Australia Day thoughts

CATHEDRAL NEWSLETTER - 25 January 2024

Friends in Christ, this week is Australia Day, 26th January. It's the anniversary date of the establishment of the first permanent European settlement on the continent of Australia. On January 26, back in 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into one of the great harbours of the world, with shiploads of convicts and soldiers, and hoisted the British flag at what we now call Sydney Cove. However, there was no agreement or treaty made with the local inhabitants. 

Most people know there is debate about the merits of the date we celebrate Australia on, and more widely about whether and what we should celebrate.

I note that some Aboriginal Christians are glad to celebrate Australia Day, and others not at all. Some who opposed the Voice support changing the date. Others who supported the Voice are content with the current date. 

For us at the Cathedral, we approach Australia Day in the context of the prior Sunday, where we observed 'Aboriginal Sunday', particularly in our prayers.

This is in keeping with the request of the great Christian Aboriginal leader, William Cooper (read some of his amazing story here). He called for a day of mourning, but also for focussing church concern on what he called the "uplift of the Aboriginal people". Along these lines, I was delighted to receive suggestions for Sunday’s prayers from Mr John Ralph, Head of Gawura School, the Indigenous school within St Andrew's Cathedral School. 

As Christians, perhaps we can respond in more wayn than one on this issue. Or as Romans 12:15 says, 

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."

Our recent 'summer Psalms' have encouraged us in gratitude to God.

So we can give grateful thanks for the gospel of Jesus coming to Australia, as it did on the First Fleet with the Reverend Richard Johnson. (Ask someone to show you the stained glass window up high in our Cathedral that celebrates this event!)

Prior to the Voice debate, Aboriginal members of our Anglican Synod made the point that the most important reconciliation we need is reconciliation with God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no substitute for living and sharing the word of the cross. That reconciling message, when trusted and obeyed, is transformative and can also break down barriers between different tribes and tongues and cultures. 

Many of us may also observe that we are grateful to live in Australia with its democractic freedoms and a fairly high respect for human rights and freedoms.

We should direct our gratitude for that to God!

It is widely observed that our culture takes things like the rule of law, freedom, consent, compassion and equality for granted - as valued virtues - in large measure because of the impact of the Christian gospel of Jesus Christ. (For example, see this Glen Scrivener's book The Air We Breathe.) 

Putting it another way, Australia could be a very different place if the continent had been colonised by a power with a different religious or cultural heritage than Britain. Notice, for example, that democracy and freedom seem to be on the retreat in many other parts of the world today, under authoritarian and often fundamentalist approaches of other religions or atheistic worldviews. 

As Emeritus Professor Steven Schwartz notes (The Australian, pay wall, apologies):

Australians come from more than 190 countries, representing a kaleidoscope of races, religions, and ethnicities. It is entirely fair to say we are a global leader in welcoming migrants.

The story of Australian migration is a stark departure from its convict-colonised origins. Unlike the unwilling settlers of 1788, modern migrants freely choose Australia for its promise of freedom, acceptance and unparalleled opportunities.

Again we can give thanks.

But alongside contentment and thankfulness, Christians ought also to be humble, and ready to mourn with those who mourn. 

As Christians, we have a robust doctrine of human sinfulness, and so we are ready to confess our failures. With Christ, there should be no fear of noticing not only individual sins, but also national weaknesses and failures. Even so, well-meaning Christians may sometimes disagree over the cause of social ills, and with the political solutions. 

I am grieved by our rates of domestic violence, gambling harm, pornography use. Last Sunday my prayers mourned the very high incarceration rates and the notably poorer average life expectancies of our Indigenous peoples. 

Our national obsessions with real estate and eating and sex and sport hint at what our idols probably are - as indicated by our top-rating shows like MAFS, the Block, Masterchef, AFL/NRL/cricket/tennis...)

And right now, I am deeply saddened by the anti-semitism I have seen recently in Australia. I hope I have enough personal courage to rebuke it when I see it. 

So being thankful for Australia, or supporting Australia Day, does mean we cannot also critique our shortcomings. 

Personally I am not wedded to the date, nor to changing it - I think it's a reasonable matter for democratic discussion. 

To quote subsequent verses from Romans 12, as Christians, we are encouraged to...

Live in harmony with one another. (v16)

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (v18)

In that light, and remembering the Christian virtues of gratitude and contentment and humility, I am sympathetic to these concluding sentiments from Prof. Schwartz, whom I already quoted above. 

Australia Day should serve as a platform for constructive dialogue rather than a battleground for divisive narratives.

It is an occasion to celebrate the nation’s achievements, acknowledge its historical complexities, and pave the way for a better future.

Warmly in Christ

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney