Canada has signed a peace treaty!

Did you know that the longest standing war Canada has ever been in, ended just last year? Guess how many years this war lasted!  Less than 5 years?  Less than 10? 20?  Guess which country we’ve been at war with?  Russia?  China? The United States?  Or what it was over, oil?  Furs?  Drugs?  Gold? 

The war started in 1978, though some think it had its roots in an arrangement in 1973, so that makes it a 44 year war, although it didn’t get heated until 1984.  The Canadian Armed Forces were involved, both army, navy and air.  The dispute got on national news, tv and radio alike.  Both countries were planning to take their cause to the Hague if they couldn’t work it out.The conflict has involved diplomats, land surveyors, oil speculators, warships and helicopters.  It has taken up years of negotiations.  And lots of people from both countries have written articles, done geological surveys and otherwise contributed to the hostilities.

Now some of you are probably thinking this is about softwood lumber or milk, which is very close, and that’s great outside the box thinking, but it’s not that.  It is a straightforward border dispute over territory that both countries are claiming.  And you maybe thinking that this is with the United States of America, which is quite understandable as it’s our longest border and only country we share a border with.  And there still are a few spots of our boundaries with the U. S. that are still disputed, and of course Canada has lots of unceded territory too.

But this war is indeed over territory, one of the main reasons countries go to war.  An huge amount of land, a whole 1.5 square kilometres, which if the maps are accurate, are the equivalent of from the river valley up to the Burger Bar, from the Athabasca United Church to the Lollipops Thrift Store.  Not very big, but big enough to trigger war.  And the country we were at war with?  Of all nations, Denmark!  You see, there’s an island smack dab in the middle of the ocean border between Greenland and Nunavut.  It’s called Hans Island. And when the original treaty was made between Canada and Denmark over fishing rights between Nunavut and Greenland, it was accidentally left out.  And that’s when the war started.

Now war is ugly and has irresistible forces meeting immovable objects and conflict is challenging.  Although, and maybe you already know where this is going, sometimes conflict can actually be dealt with in healthy ways that build relationships and understanding. In fact, one of the signposts of a healthy congregation is that it knows how to handle conflict respectfully.  That we make sure the conflict is about ideas, not personalities, that we communicate kindly and respectfully, and that we remind ourselves of what is in the best interests of the community of faith, and what is God calling us to.

When ideas rub up against each other, we can get into all kinds of trouble.  We can tie ourselves in knots.  We can demonize the others.  We can choose to go to war against our neighbors, believing that we are superior to them, that our cause is superior, that our ideas are the best, that we are right, even that we are always right.  But we follow a loving God.  One that sees us do all kinds of things that are hurtful to both ourselves and each other.  Even when we disappoint our God, still our God will speak peace to us.  Surely God will bring peace and justice together so that there will be harmony in our world.  And the question is in front of us, do we want to be a part of that harmony, of that movement to bring peace into the world and justice to all?  That’s what our scriptures say God is up to.

One thing that jumped out of the Gospel this morning, other than the fact that there was no Mary heading to Bethlehem or angels or other Christmassy images, is that John came announcing the arrival, the call to get ready.  But he was also humble.  He knew he wasn’t perfect; he knew he didn’t have all the answers, he knew that he would not be the head of the revival efforts.  He would get the ball rolling, but he was not going to join in any conflict with Jesus over who was the best or who baptized the most or who had the most followers.  He had God’s message on his mind, the message that change was possible, hope and peace could come to even the most troubled of lives in the most challenged of countries, was his mission and his purpose.  He respected his role in God’s story, and he respected the role of Jesus in God’s story.  The story of change and growth for the peace of the world.  This was not about fighting Jesus over who was in charge.  He showed deep respect to Jesus.

We saw that respect in our war with Denmark.  Many of you might not know about Hans Island, but you may have heard of it as the Great Whisky War.  You see, this was fought with humor and respect.  The Canadian Navy sailed by Hans Island, stopping to put up a Canadian Flag and leave a bottle of Canadian Whisky.  The Danish fleet some six months later came by, pulled up the Canadian Flag, enjoyed the whisky and dropped a bottle of schnapps and their flag on the island.  This went back and forth for a number of years, until last year when Denmark and Canada decided to show the world that it is indeed possible to end a war without a shot.  They hoped to provide an example and antidote to the kind of mentality that led to soldiers dying in Ukraine and in Gaza. The treaty still needs to be ratified, but that process started in October of 2023.  With probably a good laugh and a shared toast to peace on earth. We now have a second country we share a land border with, and this one has no walls, no border patrols and no customs office.  It is a reminder that peace is not just something we can dream about, but something we can actually make a reality.  And isn’t that a wonderful way to celebrate Advent? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Island