August 8, 2021

Our first reading today has become a bit of an Internet Facebook sensation when it’s been described in this way: “This is your gentle reminder that one time in the Bible Elijah was like, “God, I’m so mad! I want to die!” So God said, “Here’s some food. Why don’t you have a nap?” So Elijah slept, ate, and decided things weren’t so bad. Never underestimate the spiritual power of a nap and a snack.” If you remember nothing else from this sermon, remember the spiritual power of a snack and a nap! This has often worked well for me – has it worked for you too?

On Friday’s prayer video, I focused on Hiroshima since I thought we’d done Transfiguration Sunday in February, but the two can be connected. Our world still needs to be more transfigured or transformed after the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the Dean of Canterbury suggested on Friday, those 1945 atomic bomb attacks revealed humanity’s appalling capacity for evil, monstrous & despicable destruction. One of the questions I’ll carry to my grave is how they could have done it a second time three days later? And how the test carried out prior to these attacks – could have been code-named Trinity? There was even a 2015 New Yorker article entitled “The Light of the Trinity, the World’s First Nuclear Bomb”. Surely there’s no more unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit than that. For some time now it’s been quite trendy in progressive Christian circles to say that there’s no such thing as evil – only good and a lack of good. I continue to strongly dissent from that position. Every year from August 6th to 9th let’s remember and not dare to be so glib as to dismiss humanity’s monstrous capacity for evil.

That’s a thought I kept close in mind as I read Eden Robinson’s amazing novel called Son of a Trickster, as recommended by our excellent theology student. It was challenging for sure, given the context of drug abuse with which the main character continually contends. And since I’m not a fan of horror … I had trouble falling asleep after Jared is attacked by maniacal river otters and other demonic type creatures – so vividly described by this talented indigenous writer. But the novel also showed such depth of caring on the part of Jared, the main character. Jared even changes the diaper of his old neighbour with advanced dementia, and he keeps trying to buy groceries and help with the rent at his father’s home although he doesn’t live there, and has no real income, especially after he stops baking cannabis cookies. I don’t want to give too much away, but as the title tells you, and as Jared resists accepting – he’s partly the son of a Trickster. Trickster is an important and hard-to-define aspect of indigenous spirituality. Trickster often makes trouble for people, but ultimately with the intention of helping them. As Jared grows into greater awareness of the Trickster realm, he tries his best to avoid being part of it and prefers a much more ordinary life. By the end of the novel, he seems headed in that seemingly more ‘sensible’ direction … but the Trickster part of him may be called into service when evil persists. Naturally I got volume 2 of the trilogy on my kindle app to see what happens next. While the battle between good and evil is apparently often the subject of many video games, it’s not one we can dismiss, nor did Jesus take such matters lightly.

Today we heard St. Paul say “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths … And do not grieve the Holy Spirit …” I think there’s a connection and some common ground between Trickster and the Holy Spirit who so often seems to surprise us. Let’s not make the terrible mistake that early missionaries made, thinking that the spiritual entities of other cultures are not valid, and that only Christian ideas should be allowed. In Canada we are in the midst of an increasingly tragic understanding -- as to what a horrible mistake that was to make. So let’s not be afraid to learn about Trickster and other aspects of indigenous culture. As Hamlet said to his friend: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” May we open our minds and hearts to a greater appreciation of indigenous spirituality, knowing that the Divine is manifested in manifold ways in all that the Creator has created, Amen.