Now those of us who are Christians are in Easter season (the fifty days following Easter), it seems odd to invoke the idea of a voice in the wilderness. This is more closely associated with John the Baptist, Jesus’ prophetic cousin, who warned people of the impending shift and called on them to pay attention.
Last night, I was privileged to hear a collection of church leaders who are running for a high office. All five of them are people who have dedicated their lives to serving others. All five are at the top of their chosen professions. All of them are educated, hard-working, faithful, committed professionals.
One, however, stood out.
This man, an unassuming, funny, middle-aged man, knows who he is. He knows his strengths, he knows his weaknesses and he isn’t afraid to show either. He said some things that made us laugh. He said some truths that were hard to hear. This candidate spoke from the heart; he was truly and authentically himself and, even in that company, he shone like a diamond. If he does not attain this new position, I will be extremely surprised.
In an era when people tell us what they think we want to hear and pre-package, pre-spin and try to sell us what we don’t want, this was incredibly rejuvenating and refreshing. His was a voice from the wilderness, cutting through game-playing, politicking, and secondary concerns.
General Wesley Clark is another one like this man. Like him, he sees what others do not and articulates it for us. Of all of the military leaders the United States has had, he alone intervened in a genocide before it could take place and paid the price for his vision. Instead of taking “the easy way” and joining the presidential race early, he has gone it alone, becoming the voice of reason on national security, ending dependence on foreign oil, engaging Iran and a host of other problems. Instead of speaking in slogans, General Clark speaks in truths. Like another visionary, former Vice President Gore, General Clark offers solutions to real problems.
Like former President Carter, former Vice President gore and so many others who were ahead of their time, General Clark has become a voice in the wilderness.
At this point, we do not know whether General Clark will enter the presidential race. Those of us who support him may also feel that we have entered the wilderness with him: unsure of what to do, who to follow, where to work or throw our support. Following a prophetic voice can be a tiresome and lonely business and often doesn’t turn out the way we want it to. Whether it’s forty minutes, forty days or forty years, being lost in the wilderness (or so we think) is no fun.
Almost always, though, we find ourselves again – and the satisfaction of staying true to ourselves, following those we respect and leading in whatever capacity – those are worth waiting for.
