June 7, 2015

Dr Rosemary Dewerse

Te Pouhere Sunday     John 15:9-17

E te whanau a te Karaiti, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, a threefold greeting to you all.

Ko Ngongotaha te maunga.

Ko Rotorua te moana.

Ko Rosemary Dewerse taku ingoa.

So, yes, I am Rosemary Dewerse, born in Rotorua hospital. That makes Ngongotaha the mountain and Rotorua the lake. My reference points.

I want to thank Helen for inviting me to come and share Te Pouhere Sunday with you. It’s an opportunity of course to celebrate a commitment made in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand to a serious partnership between Maori and Pakeha, respecting autonomy and working in covenant with one another.

We could spend this morning talking history and the constitution of the Anglican Church. But I would like to invite us all to ponder the concept central to today: “Te Pouhere”. I’ll tell you what this means in a moment.

I understand you have been having a time of visioning, thinking of what you in St Matthews sense God is calling you to in this next season of your life and ministry together. As you do this work “Te Pouhere,” I would suggest, offers an opportunity to think on what is most important in your life together and in God’s mission.

“Te Pouhere,” literally means “the hitching post”. It is where you tie your waka up so that it does not get swept away by the tide.

I wonder what you tie your waka up to...

In our gospel reading this morning Jesus is pretty unequivocal about what Te Pouhere is for those who choose to follow him. In the verses just before today’s reading Jesus speaks of himself as the true vine. There is this lovely and powerful metaphor of the trunk and centre of the grapevine with the branches flowing out from it. We are instructed to abide in him as he abides in us. There is a profound invitation, actually a command, to a relationship. There is talk of pruning, of cleansing, of throwing away parts of us, our branches that are not fruit bearing in this relationship. There is also talk of profound love, of the deep love of God and Jesus for us, a love that calls us friends, a love that would lay down everything in order to see us given every chance to flourish. And the invitation – the expectation – is for us to be joined to the vine, gifting the best of ourselves, giving our love to God and to one another. Jesus says that if we choose to abide in him we will be trusted and empowered by God to bear fruit in our communities, fruit that will last.

What is our waka tied up to?

I spoke at St Johns College a few weeks ago on the story of Heni Te Kiri Karamu, an amazing Maori woman who as an Anglican Christian in the 1800s lived in very contradictory times and often in very contested spaces. Plenty of tidal movement in all kinds of directions! Not always was her environment interested in things Christian. Not always were those who claimed to be Christian behaving and sounding like branches connected to the Jesus vine. She had to make choices and we could judge her for those. But the thing that stands out to me from her story is that in very pressured, often dangerous situations, her waka proved to be firmly tied up to a Christian imperative, drawn from scripture, of showing love for her enemies. She is the woman who crossed over and, under gunfire, gave water to a dying, probably Anglican, British officer after he and his men had stormed Gate Pa, during the Land Wars, or NZ Wars, of the 1860s. She also responded bravely and with great courage and love when her second husband, turned mad with alcohol (suffering delirium tremens) attacked her one night with a scythe. She put measures in place but, with her children, committed to caring him back into health, at home.

For Heni her waka was tied up to Jesus’ call to love others, to love in such a way that you are willing to die for your friends and family. Even to risk loving your enemies. She was honest. She was truthful. She was pruned. She was someone I think Jesus definitely considered a friend.

What is your waka tied up to?

I am conscious that in this day and age our Aotearoa New Zealand landscape remains a contested and contradictory one. There is much to challenge us in our communities today. Difference of all kinds can create barriers of ignorance, suspicion and fear amongst us. The speed of change can make us forget earlier commitments we have made that remain important.

A month ago I had the great privilege of spending time with Maori Anglicans of Tairawhiti, in Gisborne. I was there to do a little teaching on mission as their, mainly volunteer, ministers were being trained. But, more importantly, I was there to listen and learn and meet and get to know people. Their manaakitanga, their hospitality, was amazing. They were very welcoming of me and incredibly generous to me. There were some wonderful stories told of mission initiatives being undertaken, including an upcoming Gospel Roots Festival in January. God is doing some amazing things bringing people together for this event. Their theme or kaupapa for the festival? “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in me you will bear much fruit.”

In the midst of this loving hospitality there were, however, some very uncomfortable moments for me as some of those present spoke of ways in which St Johns College has hurt them. I was the only St Johns staff member present and there was palpable pain and direct critique made of my workplace. Some quite deep offence has been caused in recent history as well as in the long past. It was very difficult to listen to.

On the last evening of my time in Gisborne I went up to Rev Don Tamihere, the ministry educator of Tairawhiti, and asked him, in the wake of what I had experienced, the generosity and the critique, what should I be, how should I live when engaging particularly with Maori, with our history, in the present. I caught him at a busy moment but the next morning he especially drove to the airport to give me his response: Rosemary, what it boils down to is truth and grace in the context of relationship.

Can you hear John 15? Pruning, cleansing, love, in a context of us abiding in Jesus and him abiding in us. Truth and grace in the context of relationship.

What is St Matthew’s waka tied up to? Perhaps, this Te Pouhere Sunday, our Maori brothers and sisters, Heni Te Kiri Karamu and the people of Tairawhiti, in their living of John 15, have something profound to offer.

As you envision the future, what truths does St Matthews need to hear from the community in which it is located? What grace do you need to be open to, not just giving, but receiving? And what relationships do you already have and are cultivating that will give truth and grace room to be heard and spoken and experienced?

What narrative will you enact when you find yourself in contested or contradictory spaces, or when the tides are threatening to sweep you away? Will the narrative be a gospel one? Might it be one of compassion and genuine, courageous love for your enemies, whether you find them at home in these or other pews or amongst those who inhabit this inner city space?

Is the vine metaphor true?

What is Te Pouhere for you?