Canada

As we enter the season of Lent, the period of 40 days that carries us to Easter, it is important to acknowledge the ways that we have turned away from God in our lives and remember the call to turn our thankful hearts, humble minds and serving hands back toward God. For many Christians and churches, Lent is a time to refocus and reorient ourselves to a life of prayer, sacrifice, and repentance.

From the very beginning of God’s walk with his people, the blessings they enjoyed because of their relationship with God were meant to overflow. “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you,” God promised Abraham.

“...there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

-Abraham Kuyper

This week could be a historic one for Indigenous children in Canada. The Minister of Indigenous Services, Jane Philpott, has called an emergency meeting on Indigenous child welfare, comparing the current situation to the horrors of the residential school system.

Welcoming refugees has galvanized the Christian Reformed Church for decades. On both sides of the border, churches have stood in the gap for people fleeing persecution, whether by sponsoring refugees, supporting community organizations that address refugee needs, welcoming refugees to their churches, or sharing a cup of chai. In some churches, the list of the countries of origin of the refugees they have sponsored reads like a history of the world’s conflicts of the last 50 years: Vietnam, Cambodia, Eastern Europe, Colombia, Congo, Central African Republic, Iraq, Syria.  

January is Sanctity of Human Life month. I believe this sanctity extends to far more than the pro-life movement. To me, this is not just a political issue, but one that affects our moral fiber because all life is sacred.

“The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.”
—Psalm 33:5

Justice and hope. Can these two words really go together? Where is our hope when the poor are trampled underfoot and it seems that the powerful take the day every time? Where is our hope when even our fellow Christians too often turn their faces away?

We have hope because we are not saving the world, Christ is.

A reckoning. A cleansing. A settling of accounts.

Journalists and commentators have been at pains over the last several months to find new words to describe the ongoing revelations of sexual assaults, harassments, and misconducts by powerful men in a variety of industries and sectors. Politicians, news anchors, film executives, actors, comedians and more have seen their careers come to an abrupt halt as victims courageously stand up and come forward with unsettling stories of severe abuse of power.

“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; 
     he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 
He has brought down rulers from their thrones 
     but has lifted up the humble. 
He has filled the hungry with good things 
     but has sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel,
     remembering to be merciful 
to Abraham and his descendants forever, 
     just as he promised our ancestors.”
                                                                           —Luke 1:51-55

Dear Tanya, 
In 2009, you became a number that I wasn't counting. 
Your sister, Vanessa, was counting.
The hours, days and the years of this silence.
I heard during the hearing. 
I heard your story. 
I heard your human-ness. 
You are not dead to her.
You are not a number.
I'm counting. We're counting.
With Love, 
Priya