In countries dominated by western culture, there continues to be admiration for compassion, and respect for honesty, integrity, and humility. But there is no doubt that recent cultural trends in western countries no longer give general support to Christian faith and to many other Christian values. This affects how Christians and churches are viewed, and also how many Christians themselves think and act.
Scepticism about Christianity (on both scientific and ethical grounds) has become increasingly fashionable, and Christians in public life are increasingly subject to suspicion. Contemporary post-modernist thinking assumes that truth is subjective and uncertain, and that truth is whatever you choose it to be. Christian truth claims can thus be seen as over-confident, or arrogant.
Individualism and consumerism emphasise the centrality of self and the primacy of individual choice. The priority of personal happiness and pleasure is rarely questioned. Calls to holiness or righteousness are mocked. Christian beliefs about gender, sex, or marriage (views which were shared by most societies until very recently) are increasingly reproached as unloving, harmful, and unable to be tolerated. Churches can variously be regarded as outmoded, empty, irrelevant, narrow-minded, or dangerous.
In the context of our changing, less Christian-friendly context, Christians should not be intimidated, or become weakened in faith. We must remain faithful to Christ and the word. We must also think carefully about what we believe, and how we live and express that. We need…
to beware of becoming conformed to this world (Rom 12:2)
to be deeper into the scriptures (Ps 119:11)
to be a people of constant prayer (Eph 6:18)
to reflect Christ in all we do and say (Matt 5:13-16)
to be loving, not a clanging gong (1 Cor 13:1)
to be humble (James 4:6)
to be thoughtful, gentle, and respectful in how we speak about our faith (1 Pet 3:15)
to be good citizens (Rom 13:1), above reproach (1 Pet 3:16-17, 4:15)
to be peace-makers (Matt 5:19)
to live peacefully with everyone so far as it depends on us (Rom 12:18)
to overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21)
to recognise all Christians as part of the same body of Christ (Eph 4:3-6)
to receive the wisdom that comes from above (James 3:17), which is ‘pure, …peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’.
Every Monday night, between 8.00 pm and 9.00 pm, many people connected with NZCN join on-line with others in Pray As One NZ. This is a wonderful opportunity to pray together with fellow Christian believers from all over New Zealand, from all sorts of churches and backgrounds. If you haven’t come on to PrayAsOne already, we warmly invite you to do so. This is the link.
Each week Pray As One has a focus on a different topic.
Last Monday’s topic was mental health. In our fallen, flawed humanity, no one is immune to mental health struggles. Underlying predispositions, rejection, loneliness, loss, life crises, fractured relationships, addictions, stress, anxiety, moral confusion, and the lessening of Christian faith or hope – any of those (and many other things) could be risk factors.
Some of the prayer points mentioned on Pray As One this week were along these lines. You might like to pray them too.
We pray…
For those who feel desperate, and without hope
For the healing of inner brokenness
For those who are considering suicide
For those who live with someone else with mental health issues
For frontline workers and counsellors in the mental health field, for great wisdom, and their own wellbeing
For Christians to impart comfort and hope in a loving, sensitive way
For churches to be places of acceptance and love
For the Holy Spirit to speak grace, truth and hope into many lives
For the Lord to bring a new wave of hope sweeping over the young people of New Zealand, through a great spiritual work bringing many to life and wholeness in Jesus.
The decision of the USA’s Supreme Court to overturn Wade v Roe and the nationwide “constitutional right” to abortion has been met with dismay and outrage by many people, both in the USA and beyond. Many are understandably upset at the winding back of what they consider an inalienable woman’s right: the right of any woman to end any unwanted pregnancy with an abortion.
The public and political rhetoric in the USA and in New Zealand has tended to be quite one-sided, with an emphasis on women having autonomy over their own bodies and about abortion being simply a women’s health measure.
We acknowledge that many women who seek an abortion do so with distress, because they feel alone or abandoned, or because they feel it is too difficult for them to proceed to birthing and raising their child.
The claim, however, that abortion is purely is a woman’s health measure is clearly untrue. Abortion can never be just a woman’s health measure, because abortion invariably involves another person, an unborn human being whose life is being deliberately ended by those who have already been born. Whatever the law of any country may say or allow, abortion remains a profound ethical issue. Particular societies, ethicists, and individuals may weigh differently the competing rights of women and unborn babies, but the moral issues are not in any way erased by legal and parliamentary decisions, or by the pronouncements of politicians.
New Zealand’s previous abortion legislation at least tried to balance the rights of women and the unborn. In practice, however, we ended up with something very close to abortion on demand. New Zealand’s new abortion law in 2020 was passed by the margin of 68 to 51. Sadly, the new law contains no recognition at all of the rights of an unborn child. Politically, the new law may endure. But the deep ethical issues around abortion continue, and public discourse needs to more generous in acknowledging that.
Earlier this week New Zealand’s Supreme Court announced its decision to uphold the deregistration of Family First’s charitable status, on the grounds that Family First’s “advocacy” for traditional marriage and family is “discriminatory” and not working for benefits to the general community, that its purpose is mainly “political”, that it had “crossed the line between education and advocacy”, that “its research reports lacked the balance that is required to further an educative purpose”, and that its “advocacy is not fair, balanced or respectful, so its advocacy is not charitable”.
