On this Canada Day we have been invited by the Indigenous communities who have lived on this land for millennia to pause and ponder. With the discoveries of mass burial grounds and unmarked graves at residential school sites, a part of Canadian history that had long been denied and concealed is being exposed. It is uncomfortable and unnerving for all. It triggers much pain for indigenous peoples. And, I believe it is incumbent upon all Canadians to stop, pause, and reflect. These musings are part of my reflections.
Let me begin by saying though I come from a family that settled in Canada over 200 years ago and have proudly carried my Canadian passport when I travel abroad, reflecting on the sins of my nation is something I do not shy away from and do not feel to be a threatening exercise. As a person who has placed my faith in Jesus as my Saviour and Lord, my allegiance is ultimately to him—not the Prime Minister, certainly not the Queen, and not to some notion of Canada’s reputation that is being exposed as far less than I was taught. And, I believe only by owning the sins of our nation can we truly find a pathway to wholeness.
As a follower of Jesus, my reflections will center on the cross of Jesus for it is the center of our faith. The Apostle Paul himself made it clear in 1 Corinthians 2:2 when he said that he made a deliberate decision “to know nothing among you except Jesus the Messiah—crucified” (my translation). In other words, the cross was not only central to Paul’s message, but to all he did and how he lived. You see, the cross of Jesus is multidimensional. It not only is how our salvation is achieved—Jesus dying a substitutionary death, atoning for our sins—it is also the standard by which we are to live our lives. People who place their faith in Jesus are accepting not just the free gift of forgiveness of sins, but a calling to live cross-shaped lives. Jesus himself made it clear: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34 – ESV). I do not know how much clearer Jesus could have been.
Paul, similarly, called all believers to have this mind in themselves that was also in Christ Jesus…
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross. (NRSV)
The cross is the definitive image and model for the Christian life. How, then, does the cross address Truth and Reconciliation in our Canadian context in 2021?
First, I believe the cross challenges those of us who are settlers to recognize that Jesus identifies with the suffering of indigenous communities.
All the gospel accounts of the crucifixion show clearly that Jesus himself was brutally slain and tortured by the powers of his day—both religious and political. James H. Cone in his masterful work, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, notes how the Black community found solace and hope in the cross--an incredible irony given the oppression experienced at the hands of White Christians. He notes that the Black community has long been “the most obvious cross-bearers in American society” (p. 38) and that there is a profound link between the cross of Jesus with the lynching tree—“the most potent symbol of the trouble nobody knows that blacks have seen but do not talk about because the pain of remembering” (p. 3).
So, too, the cross of Jesus reminds us that he identifies with the plight of indigenous peoples who suffered at the hands of religious and political leaders—many of whom would have claimed themselves to be followers of Jesus. As Jurgen Moltmann notes in his opus, The Crucified God, “The church has much abused the theology of the cross and the mysticism of the passion in the interest of those who cause the suffering” (65). It is time we recognize that Jesus not only loves the indigenous community and died for them, he suffers with them and died with them—at the hands of Christians.
Second, I believe the cross reminds us that sin can be corporate in its manifestation.
It wasn’t just Roman governor, Pilate, or a single Roman soldier or one religious leader who killed Jesus. It was a whole system of governance that was utilized by a group of powerful men to do away with Jesus. He was not stoned in a sudden fury of religious zealotry like Stephen (see Acts 6). Jesus was intentionally brought before various legal systems and condemned--though innocent--to the most brutal form of execution at their disposal. In fact, the religious leaders used the system, broken and sinful as it was, to achieve their ends and have Jesus executed in a way that they thought would rid them of him and his movement. As Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:13 (citing Deuteronomy 21:23): everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed. The intentionality behind seeking to use the Roman system of occupation to ensure Jesus was crucified is unmistakable.
One cannot look at these systems and not see sin in and through them. They were designed to maintain Roman sovereignty over conquered people--to keep people in their place. The whole system was rigged to benefit the Romans and their citizens, and to keep conquered people from rising up and finding their own voice and freedom. No wonder the Apostle John noted that the whole world is under the sway of the evil one (1 John 5:19). We live in a broken world.
Why, then, are conservative Christians so nervous about acknowledging that racism is a manifestation of system-level sin? Why are we so reluctant to recognize that racism itself infects the very systems that were forged when Canada was settled, treaties were signed, and the nation was birthed? And that these same systems continue to benefit some at the expense of others?
History demonstrates that when indigenous nations no longer served the purposes of the British Crown in its stand against America, and when the economic engine that was powered by indigenous peoples changed, there was a collective shift in government that resulted in the Indian Act and an approach that sought to find a way around the treaties they continued to sign. The aim became to assimilate all indigenous peoples into mainstream Canadian society. This was the rationale behind residential schools--an unmistakable demonstration of systemic racism and collective sin.
Third, I believe the cross reminds us that sin must be named in order to be overcome.
We are told explicitly in Scripture to confess our sins--to name them and acknowledge them for what they are (1 John 1:9). And while people today may say we had no part in the residential school system, we must acknowledge both the sins of our forefathers and the benefit that we have gleaned--even indirectly--from these actions. Also, whether or not it was my denomination that was involved in running these schools, the simple fact is that the world does not see the difference, and the gospel of Jesus has been tarnished, the cross diminished precisely by the sins of the church.
In the Old Testament book of Joel we find a concept called a “sacred assembly” (1:14; 2:15). In simple terms: corporate sin requires corporate confession and corporate action. It’s not about finger pointing. It is about jointly mourning. And then it is about understanding individual culpability within the framework of collective culpability. Even if we did not run a residential school and implement a system that so abused and neglected children as to see thousands of them die, we do carry the responsibility of finding a path to healing and reconciliation.
So, as I conclude my musings, I express some wishes.
I wish churches all across Canada would stop and ponder: how does the gospel of the crucified Jesus guide us in responding to the atrocities of the residential school system? I long for my church and all churches to clearly and courageously address this from the pulpit.
I wish the church and its scholars would engage in deep theological reflection as it interacts with the Truth and Reconciliation reports.
And, I wish the church--both in its local manifestations and in its collective identities (i.e. denomination)--would reach out to indigenous communities to humbly seek to find pathways of healing and reconciliation together.
Whether or not Canada gets it right, it is time for the church to step forward, to take up the cross, and follow Jesus.
To learn first hand about the Truth and Reconciliation reports and recommendations, look here:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC)
Truth and Reconciliation Reports
If you want to learn more about Indigenous communities and history, I recommend these courses (I have completed the Indigenous Canada course through the University of Alberta and am half-way through the Reconciliation :Education through the Indigenous University in Saskatchewan… both are well worth your time and thoughtful engagement):
The Toronto Public Library has a great list of books to explore...
Remembering the 215 Children Found in an Unmarked Mass Grave at Kamloops Indian Residential School
And some booked I highly recommend:
Book — Indian Horse Feature Film
FInally, if you are interested in learning more and getting involved, consider these links:
Indian Residential School Survivors Society
About Us Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM)
About Us – Legacy of Hope Foundation
