Reflection
16 January 2022
To catch and share the dream
We live lives that are often all too small and short. The Venerable Bede,
when speaking in a dining hall wanted to illustrate this to his neighbours
(including a king). He looked up and his eyes followed the path of a
sparrow as it flew in one door, across the hall and out another, likening
the time this to the span of a human life.
Small in stature humans may be, and their lives a flicker of eternity, but
people such as Martin Luther King can make a difference that changes
the lives of millions. He was far from perfect, visionaries seldom are, but
the stand he took resonated around the globe and through the decades.
Tomorrow will be a public holiday in the USA for Martin Luther King Jnr
Day. The commemoration date was chosen to be close to Martin Luther
King’s birthday on 15th January. Had he still been alive Martin Luther
King would have been 91 today. We wonder what a 91 year old Martin
Luther King would make of the USA today? Of our world today? And
had he lived, what more could he have achieved?
While possibly his most famous speech was the “I have a dream”
speech in August 1963, there was more to Martin Luther King than one
speech. His impact on civil rights, including the rights of people of all
races is legendary. He spoke about creating community. He said “Our
goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative
change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”
In preparing for today we read around Martin Luther King and particularly
enjoyed an article written in 2015 by Dwight Welche titled MLK’s
Progressive Christian Faith. He points out that following King’s post
graduate study “the centrality and dignity of personhood became the
cornerstone of his thought.” Welche says also “We are who we are
because of our relations with others. Sociality precedes individuality.
Racism is a rejection of the very make up of the world and the forces
that make us. MLK writes “He who works against community is working
against the whole of creation.”
It is good to think about Martin Luther King – but what happens when we
think in New Zealand about our leaders past and present who support
social justice and help New Zealand create (or perhaps re-create) a
beloved community.
We started with a non-systematic and perhaps idiosyncratic look at
those in NZ who stepped forward to take the cause of social justice
forward in NZ. Who we consider as role models or creators of a our own
beloved community. You will have seen from the children’s talk that we
focused on issues such as women’s suffrage, rights of Māori and on
equity.
Here are a few of our choices,
Sir Apirana Ngata
Tony’s mother, like many of her generation had an autograph book
collecting some notable names in the process. Often the person would
write a short sentence as well as their signature. In 1949 Ngata wrote in
the autograph book of school girl Rangi Bennett, Turn your face to the
sun and the shadows will be behind you’
This could well be a motto for all community builders.
Sir Apirana Ngata was the first Maori to graduate from university. He
chose to use his legal education to become an MP. He spent over 40
years in Parliament keeping Maori issues to the fore. Over the 40 years
his views changed – that strikes us as normal. Our views have changed
over the last 40 years – and I am sure will continue to do so. In this time
he came to see the importance of uniquely Maori development, as
opposed to assimilation Ngata had an unwavering commitment to the
Maori people. Unlike Martin Luther King he was not a pacifist but was
active in supporting Maori in enlisting for WW1 and WW2 and the
formation of the Maori battalion. Part of his rationale he says was that by
fighting alongside Pakeha soldiers would both command respect for
Maori and create a sense of moral obligation for the returning soldiers.
Whina Cooper
All old enough, recall a pained and plodding Whina determined to play
her part. But What possessed this kuia to lead a land march at nearly
80? Whina held important roles including becoming the first president
of the Maori Womens Welfare League and she worked alongside
Apirana Ngata. But by the 1970’s She had long retired from the national
spotlight and most would say that she had ‘done her bit.
But in 1975 she was asked to lead the march by Maori leaders, such
was her mana.
It would have been easier to refuse but there seems to have been no
real choice for the woman honoured as ‘mother of the nation’ when she
stepped down from her Welfare league role.
Dame Hinewahi Mohi
Dame Hinewahi Mohi came to national prominence as the first person to
sing the national anthem in Te Reo, in the UK in 1999. All interviews with
Hinewahi show a very mild person who weathered the storm of protest
and now says she welcomed this opportunity. Certainly hard to
remember now just how controversial this was just over 20 years ago.
Soon we will play the her song and tribute to her daughter,
Hineraukatauri. She has severe cerebral palsy. Combined her love for
her daughter and her passion for music, even taking Hine on at least one
tour is just one of the many ways in which Dame Hinewahi acts out her
dream.
Ashley Bloomfield and Siouxsie Wiles
Very contemporary names and two years ago few outside the Ministry of
Health or the academic institutions would have known them. Today their
faces are recognisable to many. Ashley is an unlikely superhero – he is
the first to say so. In 2020 he gained a cult following – if having your
picture on teatowels is a sign of being a cult hero. Siouxsie’s
enthusiasm for communicating what anxious people really needed to
know about Covid, and her courage in dressing and wearing her hair
flamboyantly…in short, being a person who was totally present in this
pivotal role despite the misogynistic trolling she was subjected to. They
have both brought their knowledge and scientific approach to the
management of Covid in a way that did in fact bring the New Zealand
population willingly along the Covid journey with less loss of life than
many other countries experienced.
Lloyd Geering
Many of you will know Lloyd far far better than we do, but we have in our
midst a man who. In trying to simply and honestly explain what he
understood about Christianity and the place of religion in general,
became a figure of tremendous controversy and the subject of
Presbyterianism’s last heresy trial in 1967.
Two things add to our picture
The first is the contrast between the autobiographies of two great
thinkers, Lloyd Geering and Jack Spong. We were struck by the far
greater humility and equanimity in Lloyd’s writing, whereas Spong
seemed to be frequently still scoring points from long ago battles.
The second was our running joke that we still have 40 years to become
as incisive at speaking and as cogent at writing as Lloyd.
Janice
Not all of the names that came to mind are public figures. Tony thought
of a parent he knows who brought up 4 boys with Fragile X syndrome.
This leads to intellectual disability and some autistic features. For most
parents finding that they have one child with intellectual disability is
huge. In each case this parent kept moving forward and began to take
leadership roles, to be the beacon for other parents. Consider that
because Fragile X is a genetic disorder, she knew the risks and had the
children anyway.
As part of our search for our new Minister we had to write a Parish
Profile for this community. You may recall that this profile had to be
agreed at a Special General Meeting in 2019 prior to any search
commencing. Our Profile says that we describe ourselves as
Progressive and that the 8 points of Progessive Christiantiy resonate for
many of us. Certainly they do for us. We thought each of the people
could demonstrate by their words and actions some of the points –
particularly:
● Point 3 An all inclusive community
● Point 4 – the way we behave with others is the fullest expression of
what we believe
● Point 6 – striving for peace and justice
● Point 8 – committed to lifelong learning, compassion and selfless
love.
And of course from our own tradition we must include Jesus. The
reading we chose from Luke suggests that Jesus did not shy away from
his mission. In the temple in his home town he took Isiah’s dream and
proclaimed it as his own. 2000 years on the words and actions of Jesus
still inspire; continue to show us a way to be better people and that we
too can capture the dream
The contemporary reading from Nepia Mahuika had words that
resonated.
E tipu e rea mo nga ra o tou ao (Grow up in the days destined to you)
Each generation he says has its own mana, our own dreams,
responsibilities and challenges. We liked the way he says this expectant
and hopeful affirmation is a gift. It’s not a challenge or a threat but a gift.
And to make use of this gift we have to look to our past – the people of
our own and other cultures who lead and inspire as we too look to live
out the dream.
The Psalmist said “Because of your light we see the light”. We think we
see the light of something beyond ourselves in all of these people. The
light of the holy. These people remind us that the words of the Jim
Strathdee hymn we sign later that actual the work of Christmas only
really starts from now.

Audio of selected readings and reflections

Audio of the complete service