“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Ah, Canada Day is here, giving us the opportunity to join in on family get togethers, picnics and Barbeques, swims and parades, a celebration together as fellow Canadians from many places and cultural backgrounds for the place we have put our feet down. Yet, I wonder if as followers of Jesus Christ, if Canada Day offers us a moment(s) to reflect on the spiritual state of our land and the Church’s vocation/calling within it. While flags wave and we see fireworks soar, I believe on such a day Jesus calls his followers to take a position not of self-congratulation, but of humility and “holy longing.”
The verse from 2 Chronicles is often quoted in times of national distress, it is a call for God's covenant people to step into their priestly role, bearing the nation's wounds in intercessory prayer, confessing its sins as if they were our own, and becoming agents of restoration. Our verse today seems to encourage us to recognize that God's healing of the land is linked to the repentance and obedience of His people. What if that is true? If it is, then we are to understand that healing begins not in “halls of power,” but in hearts laid bare before God.
What the Bible verses above say to me, if that as Canadians, we cannot ignore the pain that still reverberates across our land: the trauma of Indigenous peoples and their communities, and the deep racial and cultural divisions that persist in our country. You likely have already today, or have encountered a post or a blog that tells us that for some, July 1 Canada Day, is not a celebration, but a reminder of loss. A day of sorrow and grief. We all have some awareness that Canada is not all that it could be. Yet, as Christians, as the people of God, we are not called to dismiss or downplay these messy realities but to enter them as I heard someone say, “with the compassion of Christ and the boldness of prophets.”
This kind of national healing does not bypass truth, this kind of healing sits with the impact of this truth, wrestles with its sting, and determines to slowly, carefully, and with a listening ear, travels through this truth. Do you remember the story of Nehemiah in the Old Testament? He mourned and fasted over Jerusalem's ruins, we too must lament the cracks in our nation’s story. We must confess, and plead for God’s mercy and justice. In this way, our humbleness becomes genuine and brings transformation.
I guess what I am getting at today is that followers of Christ are called to act as both salt and light in a nation seeking reconciliation and restoration. The term "nation-builders" is often mentioned in various speeches, typically referring to political power or cultural dominance. However, Christians who are truly nation builders achieve this by remaining faithful to God and demonstrating the Gospel truth that encompasses Jesus' reconciliation for all. We are entrusted with the message and ministry of reconciliation, as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:18. This calling is an essential contribution to Canada.
Back to Nehemiah for moment, he didn’t point fingers. He knelt in prayer and took responsibility. Likewise, we are invited not into defensiveness, but into the deeper work of lament, confession, and hope. That is what nation-building looks like in the kingdom of God.
Let's Pray
God of all nations and Lord of every heart,
We thank You for the gift of this land, for its beauty, diversity, and freedom. Yet we do not close our eyes to its wounds.
We confess our collective failures—our silence, our pride, our complicity in systems that have hurt the vulnerable.
We ask for healing, beginning not with institutions but with us, Your Church, called by Your name.
Teach us to seek Your face above our national pride,
To weep where others weep,
To walk humbly with those who suffer,
And to proclaim not ourselves, but Christ crucified and risen,
The only true healer of hearts and nations.
Make us reconcilers, peace-makers, and truth-tellers
Until justice rolls on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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