Sermon transcript:
Happy Canada Day weekend everyone! Did you start your day with a Canadiano and your elbows up? What do you think about that rallying cry, “elbows up”? There’s a part of me that gets it. In the face of threats that I never imagined coming from the United States, Canadians have rallied around “elbows up” and brought back to power the political party most associated with that slogan—a party that was condemned to certain defeat only six months ago. We felt in that slogan I believe a coming together as a people and that the party had our backs.
I’m wary though of appeals to nation and rallying around the flag. Some of that comes from my own upbringing. Between the ages of six and ten my family lived in Canada as undocumented migrants. The vulnerability of knowing that we could be asked to leave at any moment hung over us daily. I remember, in all my innocence, wondering why my friends could live here but I couldn’t. It didn’t make sense to me. I also attended the Separate school system where faith and the life of Jesus were a constant presence. Faith connected me to others; faith was a unifier. Nationality was a divider. Faith transcended nationality. The randomness and artificiality of nationality struck me from an early age, a product of winning or losing the geographical lottery at birth. I took heart in faith stories like the one today of Jesus and the Roman Centurion; a Jesus who saw beyond the bounds of nation and culture.
So, you can see why faith makes me wary of nationalist impulses. I have a need to reconcile “elbows up” with my faith because Jesus is no nationalist. He didn’t gather the people of Israel and take back territory, militarily or otherwise. Instead, he repeatedly declined to adopt any aspect of nationalism. He rejected typical kingship, declining the devil’s offer of control over all the kingdoms of the world, refusing to use supernatural powers for political gain, running from a crowd that wanted to enthrone him, choosing to ride on a donkey instead of a war horse as he entered the capital, Jerusalem, during Passover or what we now refer to as Palm Sunday.1 Jesus was rooted in a people and a place, a people and a place he loved, but he was no nationalist.
Last year I read a book2 by the renowned American poet, Christian, social commentator and farmer Wendell Berry. In that book he makes a distinction that I think clarifies our current moment and Jesus’ relationship with his people and his nation, Israel. Berry describes nationalism as something abstract,3 an idea or set of ideals about a people. Think about something like the Marlboro man as an icon of America—ruggedly independent, white, tamer of the wild. In its extreme form think of the Aryan of Nazi Germany—White, blue eyed, strong, unemotional, efficient, logical, superior. These are nationalist ideas and myths that are used to set a people apart, to exclude the other. In contrast to this Berry speaks of the patriot or patriotism. Which is about fidelity to one’s land and those who live on it and all the responsibilities for care and conservation that come with this relationship.4 Patriotism for Berry is grounded in understanding and empathy that comes from listening to the stories and experiences of the people, and by the people about the land,5 rather than abstract ideologies or slogans, which he sees as leaving us vulnerable to conflict and division.
I think about how the “elbows up” approach fits within those categories of nationalism and patriotism, and my radar goes up for signs that pride of nation is devolving into tribalism, scapegoating and exploitation of the land. I feel a discomfort when I hear about the passing of Bill 5 in Ontario and Bill C5 federally in Ottawa. Both bills are promoted as responses to the threat posed by the United States—the uncertainty of the trade relationship and lack of respect for Canadian sovereignty. Both bills promise the elimination of barriers to narrowly defined economically beneficial projects—mining, pipelines and ports. It’s concerning how these new laws seem to position the treaty rights of Indigenous peoples and due diligence with respect to the environment, the land, as barriers to a strong Canada. It seems like scapegoating, tribalism and exploitation to me. These laws seem to say, you can have a strong Canada or respect treaty rights and the land, but not both. These appear to be nationalist laws not so much patriotic ones. A patriotic approach would love the land and the people on it, not see both as a means or obstacles to an imagined Canada in the future. A patriotic approach would see the land not merely in terms of economic exploitation of resources but stewardship of a gift whose health is tied up with our own health and well-being. A patriotic approach wouldn’t position Indigenous peoples as obstacles to prosperity but partners and nations, worthy of respect and right relationship. Because that very approach is itself a nation building and strengthening exercise that makes Canada stronger. As people of faith, it’s important to ask: do we want a Canada that sacrifices the land and the actual people on that land for the sake of some imagined ideal of what it means to be a strong Canada, or do we want a strong Canada to begin from the premise of, and rise from, loving the land and the people on it?
It seems to me that Jesus didn’t start with an agenda that lead to some ideal he had in his head. Rather he started with love of people, the ones before him, the ones he encountered. He loved them as they were, and he said, in different ways, “Do this and you’ll encounter the kingdom of God right in your midst.” Jesus is firmly rooted in his Jewishness and the nation of Israel and he is also committed to seeking the presence of God in the here and now of his day. It’s this approach which allows him to see extraordinary faith and a glimpse into God’s kingdom of love in the humility and compassion the Roman Centurion, who is not only a foreigner, but a representative of an occupying power. It’s this commitment that allows him to say, “that never has he found such faith in all of Israel.” Not only that, but the Roman’s nationality also has nothing to do with whether he is accepted by the God of Israel, only his faith and love. Further, Jesus says to his compatriots they better not rest on the false god of nationality as some guarantor of God’s allegiance to them. Here, Jesus declares that God’s kingdom is not built on borders or heritage, but on humility and love. Jesus is a patriot, not a nationalist. He loves his people and his land deeply but it’s not a love that excludes; it’s an expansive love that embraces.
Nationalism calls us to have our elbows up against an enemy. Faith and patriotism rarely call for that. Patriotism much more often calls for outstretched arms and open hands as we extend generosity and invite partnership. So, may we be people of radical faith—faith that sees beyond borders. May we be patriots of compassion, not defenders of supremacy. May we trust in the Christ who heals not only bodies but divisions. And may our love for our country never be greater than our love for our neighbor.
— Rev. Joe Gaspar
1 Matthew Curtis Fleischer, Jesus was an Anti-Nationalist, “Libertarian Christian Institute”, March 26, 2021, https://libertarianchristians.com/2021/03/26/jesus-anti-nationalist/
2 Wendell Berry, The Need to be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice, Shoemaker & Company: United States, 2022, pp. 430-435.
3 Justin Naylor, Wendell Berry on Patriotism & the History of Prejudice, “The Imaginative Conservative”, October 6, 2022, https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2022/10/need-to-be-whole-patriotism-history-prejudice-wendell-berry-justin-naylor.html
4 Benjamin Wilson, Wendell Berry’s Peculiar Patriotism, “The Bulwark”, December 29, 2022, https://www.thebulwark.com/p/wendell-berrys-peculiar-patriotism
5 David Cayley, The Land and the People are Indivisible: Wendell Berry on Patriotism and Prejudice, “DAVIDCAYLEY.COM”, https://www.davidcayley.com/blog/category/Wendell+Berry