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Jeremiah 28:5-9 and Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 • Romans 6:12-23 • Matthew 10:40-42

When I was in residence at the Anglican seminary college in Saskatoon, I used to often go for meals to the Lutheran College cafeteria; and just inside the door for a season, there was a full-sized replica of Martin Luther himself, saying SIN BOLDLY! Well, a bit shocking, to say the least! I wasn’t sure whether this meant I should eat two desserts, or what! Anyways it was based on Luther’s 16th century theology, including the idea that God’s forgiveness is so vast, that no matter how big your sin was you’d be forgiven. However, using the phrase on its own is to take it out of context. It was part of a letter that implied: ‘let your sins be strong but let your faith in Christ be stronger’.

Our epistle from Romans 6 today says a lot about sin, and we enjoyed discussing William Barclay’s interpretation on this passage at our Bible Study last week. I don’t think this passage is what Luther had in mind in that letter he wrote, because here Paul says “Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”(v15). Overall St Paul seemed to feel that humans are bound to fall into some form of sin or other, at least occasionally, but that we must be careful not to be enslaved by sin! And Barclay points out that the first time we do a wrong thing, we’re hesitant & fearful. The next time it’s easier & soon enough it becomes effortless https://bibleportal.com/.../the-exclusive-possession.... Perhaps that’s what happens with long-term crimes that everyone gets used to over time. Like when Trump told an average of 21 lies per day throughout his presidency. Many of us were incensed by what that does to our overall societal values – since what a president does sets up a model to copy – so that would mean, for example that it’s okay for children to lie in schools, for builders to lie about safety standards in buildings, or in submersible vessels, or in criminal trials, etc. St Paul warns us how easy it is for such sins to become commonplace.

Prophetic voices that speak out against such sins are often ignored or even vilified, so it’s good to hear Jesus saying in our gospel that whoever welcomes a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, whatever that may be. If you’ve ever been in a position where you felt called to speak some kind of unwelcome truth to power, you know that the prophetic role is not easy. In his life and ministry, Jesus spoke prophetically many times – daring to speak to the powerful about the many injustices suffered by the poor -- because of their greed, selfishness & apathy. Children of poor immigrants, like me, are often especially aware how fortunate we are -- that our parents could leave behind many situations of great poverty and injustice, and come to a wonderful country, like Canada. At first everything was difficult, especially for those with no money and who did not speak English. But over the years, things got better, especially for their children, who had so many more opportunities in Canada, for education and other benefits.

I was so grateful to Hilary on Friday morning when she emailed me to ask about using the Indigenous Canadian flag image we see on the front cover of our leaflet. Later I found online that 2021 Times-Colonist article https://www.timescolonist.com/.../on-this-canadian-flag... about Curtis Wilson, the Campbell River Indigenous artist who designed this flag in 2005. He called this new design ‘standing together in support of each other’. The side parts are swimming salmon, and there’s an orca inside the maple leaf. Sadly, Curtis Wilson died of a heart attack at age 39, leaving behind a wife & two children, and as the article says:

“He was well respected within his community as a generous spirit and talented artist who served his local band council and spent countless hours preserving the culture of his nation and embracing reconciliation. The two designs on the red side bands are K’utala-Salmon, which Wilson said are the “perfect way to convey the importance of family, friendships, and strength in numbers. “There are as many types of people living here in Canada as there are types of salmon … I would like to see us coming together in the future, not only my First Nations people, but all of Canada.”

Besides being grateful for our country, I think we need to keep in our prayers the hope that Canada will always strive to speak up for justice and peace; and will do its best to help the downtrodden and oppressed both in our country, and in the world. As our Jeremiah reading says, “As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.” (v9) May we as Canadians, always be prepared to support the efforts of prophets of peace around the world, especially in the tragic global war zones where the vulnerable suffer so greatly, from Ukraine to South Sudan and other places.

Speaking of wars, since so far in the history of the world, they seem to be unavoidable on a global scale at least, let me tell this family story: Both of my son’s grandfathers were born in Italy, and both served their countries during WWII – one in Canada, and one in Italy. They had both died by the time he was working his way up the promotion ladder in the navy, but they’d no doubt be proud of him becoming a Canadian naval officer. And I think it was his first promotion into the officer level that was as Canadian as possible, since it took place in something like a hockey arena in the Yukon, in an area where he was doing some search & rescue teaching. It was a complete surprise to him when the Minister of Defence at that time, Harjit Sajjan, showed up there, and called him forward for this promotion – in such a casual Canadian setting.

And here we are on Canada Day weekend, so privileged and proud, and hopefully still able to promote the prophetic calls to justice and peace, both in Canada, our home on native land, and around the world, Amen.