Chaplain's Corner

Our nation is 150 years old, I say our nation, not because I am a Canadian, I’m not, I am still a citizen of our neighbor to the South, the United States which just celebrated its 241st anniversary of nationhood. But I have lived in Canada since 1978 and unless the Lord has other plans, I’ll be buried beneath Canadian sod when I die.

Like our neighbor to the south, when this great nation was founded it was founded with a sense that Divine providence was involved. Providence is the belief that God intervenes in human history, that God, as universal sovereign, not only has the right but the power to direct global affairs. One of the obvious evidences of this is our national Anthem, “O Canada”.

This is seen most clearly in the Chorus and in the fourth verse (did you know there were four verses?). Here are the lyrics: “Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer, hold our Dominion, in thy loving care. Help us to find, O God, in Thee, a lasting rich reward. As waiting for the better day, we ever stand on guard. God keep our land, glorious and free. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!”

I’m not the only immigrant that celebrated Canada Day this year, this country exists because of immigration, its rich diversity is due to its immigration population, the tolerance and acceptance that is generally experienced is due to our acceptance of new immigrants. I’m not the first and certainly will not be the last to reflect on God’s involvement in our nation’s existence and prosperity. This year, as Canada celebrates 150 years of existence, I think it would be fitting for us to reflect on the fourth verse of our Anthem.

The English lyrics, a loose translation of the original, were translated by Robert Stanley Weir in 1908 from the original French composed by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. It wasn’t till 1980 that Parliament officially made O Canada our national anthem. Even at this late date, just 37 years ago, the hand of God was recognized and enshrined as the sovereign ruler from which this nation derives its being.

The references to God in O Canada are indisputably references to the One revealed in the Holy Scriptures of the Jewish and Christian Faiths. Routhier, a Catholic Christian, spoke of God as “the Ruler supreme”. “The Ruler supreme” of what? Routhier was not speaking of some “regional deity” whose jurisdiction was limited to the Canadian landmass. Nor was he making an ambiguous reference to “a god of our own conception” but to the God of his Christian faith. In the context of his Catholic faith this is a reference to the universal sovereignty of Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth and all that exists.

Routhier was not ignorant of Christian theology, raised in a Catholic home his mother wanted him to become a priest, but he chose law as his profession instead. Despite choosing law over a vocation in the church, he none-the-less remained devoted to his faith according to his biographers.

Much has changed in Canada in the last 150 years, our nation is much more multicultural and religiously pluralistic. Immigration has continued to be the primary means of growth in our nation and our national commitment to inclusion and diversity will see that reality continue in the decades to come. However, as immigrants become citizens and as citizens claim their new identity as Canadians, the fact remains, we pledge our allegiance to a nation that in its anthem recognizes and honors the God of the Bible as the “Ruler supreme”. Until our Parliament passes legislation that alters this fact, all who claim Canada as home tacitly acknowledge this each time we sing our anthem. “God keep our Land, glorious and free!”