Extravagant love
Fostering Indigenous relationships in church communities.
The holy fool is someone who loves extravagantly. In a world that teaches us to play it safe and self-preserve first and foremost, holy fools dare to love at great cost. Holy fools do insignificant, small things because they are the right things to do, not because there is any fame, influence or money to be gained.
Mary of Bethany comes to mind as someone who loved Jesus extravagantly by pouring expensive perfume onto his feet (John 12). Francis of Assisi, who gave his life in lavish service to the poor, also comes to mind. And to me, our Indigenous brothers and sisters come to mind because from places of great pain and poverty, they have consistently called white settler Canadians to walk a path of truth and reconciliation. This resembles holy foolishness. After all, who in their right mind wants to befriend their abuser?
June 2025 marked the 10-year anniversary of the release of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with its 94 Calls to Action. In the past decade, the Canadian government has tried to make reconciliation a tangible reality. Jobs have been created; partnerships have been formed – much good has been done. However, there are always some who capitalize on a trend, giving everyone else a bad name. Recently, two MLAs in my home province B.C. started claiming that reconciliation efforts are a bloated, self-interested industry. I think this moment provides us as Christians with a special opportunity to be on the cutting edge of reconciliation by making sure that an authentic holy foolishness, or extravagant love, remains at the centre.
Small steps
On a personal level, for example, reconciliation means that I choose to visit a local Indigenous elder in her care home. This takes a deliberate death to some of my other desires, such as wanting to earn money with my Indigenous Studies degree and wanting to receive recognition from the wider community as reconciliation leader. But if I am not faithful in the small relationships I have been given, how can I be entrusted with more?
On a corporate level, many churches are also asking themselves what desires they need to die to. Adrian Jacobs of the Cayuga Nation has challenged churches in his local context of the Six Nations Haudenosaunee Confederacy to enter into a “spiritual covenant” with their Indigenous neighbours around church lands that would include a “lease” payment and a promise to return the land should the congregation dissolve. CityGate Vancouver is one of the organizations that is taking this conversation around church-owned land and buildings to a national level. My friend Jodi Spargur of Red Clover has done fabulous research and offers 8 options for Canadian churches to consider regarding land-based repair and justice.
Church communities are uniquely equipped by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to act “foolishly” beyond self-interest and self-preservation. After all, we have the message of the cross at the centre which is a message of power in powerlessness (1 Cor. 1:18).
Holy fools love extravagantly. This summer, let’s consider how to bring some of that holy foolishness back into our lives and institutions, and lean into reconciliation with a costly love that silences all the critics.
