CANADA 150

CANADA 150

July 2, 2017

Sermon in a sentence: Let us pray diligently (with great thanksgiving!) for God’s continued favour and blessing upon our nation.

Congregational reading: Psalm 72:1-8, 12-19

Scriptures: Psalm 72:1-8, 12-19; Prov. 14:34

Psalm 72 NKJV (A Psalm for Solomon)

1 Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son. 2 He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice. 3 The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor. 5 They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, like showers that water the earth. 7 In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper. 13 He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy. 14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight. 15 And He shall live; and the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; prayer also will be made for Him continually, and daily He shall be praised. 16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, on the top of the mountains; its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; and those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17 His name shall endure

1

forever; his name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed. 18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things! 19 And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.

And now, in honour of our great God and this beautiful country we love and call home, let us stand together as we sing our national anthem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MogVdARCFgY

(Musicians: In case of video issues, play anthem in key of C, C# or D.)

Psalm 72 was written by King David for his son Solomon, and I imagine it was sung at his inauguration ceremony. And although it was written for a man, I think it contains a number of principles that can easily go beyond the individual to have national application for a country like Canada.

David’s prayer at the beginning of this chapter was that his son’s reign would be marked by righteousness, and justice for the poor. And as Solomon himself wrote in his book of proverbs:

Prov. 14:34 NKJV Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

David also prayed and prophesied that during Solomon’s reign, there would be an “abundance of peace” (v.7).

So here we have three characteristics of a great and godly nation: righteousness, justice and peace.

2

In addition, David said Solomon would help and deliver those who were poor and needy and he would be called “blessed” by the surrounding nations.

So, as we enjoy the abundant blessings of the Lord upon our land, we need to be righteous, just, peaceable and a refuge for those in need.

We are well aware of the fact that there is no such thing as a perfect country, a perfect workplace, a perfect school, a perfect marriage, a perfect home, a perfect church or even a perfect individual.

Canada has had its fair share of failures, beginning with its dealings with the indigenous peoples who were first inhabitants of this land. There are still many deep and painful wounds that need to be healed. And in this congregation today, many of us have personally experienced hateful and hurtful acts at the hands of those who had the power to abuse us with impunity.

Any yet, to be honest, I never once had the feeling that Canada or its government was against me as an individual as I was growing up in Cabbagetown. (This was long before Cabbagetown became the fashionable and expensive home to many of Toronto’s elites.) Even as a child I knew that the racial prejudice I was facing was from unenlightened individuals, not from the country itself. And in spite of the problems we faced, my siblings and I had a wonderful childhood and were very happy to be in Canada (at least between April and December)!

So yes, it would be very easy to dwell on negative history and failings that have characterized much of Canada’s past, but today, as we continue to celebrate Canada’s sesqui-centennial, let us take the time to look at the other side.

3

First of all, let’s see where we all come from.

Show image below as we do a roll call of nations represented at Faith Sanctuary, by continent:

AFRICA: Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe ANTARCTICAASIA: Afghanistan, China, India, Philippines, Singapore, Sri LankaAUSTRALIAEUROPE: England, Holland, Hungary, Portugal, Wales, Yugoslavia NORTH AMERICA (and the Caribbean Islands : Barbados, Canada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent, Unites States of America SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Guyana, Uruguay

4

Since 1604 when the first settlement of European immigrants was established,1 Canada (and especially Toronto) has become the world’s “village.” Early in the 16th century, Jacques Cartier had heard the Iroquois using the word “kannata” (meaning “village”) and by 1550, the name Canada had begun to be widely used for this French/English territory.

As you can see in our own congregation, people from at least 27 nations have emigrated to this big Canadian village!

When my own family came to Canada in 1967, we were among 225,000 immigrants that year, a big centennial anniversary influx. And now, for our sesqui-centennial this year, we anticipate welcoming another 300,000 immigrants to this land.

Soon after we arrived, we learned this little song in public school:

This land is your land, This land is my landFrom Bonavista, to Vancouver IslandFrom the Arctic Circle to the Great Lakes watersThis land was made for you and me.

Looking at it from another angle, in our Centennial year, roughly 10% of Canadians had been born in other countries. Today, that percentage has more than doubled, to 22%.2

1 For a brief and comprehensive history of Canada, see: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/discover/section-06.asp, accessed June 24, 2017.2 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2016006-eng.htm, accessed June 23, 2017.

5

Cycle through next four images as I read the section on citizenship and the Canadian Constitution:

6

7

When an individual meets the requirements and applies for citizenship in Canada, they are required to take the oath of citizenship. They bind themselves to uphold The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (enacted on April 17, 1982), the first two paragraphs of which read as follows:

“Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms

1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

Fundamental Freedoms

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a)  freedom of conscience and religion; (b)  freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and(d) freedom of association.”

8

Most of us here, as immigrants to Canada, have gladly taken our place as citizens of this great land, with thankfulness to our gracious God. We commit ourselves to uphold the rights and freedoms laid out in our Consitution, and we beseech God to continue to show His favour upon a nation like ours with such ideals!

