June 7, 2015 – Guest Preacher: Pastor Ken Kuhn on Truth and Reconciliation
Presiding Minister: Pastor Ken Kuhn
Day and date: Second Sunday of Pentecost – Lectionary 10, June 7, 2015
Church: First Lutheran Church, Winnipeg
Texts – Genesis 3:8-15; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35
Truth and Reconciliation
Eagle Feather
This eagle feather is one of my most prized possessions;
It was given to me by aboriginal inmates at Stony Mountain penitentiary when I retired as a chaplain there now over ten years ago.
Working in a prison was quite an eye opener for me as the vast majority of inmates are aboriginal.
It was an immersion experience for me in the challenges faced by many Indians today.
Sinclair: I have a dream for Canada
Surely the situation of First Nations peoples in Canada has been brought to light in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission inquiry which has released its findings just this week.
I had tears in my eyes on Tuesday when I watched the presentation of the findings by Justice Murray Sinclair, Marie Wilson and Chief Littlechild.
Sinclair’s speech reminded me of the historic I have a dream speech of Martin Luther King delivered in 1993 in Washington.
The inquiry has laid bare how the treatment of Indian people in the last hundred years has contributed markedly to the struggles of many Indians today, particularly the forcing of children into Residential Schools.
Sinclair has spelled out the need for a new relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Canada to foster the welfare of both native people and the rest of the nation.
He said: “Reconciliation must inspire aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples to transform Canadian society so that our children and grandchildren can live together in dignity peace, and prosperity on these lands we now share.” (FP, June 3 p A7)
A house divided
In our gospel reading this morning Jesus was attacked for healing on the Sabbath and casting out unclean spirits.
Jesus denied this with the observation that if he is in league with Satan, how can he cast out demons.
“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”
So we as a nation stand as a house divided.
The dominant society has labelled Indians as being inferior needing the protection of the state.
This attitude has been at the root of suppressing aboriginal culture and religion as the work of the devil.
And now we have this royal commission laying out in no uncertain terms how Christianity has been in league with the dominant political powers which has been so destructive to the self-direction and integrity of the aboriginal populations.
We are a house divided and as such cannot stand.
Change is needed to bring about a new order of relationships so that we all might prosper and live in dignity and respect.
Convergence and differences
Part of this process is owning up to how some aspects of our faith practices have contributed to this division.
The settlers expelled Indians from the land that had sustained them for thousands of years under the premise that European religion and ways of life are superior to the Indian ways.
As a Christian church we have a lot of work to do to reconcile our beliefs with those of aboriginal spirituality.
Surely there are points of similarity between the teachings of the Bible and those of the aboriginal elders.
There is much common ground around our doctrine that God is the creator of the earth, sky and waters.
These rich teachings that gave substance and unity to aboriginal peoples have been fractured along with colonialism and settlement.
So, rather than mutual condemnation, there is a need for respectful dialogue around basic beliefs and values
First bind Satan
At the heart of our gospel reading today is Jesus work as a healer.
Within the understanding of biblical times, he cast out the demonic evil spirits that were causing illnesses.
When criticised, he affirmed how healing occurs by first binding the powers that cause illness and harm.
Jesus was a realist about the harmful consequences of selfish attitudes and self-serving actions.
He pointed out the destructive powers of sin.
Sinful attitudes, behaviours and actions that cause harm.
And surely racism is a sin that needs the attention of us all today.
In our attitudes and in social structure
In my sermon a few weeks ago I shared about my adventure as a participant in the historic civil rights march for voters rights 50 years ago in Selma and Montgomery.
I described how racism has roots in our attitudes and prejudices that then give rise to social structures of discrimination and exclusion.
Sadly, we witness that there continues to be considerable racism in the attitudes about those around us.
In her Free Press column last week, Shannon Sampert, the perspectives and political editor, spoke about these attitudes:
“I’m sick of hearing people say ‘first Nations people need to get over this [residential school issue] and pull themselves up by their bootstraps’. Tired of the ubiquitous taxpayers screaming they don’t want their hard-earned money spent on aboriginal issues. You need only read the online comments on any story regarding this issue to get a sense of the rage people share.”( FP, June 4, A9)
And I’m afraid that we here today have often harboured such attitudes, pointing out how our ancestors worked so hard to settle the land.
We forget the obstacles faced by our First Nations:
- Resettled to restrictive reservations often on poor land
- Deprived of opportunities for economic sustenance
- Forbidden to speak their native languages and religion
- And their children for seven generations wrenched from their homes and families into stark institutions.
Due to these structural obstacles, we are reaping the results in poverty, addictions, and broken communities and family relationships.
Reconciliation will require that all of us rethink our attitudes about aboriginal people and affirm new ways of structuring our relationships to break the barriers of dependency and create better conditions for opportunity and personal and social development.
By exorcising the demon of racism, we will all benefit as we build a house that is undivided, united in a common vision and purpose.
Working together for peace and justice
Doing the will of God
Our text today concludes as the family of Jesus is perplexed at the how Jesus is attacked.
Jesus comments that all who do the will of God are his family, his brothers and sisters.
This is the vision of the kingdom of God that gives hope for all of us at this juncture of our history.
It is the prophetic vision of God for all people to dwell together in peace and harmony with justice and well-being for all.
This is the vision of the word of God that inspires us today.
I am proud to be part of First Lutheran church that is enlivened in our life together in our community ministries and openness.
And the actions of our national church to advocate for new beginnings.
The path of Jesus is still a living path to move forward into God’s future.
Children: our treasure
Certainly children are part of this hopeful future.
Today we have honoured our children and those who step forward to teach in our church school.
As parents and grandparents, we surround our children with love and nurture to live out their baptismal covenant with God in Christ,
Even as we lament the mistreatment of many aboriginal children.
In the vision of Jesus there is hope;
- Hope for the broken lives and broken relationships
- and broken communities,
- Hope that reconciliation is possible.
- There is hope for change
Civil rights and aboriginal rights
Marie and I just returned from about three weeks travelling in the States.
We spent a few days in Chicago attending a seminary class reunion for my class of 1965, and taking part in the graduation ceremonies of the class of 2015.
We then travelled further south to visit the cities of Montgomery and Selma where I had marched 50 years ago in the struggle for civil rights.
It was quite a thrill for me walk over the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma which stands as a beacon for building bridges between the races.
50 years ago buses and restaurants and schools and the ballot box were segregated keeping African American, former slaves, out of the mainstream of society,
On our trip, we ate in desegregated restaurants and hotels, saw interracial couples and black police officers and businessmen.
In Montgomery we mourned at a memorial for over forty activists who died in that movement, some on the very day that I took part in the march.
In Memphis we visited the motel where King had been assassinated in 1968, which is now a national historic site.
Impressive strides have been taken, though much remains to be done.
And we are reminded how our broken relationships with aboriginal people in Canada also has a long list of victims and martyrs, over 6,000 children who died at the schools and 1,181 missing and murdered women.
Change often involves the sacrifices as embodied in the death and resurrection of Christ.
So, I believe that it is possible for us in Canada to forge reconciliation, new ways of relating to one another,
so that all have the opportunity to live in the freedom and dignity that God desires.
On our trip we were reminded how central were Christian pastors and lay people and students, both black and white, in working together to resist evil and promote a renewal of society and personal lives.
It is this same vision and hope that empowers us as the people of God today to address the challenges of our own time.
In this journey, we are not alone.
The spirit of Christ is with us providing vision and hope.
Let the people all say: Amen.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
