O Canada

This weekend Canadians will celebrate the 156th anniversary of Canadian Confederation -- Canada Day. While it is a day to celebrate the history of Canada and all its peoples, it is also a day for Canadians to remember how we fall short of our aspirations. For Christians celebrating national days should be fraught with caution. Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, two leading Christian theologians, remind us that we are 'resident aliens'. We live in this world but are not to become part of it. We have another world in view and our vocation is to use whatever influence we have to shape this world into one where all God's children may be free.