Display image

A story has often been told regarding Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley,3 one of the 33 “Fathers of Confederation,” who started each day with prayer and Bible reading.4 As he and the other founders gathered in Charlottetown to discuss and draft the terms of the British North America Act, there were many suggestions on what to call this new national entity. One morning, as Tilley read from Psalm 72:8, he become so convinced that Canada should be a nation

3 Premier of New Brunswick, 1861 – 1865.4 Communique of the Christian Heritage Party - http://www3.telus.net/chp/Comm1996/Com3-22.htm, accessed June 24, 2017.

9

under God, that when he came down to the conference session, he presented the inspired name “Dominion of Canada.” The other Fathers readily agreed to it, and today there is a plaque outside the doors of the Confederation Chamber in Province House, P.E.I., which reads:

“In the hearts of the delegates who assembled in this room on September 1, 1864, was born the Dominion of Canada. Providence being their guide, they builded better than they knew.”5

Display image below:

Although some of the details of this account have been debated over the years, our founders were definitely thinking along these lines, as witnessed by the engraving on one of the arches of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa: “HE SHALL HAVE DOMINION ALSO FROM SEA TO SEA.”

5 Ibid. (Excerpted with minor edits).10

So, for over 100 years, from 1879 to 1983, July 1st was officially called “Dominion Day,” an annual reminder of God’s sovereignty over our land.

(In 1982, Bill C-201 was passed, amending the “Holidays Act” to change the name of this holiday from “Dominion Day” to “Canada Day.”)6

Along with Tilley, there were many others who had Canada’s spiritual well-being at heart as they took their respective places in the pages of our history.

Samuel de Champlain (called the "Father of New France") arrived at the very beginning of the 17th century and wrote in his diary: "[the aborigines are] living without God and without religion... I thereupon conclude in my private judgement that I should be committing a great sin if I did not make it my business to devise some means of bringing them to the knowledge of God."7

We are well aware of the fact that Canada’s indigenous peoples (and indeed many others who have come to Canada from various parts of the world) have very strong beliefs in God, divine spirits and religion. But, as de Champlain expressed his desire, we, as “born-again” believers, have a very strong desire to introduce everyone we meet to Jesus Christ, whom we have come to know as the only true and living God.

6 The passage of the Bill was unconstitutional as there were only 13 MPs present for the vote, seven less than the minimum required quorum of 20. See https://parliamentum.org/2014/07/02/from-dominion-day-to-canada-day-from-historical-significance-to-banality/, accessed June 24, 2017.7 http://www3.telus.net/chp/Comm1996/Com3-22.htm, accessed June 24, 2017.

11

Egerton Ryerson, called the "father of public education in Canada", wanted to establish "a common patriotic ground of comprehensiveness and avowed Christian principles." He even wrote a textbook entitled First Lessons in Christian Morals. Ryerson and said that the public-school system … was to be "a Christian public-school system."8 So help us God!

In fact, many of our great Canadian universities were founded to educate future church leaders: 

o King's College in Nova Scotia (now Dalhousie University) was founded by the Church of England. 

o McGill University in Montreal was founded by Anglicans. 

o Queen's University in Kingston was founded by the Roman Catholic Church (and was Canada's first bilingual university). 

o McMaster University in Hamilton was founded by Baptists.9 

The list of Canadian contributions to the world is long and distinguished:

- Insulin was developed in 1922 by Fredrick Banting, Charles Best & James Collip

- The cardiac pacemaker was invented by John Hopps in 1941

- The prosthetic hand was invented by Helmut Lucas in 1971

8 Ibid.9 Ibid.

12

- Imax Technology and Trivial Pursuit are well-known examples of Canadian inventions for the entertainment of the masses

- And for over 30 years, the Canadarm has been an important tool for astronauts working in space.

Many countries look to us for leadership in helping them establish national healthcare programs, as we have enjoyed this benefit since 1966. Canadian seniors have also been blessed by the Canada Pension plan since 1926.10

However, the most important achievement of our nation and the most important blessing we enjoy is that we have the freedom to worship God and assemble without fear to sing, pray and hear the word of the Lord. There are many countries in this world where what we are doing today would be illegal and punishable by imprisonment or worse. We are a blessed people and we need to be appropriately thankful.

We must never cease to pray that God will establish His dominion from sea to sea in our nation and more personally, in the heart of each and every Canadian.

As King Solomon stated, our exaltation only comes as a result of our righteousness and it is our desire to see Canada exalted.

We pray for every citizen, permanent resident or refugee that has come under our wings for shelter.

We pray for every institution of government, education, healthcare and commerce.

10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_inventions, accessed June 27, 2017.

13

We pray for every adult, child and parent; every spouse, household and individual, that the Lord will draw us to Himself and send revival throughout our land.

Happy Birthday Canada and my God continue to bless you!

14