Australia Day

An Australia Day message for Australian members of the LCA/NZ

This Friday our political and community leaders are encouraging Australians to think of more than just taking a day off work. They tell us it is a day for

• reflecting on what it means to be Australian
• thinking about the values we want to shape our national identity
• celebrating contemporary Australia (not just nostalgia for the past)
• inspiring national pride and spirit
• honouring the achievements of outstanding citizens
• receiving new people into citizenship
• bringing together Australians of diverse backgrounds and
• acknowledging our history, what we are proud of and what makes us ashamed.

In recent times it has become popular to express opposition to holding Australia’s national day on 26 January. Some indigenous groups, local councils, political parties and businesses have said they won’t support the celebration on that date.  I doubt, however, that will stop most of us from taking the day off. Australians are a practical bunch and a holiday is a holiday.

What about Christians, however, and those of us in the Lutheran Church? How can we regard Australia Day? Does our faith have anything to say?

It’s quite okay to set aside a day to be thankful for all the good of this land and its people. Holidays were originally ‘holy days’ and were part of the Christian calendar. Australia Day is different but we can still see it as God’s good gift. After all, this world, the land in which we live with all its natural resources, and the plants, animals and people which populate it are all his good gifts. So living here is something we can celebrate. It’s a good place to be.

It’s also okay, however, to see Australia Day as a time for sorrow. Everything isn’t rosy in the garden. We can and should reflect on the evil that persists among and within us. That includes past and present wrongs against Australia’s indigenous peoples and other minority groups. We are frequently selfish and fail the test of compassion for others. A healthy society lives and breathes by how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable members. How does your neighbourhood stack up?

Christians are used to such complexity in their celebrations. Our greatest festival, Easter, is a mixed event involving betrayal, suffering, death, resurrection and faith. Through Jesus our God knows every aspect of our humanity. By now we should be well practised at celebrations that are tinged by sorrow and repentance, confession and forgiveness, sacrifice and blessing, thanks and praise. After all, it’s what we do every Sunday.

So let’s observe this Australia Day with a humble spirit, thanking God for this place and opening our hearts to one another in his love.

Prayer points for Australia Day:

We give thanks

• for the relative peace and security we enjoy compared to many other parts of the world
• for our many able and dedicated leaders
• for the freedoms we enjoy, especially the freedom to practise our faith, and for the generous funding assistance we receive to run our community services and schools.

We confess and ask forgiveness

• for the many times we have been apathetic or hostile towards our neighbours.

We pray

• for our policy-makers and leaders, that in pursuing the national interest they will act wisely and honourably, seeking justice and welfare for all
• for all people receiving Australian citizenship on Friday, that they may feel welcomed and will contribute positively to the life of the nation
• for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, that the gap of disadvantage may be closed, that their heritage may be valued, that past wrongs may be healed, and that they may receive justice and find peace
• for all existing citizens, that they will welcome newcomers and also contribute positively to the life of the nation
• for positive actions to contend with the negative parts of our past and present, which hinder some citizens from contributing as well as they might to the life of the nation
• for all Christians in Australia, that they will be salt and light in our society, and model Jesus’ love and grace in the way we interact with each other and with people in the wider community
• that Christians will respond in Christ-like ways especially to those who have been hurt or betrayed by Christians and those who still feel angry or bitter towards Christians and Christianity.

Pastor John Henderson
Bishop
Lutheran Church of Australia
24 January 2018