Oh, Canada
Our faith community celebrates Canada Day on the Sunday closest to July 1, which was today.
This has been a very difficult Canada Day season for many, for everyone I know. The continuing revelations of unmarked or mass graves attached to residential schools has been a traumatic and painful reminder of the scandal of a Canadian policy of cultural genocide. What do we as citizens or residents of Canada do with what has been happening?
The sermon this Sunday addresses some of these issues directly. The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday – 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 – provided a lens to think about what it means to be great, whether as a person or a country. As I discussed where I might take this text with my partner Hadley they helped me see one of the ways David was great was how he responded to his own sin. This gave me some direction regarding Canada and Canadians and our troubled relationships with treaties and Indigenous Peoples. I hope it helps you with your own thinking.
We are all treaty people.
“Where does greatness come from?” (to download, right click and select “Save Link As . . .”)
Blessings,
Image credit: This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND