March 5 2017 LENT 1
LENTEN LAMENT SEEKING RIGHT RELATIONS
SCRIPTURE: Psalm: Psalm 32 vu 759
Gospel: Matthew 4: 1-11
MEDITATION: And So We Begin Our Lament
As the introduction in your bulletins suggests this morning, Lent is a time for Lament. Traditionally through Lent for many years we have focused on our lament of the Christian story of Jesus’ life and we have lamented how through the ages we have failed as followers of Jesus and how we continue to be part of the reality of the ancient world that led to the death of Jesus. This year we are being invited to focus our lament on the specific Canadian Christian story and our part in and lack of knowledge that led to a history of broken relationship with the First Peoples of this land and the damage that Christian assumptions and actions perpetrated on the lives and the culture of these people across our land.
This is not easy work. Anyone of my age or younger was not taught the true history of our land as we grew up and engaged in Canadian education. Many of us had little or no contact with Indigenous Peoples because our political and cultural traditions kept us separate. Reservations did not allow for interactions or being educated together until very recent years. It is a truism that when human beings are kept separate it is the norm to develop misconceptions and assumptions about each other that are not really based in fact. We tend to become “fearful” of what we do not know and do not understand. All of these realities make it much more difficult to overcome the divisions that have formed over the last 150 years of Canadian history. And when we add the knowledge that we are now being exposed to about the political, social and spiritual abuses that were part of this history we are challenged to find a way to the attitude of “reconciliation” that we are being urged to take. This makes the work of reconciliation very hard indeed. But if we are to make the future better than the past then we must be diligent in trying to overcome the obstacles that stand in our way and acknowledge that these same, or more challenging obstacles, stand in the way of our fellow Canadians of Aboriginal descent.
We, who are descendants of the original settlers to this country that is our home, may feel many varied emotions such as guilt, shame, regret, fear, and denial as we are urged to look at the truth of the past through clearer and more truthful lenses. Our Indigenous neighbours may carry these same emotions as well as deep anger, frustration, a will to revenge and/or a determination to right the injustices of the past which unfortunately continue in our present time. Again this all makes the work of reconciliation challenging and in my observations has many of us on both sides moving more toward avoidance than engagement of this difficult work. I myself have been privileged both by choice and by chance to have spent many years studying and leaning about the issues. I acknowledge that in spite of that I am aware at many points in my commitment to reconciliation and right relationship; I am often lost, confused and fearful. It will take determination and courage on all our part to overcome all of the obstacles that we face. We as followers of Christ have not only an obligation but also a compelling spiritual imperative to assist us and move us through the challenges. Throughout lent we will engage in rituals and conversation that is meant to help us as we take the beginning steps to understanding. We are guided by our faith and our commitment to that faith and really all else that we need is an open mind and heart. We are not alone as we consistently remind ourselves in our worship and our life together as a community of faith that believes in the teachings of Jesus and the love that we are recipients of and urged to share with all of creation.
As we come to our ritual of the ashes and to the table set out for us, let us support each other in positive attitudes and a willingness to strive toward the lives that Jesus gave up his own life to enable us to have. There is hope in the journey of lament; the wilderness is a place of seeking, journeying, and struggling with the possibilities. As Jesus did in his wilderness, we too rely on the grace of God to lead us to choose wisely. May it be so for us. AMEN