Canadian politics is usually not as exciting as it has been in the last few weeks! We’ve had the resignation of our finance minister followed closely by the resignation of our prime minister, which triggered off an evolving leadership bid, all in the midst of trying to grapple with the incoming of a contentious US president and a historic announcement of a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel that has divided our own nation deeply along racial and political lines. My American friends tell me that they’ve not seen Canada in their news in the last 10 years as often they have in the last few weeks!​ What strikes me at the heart of all these events is the persistent history of disunity in our country and in our world. Sri Lanka was divided between Sinhalese and Tamils creating a civil war of 26 years; Hutus hated Tutsis in Rwanda to the point where 800,000 were massacred in 100 days; China was divided by the “yellow umbrella revolution” that spread even into churches in Canada; North and South Korea are still at war; Russia is still trying to create a modern Soviet “Union” at the cost of millions of lives. And disunity is not far from our own doorsteps. Divisiveness was a game that our prime minister played throughout his 9 year tenure; it was the same disunity within his party that led to his downfall. In the last while, we saw the disunity widening. It was underscored when the premier of Alberta refused to sign on to the united Canadian response to the anticipated tariffs laid against our country. Strangely, the other 10 premiers and the leaders of the territories were all on board, and even pleaded for her to present a united front. She refused. Criticisms against her ran deep and the responses were likewise as sharp. “How can a house divided against itself stand?” one newspaper journalist asked. I wonder if he knew that he was quoting the Scripture (Matthew 12:25).
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​As I read the Bible, I am reminded of God’s command for the people of Christ to remain united – as parts of one Body (1 Corinthains 12); of one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6); one holy building, like living stones built up into one spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5); pursuing the unity of the Body in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). One theologian, when speaking about the unity of Christ’s Body stated, “Unity is everyone’s business.” And it happens when we are determined to love each other through our differences, forgive each other in our hurts, be humble towards each other when we think we are right, and care for each other in a world that tells us to look after only ourselves. The psalmist was taken aback by this concept called unity when he wrote, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) And it is not the united front called “Team Canada” in response to an outside threat. It is not the iron fist of a leader who fires people from his party if they disagreed with him. It is in the anointing power of God’s Spirit that brings very different people together because of the love of Christ. “For there,” the psalmist declares, “the Lord has commanded the blessing of life forevermore.”
