Wednesday, June 9, 2021

“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish…” (Romans 1: 14, New Revised Version)

              When I was a little boy, I liked to play “cowboys and Indians”. I would strap on my authentic, imitation Roy Rogers’ gun holster, make sure my cap-gun, western six-shooter was loaded with caps and stood ready to stave off the attacks of the wild, blood thirsty Red Indians which was what the indigenous natives were often called, back then. I was greatly influenced by the Saturday afternoon Western movies from the forties which were on TV. Stereotypically, the Red Indians were attacking a settlement, a farm or a wagon train. The poor white settlers were under siege from these “savages”. But inevitably, there came the sound of a bugle and over the horizon rode the cavalry to save the day as they routed the enemy.

                In by boyish mind, it never dawned on me that the reason the Native Peoples were attacking to begin with was because they were being pushed out of their native lands, were being lied to by white governments, and being forced to live in reservations under sometimes quite squalid conditions. I’d be teed off, too.

                Despite this background, I don’t think it affected me too much about how I felt about my own generation of native peoples. To be honest, I don’t think I knew anyone from the nearby reservation until I was in high school. The prettiest girl in the class was from Tyendinaga, and other students were scattered in other classes. Beyond that, I don’t recall having a negative viewpoint about them. But neither did I think much at all about their circumstances or what they had to endure to be a Native person in our country.  In hindsight, I wish we had a more honest education.

                We certainly didn’t learn anything about residential schools.  But 213 children’s unmarked graves at a residential school have given us the painful exposure to the atrocities which our indigenous people have experienced over the centuries. It is grievous beyond the pale that the Church played such a leading role in these atrocities. Cultural genocide seems a very strong term, but I can think of no other, equally adequate. It’s way past the time that we own the term, live up to our Canadian culpability, accountability and responsibility. Our First Nations’ people still live in some horrendous conditions without adequate water and other necessities. They are treated badly and prejudicially by some police. Their suicide rate is alarming. And so on…

                It is time to put away our cap guns and make amends.

                In particular the Church needs to step up and do the right thing. Regardless whether it was Catholic or Anglican or some other denomination this is an ugly scar on all Christians. We owe them the sincerest of apologies and way much more.

                It is critical more than ever that the Church re-embody the earthly ministry of Jesus. We need to set aside the high and sanctified characteristics of our Christology (the theology of Jesus Christ) and rediscover the compassion, the healing, the grace, the inclusion, the respect, the love that came from the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

                I chose Paul’s words from Romans because he expresses through them that he is very aware and appreciative of the diversity of peoples around him, even the “barbarians”, as he called them. Technically, barbarians were non-Greeks mostly, but we can understand the phrase as meaning “not one of us”. Interestingly, many of the newer translations of the Bible take the pejorative sting out of the word. E.g. “to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.” (New Living Translation) Nonetheless, Paul comes across as an understanding and grateful man of the world, seeing beyond nasty labels and blind prejudice. He eagerly embraced the diversity of the peoples he encountered, treated them with respect, grace and trust.

                Jesus and then Paul paints a picture of what Jesus’ church is supposed to be. When it comes to our treatment of Indigenous People, we have failed and failed badly.

                The church needs to reawaken its Jesus’ Spirit and try to make a fresh start with all peoples who are “not one of us”.

                “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” (Colossians 3:11, NLT)              

Dale