By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Na, inaianei i roto i a Karaiti Ihu, ko koutou, ko te hunga i tawhiti i mua, kua meinga e nga toto o te Karaiti kia tata.
Ko ia hoki to tatou maunga rongo, nana i mea nga mea e rua kia kotahi, whakahoroa iho e ia te patu e arai ana i waenga;
A o lenei, ‘ona o Keriso Iesu, o ‘outou sa vāvāmamao ‘ua fa‘alatalataina mai i le toto o Keriso. Auā o Keriso lava ia na ‘aumaia le filemū ia i tatou, ‘ina ‘ua fa‘atasia e ia tagata Iutaia ma tagata o Nu‘u ‘ese e fai ma tagata e tasi. Na tu‘uina atu e ia lona lava tino e lepetia ai i lalo le pa o le feitaga‘i sa vaeluaina ai i latou.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
Ephesians 2:13-14
Ephesians chapter two was significant for both the first Waitangi Day on 6 February 1840, and on the 185th Waitangi Day, yesterday.
How so? Massey Emeritus Professor of History Peter Lineham suggests the famous words uttered by Hobson as each chief signed the Treaty on the first Waitangi Day, “He iwi tahi tatou (now we are all one people),” were a loose translation of Ephesians 2:13-14, given to him by the Missionary Henry Williams. Yesterday, at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Ephesians 2:14-18 was our reading for both the Dawn Service and Second Service.
Ephesians 2:13-14 reminds us that the deepest racial reconciliation, whether between Jew and Gentile or Māori and Pākehā, happens only through the cross of Christ. As Māori and Pākehā Christians living on these islands, that’s as true today as it was 185 years ago.
Ephesians 2:13-14 affirms that Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection, removes the ethnic “dividing walls of hostility” between Jew and Gentile and between Māori and Pākehā believers.
Ephesians 2:13-14 contributed to Māori considering the Treaty of Waitangi in covenantal terms. Ephesians 2:13-14 reiterates the fact that Māori and Pākehā Christians share a far greater covenant in Christ.
Ephesians 2:13-14 suggests that the resources to heal from the consequences of ‘racial dividing walls’ and ‘hostility’ are found in Christ.
Ephesians 2:13-14 reminds us that we, both Māori and Pākehā, have all come to God the same way. We have come through Jesus taking our place and dealing with sin, death and Satan on the cross. As a result, we have the precious opportunity to reflect this gospel of grace by being gracious to one another. Our gracious acts will, in turn, bear witness to the world around us.
