Orange
Matthew 25:31-45 NIV – The Sheep and the Goats – “When the – Bible Gateway
A bit of a different note this week. A tougher note.
We were talking in our Exploring Faith group this week about asking where God is when tragic things happen. It was a good, honest discussion, and we didn’t come up with all the answers. I don’t think we could. We know that God is always present and knows the deepest pain of our hearts. Jesus cried at the graveside of someone He loved. God knows sorrow and pain. In Matthew 25 we read about Christ being hungry, thirsty and in prison and often people didn’t see him there.
But why doesn’t God stop this kind of hurt? And sometimes, in tragedies that are caused by human pride and need to control and gain power, why then does God not stop US?
We remember one such tragedy on September 30. I’d invite you to join with me in a hard part of our journey of faith.
On September 30, we remember the legacy of residential schools in Canada by wearing orange shirts. It helps us remember the children who passed away, the survivors, the intergenerational trauma that was caused—and so much more. The Presbyterian Church in Canada participated in the establishment and running of some of these schools. For the past number of years, the church has sought to engage in reconciliation and living out an apology made to Canada’s Indigenous and First Nations. But there’s more to it than that. More than the schools. There is a cultural absolutely necessary mindset shift that I as a white woman need to make every day.
Because there is a difference between an apology and reconciliation. Or, as I’m learning, reconciliaction.
I don’t often quote the church doctrine committee of the church, but today is different.
While apologies from the federal government and confessional statements from the churches are important in recognizing the wrongs of the past, issuing such statements does not stop ongoing injustice directed at Indigenous peoples. (Repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery in Practice-Life and Mission Agency—Justice Ministries Report 2021, p. 419-21,38)
From advocating for investigation into federal investments that build profit unjustly from Indigenous resources, to the returning of artefacts stolen, to supporting the establishment of Indigenous-led healing centres to seek some kind of healing from residential school experience and intergenerational trauma, we know that the path to forgiving and dealing with tragedy is step by step.
When we hear Christ say “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink”, Jesus is not just talking about physical needs. The whole passage in Matthew 25 is about recognizing God in the deepest hurts and needs another person has, and not just seeing it, but listening to what they need, and doing something about it. People didn’t get to be with Christ by saying, ‘Oh, you’re hungry, sorry about that ‘and not feeding someone who needed it.
So let’s not just wear orange shirts for a day. If something is wrong, let’s listen for what the other needs, and do something in humility and love and compassion, not out of a need to protect our power. Let’s listen in humility to calls for healing, even if those stories are hard to hear. God is there, in the middle of tragedy and hurt. Are we listening? Do we hear? Do we repent?
This isn’t the full answer. It’s humbly offered as a place to step in.
If you or someone you know has been affected by this tragedy or other events, please feel free to contact us and we will help you find help in our community. I am so sorry that you are going through this.
Here is a prayer written by Indigenous leaders in our church:
Creator, Healing God
On this National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
We lament all the childhoods and lives lost through the Residential School system; all the families broken and the communities wounded.
We pray for healing for all those harmed by the schools.
As a church we have repented for our role in running Residential Schools;
But we know repentance is only the beginning
Continue guiding your church to live out our confession and work for reconciliation.
Continue moving us to act, supporting justice for Indigenous people
Help your church hear how to walk the path of truth and reconciliation
And help all of us, always, to celebrate the hope and joy of every child.
Amen
Blessings and peace for the journey,
Susan