target of demands for the truth.

It is not uncommon for those who perceive themselves as powerful to feel immune to public scrutiny or remain unaware that they will eventually face consequences for their actions. As we of the Christian faith continue our journey through these forty days of Lent, we are reminded of how the Pharisees constantly fumbled and bumbled their way through every encounter they had with Jesus. Used to dealing with a populace which followed their leadership with minimal fuss, when they did come up against someone who seemed to question their authority they bristled. Jesus wasn't the first public figure lifted up by the people as a prophet or potential Messiah. He likely wouldn't be the last. The whole Jewish community longed for redemption from Roman oppression and the Temple leadership was no exception. But their job was to hold the religious culture together until the Messiah actually arrived. Any threat to that enormous task was considered a threat to the Jewish faith and the Israelite nation as a whole. Any threat to that faith was an assault on them personally as well. Who would they be if they did not fulfill their obligation to their people?

But Jesus pushed the Pharisees in ways no one else had before, even John the Baptist. He put human needs above religious law, then claimed the law and the prophets as community property, fulfilling his own call to refocus and redirect his people with God's loving kindness. Undercutting the Pharisees' authority left them feeling powerless, which in turn led them to a point of desperation so deep they cooperated in the death of their kinsman in order to preserve their religious heritage and its future.

Luke shares one memorable encounter that points to the conventions to which the Pharisees subscribed as usual practices and Jesus' attempt to help open their eyes to the larger picture. "While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, 'Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give for alms those things which are within, and behold, everything is clean for you (Luke 11: 37-41)." For all we know, the Pharisee was attempting to make a connection with Jesus, understand more about who he was and about his perspective as a rabbi. Asking Jesus about his personal hygiene habits may not have been a rude comment, but a simple dinner conversation designed to hold the meal until Jesus had time to prepare himself.

What we do know is that Jesus took this moment to raise an important issue and teach a lesson. Our actions must align themselves with our beliefs or both are rendered meaningless. Our credibility as believers, as people of faith, is destroyed if we say one thing and do another while we think no one is watching or if we think we won't be discovered in the lie. Jesus pointed out the discrepancy between the Pharisee's actions to hold the Jewish religion together at the expense of the faith of the people who embodied it. Clearly that did not sit well with the Pharisees as a group. Jesus saw what was coming, but continued his work anyway.

Meanwhile, Karl Rove has accused his critics of making the firing of the U.S. attorneys political. I'm sure Mr. Rove feels his actions were designed to serve the American people. But the distance between his actions and his words is growing. There is a good bit of space open for ambiguity and confusion, but perhaps also, some truth. Mr. Rove may be attempting to serve his country, sustaining it for future generations to come. but he is also serving his own interests as a person who perceives himself as powerful and who wants to remain so.

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 7:08 PM