A few weeks ago, I attended a reading by Marie Wilson, one of the commissioners to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And of course, bought her book, North of Nowhere! I’ll get back to a story that she told in a minute.

Did any of you attend one of the public sessions when it was here in Halifax? I did, partly because I thought it was important to be a witness, partly because my son is Indigenous, although to look at him, he’s just tall, dark and handsome. Not that I’m biased or anything! 😉 Over the year, both before and after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I have encountered people who think/say that ‘they’ should just get over it and move on. That we personally are not responsible for the actions of our ancestors. Which is true, we are not… however, we have benefitted from the actions of our ancestors who came here and took land.

Some folks I’ve encountered think that racism is in the past… let me tell you two stories…

As I said, my son doesn’t appear to be Indigenous, and so when there is something about Indigenous Treaty rights, he hears racist things from co-workers, who think that he must be in agreement with him.

The other story is one told by the author Marie Wilson; she was on her book tour through the Maritimes, accompanied by her husband, who is Indigenous. He is the former premier of Nunavut, an author and singer/songwriter. They stopped in a Nova Scotia town, and he went looking for a place for them to have coffee. He approached a couple of people on the sidewalk to ask what the best or closest place was and before he could speak, they simply looked him and said, “We don’t have any change.” Let that sink in for a moment… a former premier, author and singer/songwriter was thought to be a panhandler, just because of the colour of his skin.

Of the Calls to Action to the Church in the Truth and Reconciliation Report is call 59:

59. We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement to develop ongoing education strategies to ensure that their respective congregations learn about their church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary.

A couple of years ago, we started doing a land acknowledgement at the beginning of worship. We recognize that it’s a VERY small indication that we are aware of the harmful effects of colonialism and the church’s complicity in that. It’s a very small way of letting some light shine. The reading from the 5th chapter of the gospel of Matthew can be interpreted through colonial/settler eyes or through eyes of humility and invitation. Let’s listen to those words:

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Rev. Emma Seamone writes this, “So every time we acknowledge Indigenous Peoples and their stories, their theology and spirituality, their struggles, we are working on but one action of 94, one small part of the bigger picture towards right relations. I think of the concerted effort that will have to go into all 94 becoming reality, and I think that as we work for justice, we also need to take the time to learn about the history and contributions of Indigenous Peoples in our country and globally.

I often think how easy it would be for Indigenous siblings to give up on our relationship. I recognize how I have benefited from the grace and generosity of Indigenous people in my life and work.

In my own community and at global gatherings like the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, I learned about their work to protect biodiversity, to hold on to languages that are on the precipice, and to resist the continuing pressures of colonialism.

Ten years later, there’s still so much to do, there’s still so much to learn, I think often on the description that Right Rev. Bob Smith gave in the 1986 apology: “We tried to make you be like us and in so doing we helped to destroy the vision that made you what you were. As a result, you, and we, are poorer and the image of the Creator in us is twisted, blurred, and we are not what we are meant by God to be.”

The work of untwisting, and bringing into focus who we are, who God is as seen through our images, is the hard ministry of reconciliation. It’s a ministry we as settlers are continually called upon to join, because it’s not just Indigenous Peoples who are affected by these injustices—it’s all of us and the fullness of the body of Christ that is obscured from our view.

We are called to bring light to the world. We are called to BE light in the world. Not oppress, dominate, or subjugate, but to be light. And light sometimes reveals things we don’t want to look at it doesn’t it? 😉 However, when we reflect God’s light, we see both beauty and pain and are called to celebrate and heal. We do both when we expand our learning about our history, because what most of learned as ‘history’ is just a narrow slice of it. The expansion of that history and God’s light upon it magnifies the abundance of what is possible.

What light do Indigenous people bring to us? How is our understanding of God enhanced and broadened by Indigenous wisdom and teaching? In a world too often shaped by denial and forgetfulness, Jesus’ call to be light in the world invites us into courageous truth-telling and relationship-building. We cannot undo the past, but we can choose how we live in the present, and whether we will participate in the healing work of reconciliation.

As settlers and members of the church, we are called not just to acknowledge harm, but to engage deeply with the truth, to listen humbly to Indigenous voices, and to allow our understanding of God and community to be stretched and deepened.

Light doesn’t hide. It reveals. And when we let God’s light shine through us, we begin to see more clearly: the pain that still lingers, the beauty that has been overlooked, and the hope that rises when we walk together in honesty and love.

So let your light shine. Learn the real history. Read Indigenous authors. Attend events. Talk to your children and grandchildren. Support Indigenous-led initiatives. Push for all 94 Calls to Action to be fulfilled. And through it all, keep asking: how can I be light in a way that brings not only truth, but healing?

Thanks be to God for the challenge and the opportunity of following Jesus in this time and place. Amen.

Matthew 5:14-16
June 22, 2025 – SJ