Some of that seems not very convincing. Marriage and family is good for society, and every human society has always believed so. It is quite a stretch to argue that advocating for marriage and family is somehow “discriminatory”. Surely, too, it is legitimate for Family First to speak out in the public interest against trends and policies which it sees as socially harmful.
Some people dislike Family First’s views or object to its particular style. But that does not establish the conclusion that Family First is therefore “not charitable”. On the contrary, it seems self-evident that Family First’s motivation is to speak out for what it sees as the benefit of general society. How is that not charitable?
Ironically, many other “advocacy” groups – some of them highly politicised, but with opposite views to those of Family First – retain their charitable status. But Family First has been deregistered as a charity.
While people might not agree with every single thing that Family First has ever said, or how they may have said it, we should nevertheless absolutely defend their right to say it.
The wider principle is that, in a free society, the State should refrain from trying to restrain those groups whose views it finds unpalatable. The State should be careful not to discriminate.
Many Christians can agree that, in our bi-cultural nation, it is a respectful and appropriate move for our country to acknowledge the Māori New Year with a new public holiday. This is something that will be unique to New Zealand. It will sit alongside all the other holidays, with their own mix of cultural, spiritual, and secular backgrounds.
The generalised principles that are said to be at the heart of the Matariki celebration are certainly consistent with Christian faith and values: giving thanks for the harvest, looking back, looking ahead, sharing stories about those who have passed on, and enjoying food and togetherness with family and others. Just as Christians often celebrate Christmas, New Year, and Easter in their own ways, so too we can develop life-giving ways of recognising this new seasonal holiday.
Traditional Māori mythology saw the Matariki star cluster as atua (spiritual beings), and as providing for human beings’ health, harvests, seasons, and entry into the afterlife. In the traditional “hautapu” ceremony, food was cooked and offered to these stars, along with karakia (incantations) to them. Some Māori may still see it that way. Some see it as just symbolic of the close connections between the natural and spiritual world in te ao Māori (the Māori world). Many strongly Christian Māori address their thanksgiving and prayers to God alone.
For Christian believers all over the world, the stars don’t in themselves really have any spiritual life or power, or offer us any guidance or help. The Word of God teaches that the Maker of heaven and earth is alone the giver and sustainer of life, the only one to whom prayers may be directed, and the only one who opens the way to eternity. When we gaze up at the stars which God has created (Gen 1:16), including Pleiades/Matariki (Amos 5:8; Job 9:9-10; Job 38:31), we are reminded of our own smallness and fragility, and moved to awe and worship of the one who made all things and gave us life (Ps 8:3-4,9; Ps 19:1; Is 42:5; Acts 17:24-25, Rom 1:20).
May God help us to constructively navigate the opportunities of this new national holiday.
With the first ever National Matariki Public Holiday just around the corner we want to share a short digital narrative around Matariki and to share a unique Christian perspective on what Matariki is all about.
Lorinda Pereira (Ngā Puhi) is based in Te Tai Tokerau, in the far North. She is married to John, and they have nine beautiful tamariki. They run a charitable Trust called Te Ahu Whenua Navigations – teaching families, hapū and community groups on how to life off the land. Lorinda is also a prominent national Māori Christian speaker, teacher, and prophetic voice. She has a powerful testimony.
Wilberforce Foundation made the 4-minute video, entitled Te Rongopai and Matariki, to be easily shareable in church services and in staff meetings. It covers the following questions and topics:
What is Matariki?
When is Matariki?
What is the Christian narrative about Matariki?
And what can people do during Matariki?
Some key kupu/Māori words used in the video:
Hauhake – Harvest
Whenua – Land
Whānau – Family
Hāngi – Earth oven/traditional way of cooking food
Kai – Food
Mātauranga – Knowledge
Hapū – Sub-Tribe
Poke – A generous offering/tithe
Hapori – Community
Pātaka – Storehouse
Puanga, Matariki and Names of Stars
The sighting of Matariki marks the beginning of the Māori New Year. The celebrations and stories differ from iwi to iwi, from region to region. Some iwi (particularly in the North) see Puanga as the heralding star, others see Matariki. Puanga is known as the star – Rigel. Matariki is known as – Pleiades.
Key Scripture verses
“He who made the Pleiades (Matariki) and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land – the Lord is his name.” Amos 5:8
“He counts the stars and calls them all by name” Psalm 147:4
“And God said, Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years.” Genesis 1:14
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalms 19:1
Lorinda’s Kōrero (final segment):
“I’d encourage people to encounter the supernatural essence of Christ. The supernatural imprint of Te Kaihanga i runga i te whenua, ki te rangi (The Creator of the earth and the heavens). Matariki literally means ‘Te Mata-Ariki’ – to come face to face with the Lord, a time of deep encounters with the Lord, and say where am I at lord?, and to ask the lord, where are we heading?”
– Lorinda Pereira.
Small Group Questions:
After sharing the video, these are potential questions that could be asked in relation to the video.
If Matariki is a season to reset and reflect on that year that was, what would you say are some of your key highlights or achievements? From June 2021 to June 2022?
If Matariki is also a time to strategic plan and prepare for the future, what are a few things you could do in the coming months to enable you and your whānau to thrive?
If Matariki is a season to encounter the Lord, what could you do to better position yourself to come face to face with God?
Matariki is a time of celebration – how are you and your whānau going to celebrate Matariki?
