Yesterday, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada.
And though the celebrations have not been free of spectacle and controversy – from the ridiculous, such as the price of a large rubber duck; to the more serious, including whether our focus should be on 150 years of history, or on the thousands of years of First Nations history in this land – we should not overlook the fact that we do, indeed, live in a great country.
I love this country. Not only was I born here – in fact, at the Toronto Western Hospital, about 2.5 km from where I am now standing – but I try not to take it for granted. I love its diversity of regions and peoples; I love its peace and freedom; I love its beauty and its potential; I love its decency, its willingness to look at past wrongs, and seek to correct them, and its willingness to look at future possibilities and plan for them.
I consider that this nation that we share is not only one of the greatest nations in our world, today, but that it is one of the greatest nations in the history of humanity. Rarely, if ever, have people of different ethnicities, different backgrounds, different histories, come together to create a community in which children are safe, water is clean, healthcare is freely available, different languages are embraced, social safety nets are in place to try to care for our most vulnerable citizens, food is plentiful, the streets are generally safe, governments are stable, elections are fair, minorities are protected, different cultures and languages and customs are honoured and shared for the mutual benefit and enrichment of all of us.
I have travelled in quite a number of different parts of the world, and never – when I step off the plane, do I regret or lament that this nation is my home.
But before we get too proud of ourselves, and of this “great??? country that we share, it can be good for us to ponder the fact that we are not yet a perfect nation.
Rather, there are troubling realities that we still need to confront.
Today’s reading from Matthew was not selected in relation to Canada’s 150th birthday celebration. But there is both an inspiring and a challenging note to be found in it.
In the passage, Jesus is depicted speaking to his followers about the call to hospitality, and how those who follow him should treat others and how they should expect to be treated. Those who welcomed them would be welcoming Christ; those who treated the prophets and the righteous with honour and respect would, in turn, receive honour and respect.
But then we read these words, “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.???
A cup of cold water. Seems quite simple. Seems like the kind of thing we, as Canadians, should be able to take for granted. I do not remember the last time that I paused, at the kitchen sink, to wonder if a cup of clean cold water would come pouring out if I turned on the tap. And I certainly do not remember ever worrying if a cup of cold water that I give to one of my kids is safe for them to drink.
But perhaps that is not because I do not live in one of the many First Nations communities in which a cup of clean water cannot, in fact, be taken for granted.
Most of us know that the First Nations people of this country – a country whose history we are celebrating, this weekend — have made an invaluable contribution to this nation. And yet, most of us also know that the way that they have been treated has not been a particularly noble dimension of this country’s history. From disregarded treaty agreements, to the horrors of the residential school system, to inferior health care and educational services, to the attempted inculturation of their children with the resulting decimation of their languages, customs, beliefs and practices – the mistreatment of the First Nations of this country is a blight on our national history and consciousness.
But the problems that confront our First Nations communities are not simply a part of our history. Rather, they are a part of the daily existence of many of the people who can trace their ancestry back far more than 150 years.
And one of the most pressing and difficult challenges is that a cup of cold water cannot be taken for granted for many of the people who have lived on this land for hundreds and for thousands of years.
To the contrary, there are First Nations communities, in this “great??? nation, who have been on drinking water advisories – or outright bans — for close to 20 years. A recent study entitled “Glass Half Empty???? documents the crisis – and reports that in the fall of 2016, there were over 150 drinking water advisories issued in First Nations communities. Think about that – a mother or a father cannot give their child a bath, they cannot drink water out of their taps, they cannot assume that the water that they drink is safe and clean until it has been boiled and subjected to a number of processes.
The government of our country acknowledges that access to clean drinking water is a problem that must be addressed and solved; and they have committed to trying to address it within a five year framework. And yet, that report has documented that these important and necessary goals are not entirely on track. In our own province of Ontario, there are 81 drinking water advisories (which are sometimes known as DWAs) in 44 First Nations communities – and 68 of those drinking water advisories are considered long term.
Can you imagine that, for a moment – living in a place in which for the past 20 years – since 1995, the Neskantage First Nations community has been under a drinking water advisory. Without clean, reliable drinking water since 1995. Think about that for a moment.
And, in fact, the same report suggests that the single most significant hurdle to overcome is an overly cumbersome and complex federal process. A significant amount of money has been spent, and committed, to the task of providing clean and consistent access to water, but infrastructural, bureaucratic and political issues have only added hurdles to the environmental and physical challenges that have to be overcome.
And they must be overcome. And we should, as Christians and as Canadians, see it as a priority that must be addressed without delay.
But what does all of this have to do with the Bible, and faith, and the Church, and Jesus, and all of the things that we are supposed to hear about at church?
While water safety might not, at first glance, seem like a particularly “spiritual??? issue, we should never forget the role that water plays in the biblical text – as a sign of life emerging out of the chaos of the primordial seas, as the path to freedom during the time of the exodus, as a sign of God’s continued protection in the wilderness, as a mark of our baptism. Jesus spoke of himself as living water, he walked on the water to demonstrate his power, his word triumphed over the stormy winds and waters.
And he linked our discipleship with simple acts of kindness – like offering a cup of cold water in his name. Such a request is perfectly aligned with so many of the other seemingly insignificant tasks that he sent his followers into the world to perform. Feed a hungry person. Welcome a stranger. Go to the sick, to the imprisoned, to the naked and care for them. Offer a cup of cold water – or, perhaps, try to ensure that a cup of cold water is available to every one of God’s beloved children.
None of those acts seems all that significant – in fact, there is nothing really great about any of them – but nonetheless, each of those small, seemingly insignificant acts would contribute towards the coming of his kingdom to this world.
It’s nothing great. But if we are to be a great nation, if we are to strive towards a great world, sometimes it is the small things that make a big difference.
I do not have a specific program or policy to propose. I simple ask us, in the midst of our joyful celebrations, and in the midst of our gratitude for this great country, to remember this.
That somewhere, in this country, a parent is having to take water, and then boil it, and then cool it down, all the while hoping that those cumbersome steps will make the cup of water that they give to their child safe to drink. Somewhere, in this country, an elderly person has been having to boil their water, for as long as they can remember, before touching it to their thirsty lips. Somewhere, in this country, the bathwater that a child is washed in before being tucked into bed might be unsafe. It is not acceptable.
Of course, you did not come to this church today to hear a diatribe about water safety issues; you came to hear the Gospel, the good news that God wants proclaimed to this world. And the Gospel is not so much about what we do, or even what we are supposed to do – it is about what God has done, and what God is going to do.
So here, perhaps, is the Gospel.
Canada is celebrating 150 years since Confederation. There are people who God loves having to endure years of waiting, years of frustration, simply to get the cup of cold water that Jesus said was to be offered in his name.
But the good news is that God may be sending a group of people to do something about it.
And it may be you.
And that might be good news.
So happy 150th, Canada. We’re thankful for you.
But there is work to be done if this nation is truly going to be a place of blessing for all.
True greatness is yet to be.
Amen.
