Oh, Canada!

On Monday Canadians elected a Christian conservative as Prime Minister. Stephen Harper from Calgary, Alberta will lead a minority government. He will have to hold a coalition of moderates together in order to govern. Harper's religious and political commitments appear to be to the right of George Bush's. Numerous comments from the U.S. seem to indicate an expectation of stronger alliance between Canadian conservatives and those in the States. Certainly, one of Harper's campaign promises was the resolution of some of the trade and foreign policy disputes between the U.S. and Canada.

At the same time Canada's priorities are not always parallel to those of the U.S. The most significant geographic divide in Canada is not North versus South: It is East versus West. Canadians in the Western Provinces sometimes feel that their concerns are neglected by politicians in the more populous East. Westerners are hoping that their day has come with the election of Stephen Harper.

Canada's system of central government is very different from that of the States in one important respect: It will not be possible for Harper to govern by using a "divide and conquer" strategy. Because his political survival will depend on cooperation by competing interests, he will have to govern from the center. It may well be that conservatives have less reason to rejoice and liberals have less reason to fear than they think.

Memorial Meals

Friends and I have shared memorial services and meals for my wife, Bina, in Idaho and Texas. The gatherings of people who love her to worship God, share a meal, and remember her have been a great comfort to me, my family, and our friends. There is something very healing about breaking bread together, especially when the purpose of the meal is to remember the life of a loved one who has died. Often there is a strong feeling of the presence of the one we are remembering.

One aspect of Holy Communion that liturgical Christians sometimes forget is that it is a memorial meal. As we proclaim the death, resurrection, and return of our Lord, we eat and drink. As we eat and drink we remember the One Who has gone before us to prepare a place for us. As we remember Him there is a strong feeling of His presence. There is more than a feeling. It's called Real Presence. The bread we eat is His Body, and the wine we drink is His Blood.

The feeling of presence at a memorial meal has its roots in His Presence. Those who have gone before us are with Him, so where He is present, they are present. Consider the words from the great hymn, "For all the Saints:"

O Blest Communion, Fellowship Divine!
We Feebly struggle; They in Glory shine.

Yet all are one in Thee for all are Thine!
Alleluia, Alleuia!

Shine, Jesus, Shine!

Today is Epiphany, the celebration of our Lord Jesus' shining with the glory He revealed in His human life. On this day we remember the Magi, the Persian priest astrologers who read the signs in the Heavens and recognized the birth of the Savior King among the Jews.

Today also marks the beginning of a new season of the liturgical year, also called Epiphany. The theme revolves around all the events of our Lord's life that revealed Him to the world. There are many such events, not only in the Bible, but in all our lives, and the best is yet to come. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.