Kahu's Manao

Third Sunday in Lent
Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Rev. Kealahou C. Alika

“Open Invitation”
Isaiah 55:1-9 & Luke 13:1-9

In a very few days from now we will gather here in Mäkena with members, friends, and visitors to celebrate our 20th annual lū‘au. It will be a feast of good things – of food and drink; of music and dance; of storytelling and “talking story.”

Randie Kamuela Fong, a noted haku mele or composer, was commissioned by our Music Ministry Program through the work of Stephen Haines, our Choir Director, to compose a new hīmeni or hymn for the church. The composition was completed in August 2009. A few months later on one Sunday morning in October, Randie and his wife, Jamie, traveled from Honolulu to be with us to hear the hymn sung for the first time by our choir.

The choir will sing “Ka Malu O Keawala‘i” again on the day of the lū‘au and with certainty on many other occasions in the years to come. “Ka Malu O Keawala‘i” is the theme of our gathering this year. The English translation reads, “In the Haven of Keawala‘i.”

Some may wonder what they will receive for the cost of a ticket. The ticket will cover the cost for the food and entertainment and other related expenses.

However it will not cover the cost of time and energy and the ho‘okipa and aloha of the many volunteers who will be here to welcome you. That you will receive manuahi – for free.

What you also will receive for free is the knowledge that the doors of this church will always be open to provide a haven – a refuge, a sanctuary- a place where all are welcome.

Today is the third Sunday in the Season of Lent but it is also the first Sunday of the month, a time when we gather to share The Lord’s Supper. Hawaiian scholars tell us that the word lū‘au is not an ancient name but one that goes back to around 1856 when it was used for the first time in a publication known as the Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Prior to that the word that was used for a feast was a pä‘ina or ‘aha‘aina as in ‘Aha ‘Aina Pelena or The Lord’s Supper.

Lent is also the time of year when we recall the final journey made by Jesus and the disciples to the city of Jerusalem. It will be a journey through which Jesus must hold fast to a radical trust in God because it will be a journey that will end in his death.

From the moment each of us took our first breath we began our own journeys to Jerusalem. Though the circumstances may vary the truth is all of our journeys through this life will end in our own deaths.

Some have said of our living and dying that the final destination is not as important as the journey. How we live our lives is what matters most. Any way of life that turns us away from Ke Akua, from God is a way of life that leads to death.

It is not difficult to see how it can be that we would turn away from God. The “false promises for the good life, the full life, the successful life, the happy life, the meaningful life, or the exciting life . . . are so prevalent in today’s world.” (Daniel M. Debevoise, From Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 2, Bartlett & Taylor, Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 2009, page 78)

We chase after fame and fortune. We long for the material comforts of the world. We are lured by power, position, privilege and prestige. We are quick to make judgments about the misfortune of others. We pride ourselves in not being like “them” whoever “they” may be.

Everywhere we turn we are enticed by the world to live the good life, the full life, the successful life, the happy life, the meaningful life, the exciting life by the promise that every want and desire, every need will be fulfilled. A new car, a new computer, a new iPod, a new and bigger house – all of these are within our grasp.

However, Isaiah reminds us that our greatest need is a relationship with God that is rooted in God’s steadfast love for us. In our reading from The Book of Isaiah, the prophet “implores us, ‘Seek the Lord that he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’” (Isaiah 55:6-7) (Ibid.)

Isaiah emphasizes the goodness of God by using the imagery of a feast or ‘aha ‘aina that is open to all who seek God’s goodness. For Isaiah, God is generous and gracious. God is near and does not hide from us and at that same time God remains mysterious.

The invitation to the feast of such a generous and gracious God is open to all and it is free. Unlike our lū‘au, there is no cost. However, we are required to listen, come, see, seek, forsake and return. In our reading from The Gospel According to Luke, Jesus calls on those around him one day to do the same, to repent or return to God.

The Greek word metanoia is used, meaning that repentance is “a complete turning away from former beliefs and actions in faithful acceptance of the proclamation of God’s kingdom.” (Op. cit., page 94). It is a proclamation made known to us “in the person and work of Jesus Christ.” It is a proclamation made known to us whenever we gather to share the bread and the cup.

Wehe maila ke alaula i ka pili o ke ao

I ka pai a ka Papa hone ana i Keawakapu ē

Leha au i koʻu mau maka i ka piko o Haleakalā

Hosana i ka Makua, koʻu kōkua mau

Maluhia ʻo Kaʻeo i ka hea o nā kūpuna

I ke kai nehe ʻolu i ka malu o Keawalaʻi ē

Dawn breaks heralding a new day

As the Papa wind rises, sweetly singing at Keawakapu.

I lift my eyes up to the summit of Haleakalā

Praise be to the Father, my eternal source of help

Peaceful is Kaʻeo as the ancestors call

In the soft murmur of the sea – in the haven of Keawalaʻi

We are invited to a banquet of new life here in the haven of Keawalaʻi that flows from the generous heart of God. God has a set a table laden with an abundance of pardon and forgiveness, calling us to return home and to receive it and live once again.

We come to taste the peace that lies within God’s grace. We come to drink to the full all that God offers to us.

So it is that we lift our hearts in thankfulness. Amen.

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