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 “Do not be overcome by evil,

but overcome evil with good”

(Romans 12:21).  

I have wondered if I am the only one feeling it these past days – a sense of heaviness or sadness at recent events that have unfolded in Canada?  The first event was the discovery of 215 unmarked children’s graves at the site of the former Kamloops Residential School. I blogged about it last week and observed how, as ugly as the revelation was, perhaps it would be the initiative for Canadians to get serious about “getting on” with the hard work of reconciliation.  

Perhaps one symbol of that new beginning is the orange, All Lives Matter T shirts and children’s shoes hanging from the porch at the front of Comox United Church.  As I commented last week, as disturbing as this discovery in Kamloops was, I was not surprised.  Also, it didn’t affect me in a particularly “dark way,” because the event was part of our history, and even in the messiness of an ugly past, the future of reconciliation, equality and justice for all, seems promising.  

The second event that occurred was the murder of the Muslim family in London Ontario. The reality of a family being killed in Canada because of their religious belief is somehow beyond my comprehension. It’s been 20 years since 9/11.  Even then, it seemed unbelievable that many people would turn on an entire population because of the senseless act of a small number of terrorists.  Islam is the world’s second largest religion and comprises about 1.8 billion people. Have we not progressed in our thinking in 20 years?  

Perhaps one reason these acts of hate against Islam seem to disturb me so much is because I have such fond memories of the year I spent working in Libya, North Africa.  For the most part, the people I met there were Muslim, and they were warm, friendly and went out of their way to offer Canadians their hospitality. I remember sitting on the porch, one warm summer evening, having a conversation with an older Libyan fellow who did some administrative work for Canadian Company I worked for, and commenting on how impressed I was with his knowledge of Christianity.  His reply was, “Of course I know a lot about your religion. We are all children of Abraham.”  I was embarrassed because I knew so little about Islam.  

It just makes me sad, that even in Canada, we can not accept one another as children of God – created in God’s image and filled with that spark of life that we name as Spirit, God, Allah or Creator. I believe that is why the two events have a cumulative effect on my psyche. They both have their roots in not being able to accept others who look, think, act, or believe differently than we do.   

When I think of the Black Lives Matter movement, I can see how we have made progress since the 1960’s, but at the same time I am depressed by the reality of how far we have to go before all humans have the same rights and privileges.  If we can’t make this happen in Canada, which many of us think is one of the world’s most enlightened societies, what hope is there for the rest of the world?  

When I consider my own family, my sister’s children are Metis and just as proud of their Aboriginal heritage as their Welsh heritage. Carol’s son is married to a beautiful young woman of Malaysian and East Indian heritage – who flows easily between her Hindu and Christian heritage – and as excited as Carol and I are about the arrival of our first “brown” grandchild this summer we also would be devastated and hurt if that child was ever judged by his/her colour or belief system.  

So, it is easy to become overwhelmed by all the hate we see in our world. There are days when I would just like to plug my ears and crawl under a rock (la-la-la-la)! And then I am reminded of Paul’s letter to the church in Romans. We are reminded that as followers of the way, instead of being overwhelmed by hate, we are called to practise love.  Our acceptance and love of others will do more to change negative attitudes towards other humans than any other single act.  And that gives me strength, courage and optimism for the future.  The display of T shirts and shoes outside our church is a powerful message.  The way we interact with our neighbours says a lot.  We are not alone in our struggle, for God is with us, and in the end, love will triumph!  

Hallelujah and Amen!

Wayne