Kahu's Manao

Keawala‘i Congregational Church
United Church of Christ (USA)

Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Rev. Kealahou C. Alika

“Shaped by Prayer”
Colossians 2:6-15 & Luke 11:1-13

The article “Crew of canoe to fulfill pledge to family that donated wood” appeared in The Maui News on Friday, July 23, 2010, A3. The ashes of eleven-year-old Ka‘ilila‘au Lindsey were spread in the ocean offshore from the Ka‘anāpali Beach Hotel on Saturday morning.

Ka‘ilila‘au died six years ago. His final voyage took place in a four-person outrigger sailing canoe that the hotel employees made and named in his honor, in fulfillment of his family’s wishes. Each year employees of the hotel undertake a special project as a part of its cultural enrichment program during the Makahiki season that runs from October to February.

The log for the canoe was carved out of a 100-plus-foot albesia tree on the property of Ka‘ilila‘au’s parents - Kimo and Leimaile Lindsey. The Lindseys donated the tree with one request – that the canoe be named after Ka‘ilila‘au, the oldest of their nine children.

It is remarkable that the translation for the boy’s name is: “the bark of the tree.” It is said that it was Ka‘ilila‘au who asked his father years ago to build a canoe from the albesia tree that was eventually cut down on November 9, 2009.

If you read the newspaper article or listen to National Public Radio Hawaii this week you are aware that the primary canoe builder was Charlie Noland. Many of us know Charlie because his ancestors come from the islands of Moloka‘i and Maui as well as Kentucky. Here on Maui, they come from this place that we call Mākena and from this church.

The canoe was blessed and launched on March 9, 2010 in a ceremony that included Charlie and the hotel employees. I thought about Charlie’s work and the work of so many others on behalf of the Lindsey family and know that in ancient Hawai‘i and today, that the building of a canoe was undertaken with great care.

It is said that the ancient gods gave human beings the knowledge of canoe making so long ago that “no one knows where or when it was.” (Nā Pule Kahiko: Ancient Hawaiian Prayers, June Gutmanis, Editions Limited, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1983, page 74) Our Hawaiian küpuna, our ancestors composed many prayers for the trees from which the canoes were constructed and for the work of building the canoes as well as for launching and sailing them.

Prayers were offered for the preparation of the tools; for the journey to the forest; and for the cutting of the tree. Prayers were offered after the trimming of the tree and after the canoe was roughed out of the tree. Prayers were said when the canoe was hauled down the mountain. Along the way other prayers were offered.

When the construction of the canoe was completed, a prayer was offered. When ceremonial offerings were made in celebration of the occasion, several prayers were offered.

When the canoe returned to shore after being launched and was hauled onto the sand, another prayer was offered. A prayer was also offered for those learning how to handle a canoe and each voyage, whether long or short, began with a prayer. (Ibid., pages 75-84)

I had an opportunity to attend the blessing and launching of the canoe in early March. Kumu hula Kapono‘ai Molitau presided over the ceremony that day.

I know that there has been a renewed interest in the building of canoes over the last forty years. I also know that many have taken to heart the wisdom of our ancestors and now offer their prayers as well.

With all the praying, I wondered how it was that any work would get done. But then I realized that is what the Bible means when we read the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Thessalonica centuries ago: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

“Pray without ceasing.”

Our reading this morning from The Gospel According to Luke is about prayer and provides us with a way of understanding how our lives are shaped by prayer. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray. We know that the religious teachers of their day taught formulaic prayers; that is prayers that considered a formula to follow.

In our reading Jesus teaches the disciples such a prayer. We call it The Lord’s Prayer. Others know it as Jesus’ Prayer. Some refer to it as The Our Father; others say it is The Prayer Jesus Taught.

The name may vary but its purpose remains the same. Jesus addresses God as “Father” in the prayer (Luke 11:2-4) as he seeks to establish God’s generosity, compassion and faithfulness. (Seasons of the Spirit, Congregational Life/Pentecost, Wood Lake Publishing Inc., Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, 2009, page 80)

In the verses that follow (Luke 11:5-13) Jesus expands on how what God provides is beyond all of our expectations. God is “hallowed” or “holy.” Yet God’s way of being or desire is to be present not only in heaven but on earth.

The prayer then asks God for three of our human needs – provide food, restore individuals and communities by forgiveness, and protect the world. God will respond not because we are worthy or because we have the right formula, but because it is God’s character and nature to be loving and faithful. (Op. cit.)

Our relationship with God is possible because of who God is and what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:6-19) The substance of our relationship with God is rooted in God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, not in our human rituals or prayers. (Psalm 85)

Long ago our küpuna may have shared the same struggle we face whenever we find ourselves burdened by the rituals and formulas of prayers. Does that mean then that our prayers are of no consequence?

On the contrary I would say that if our prayers are constant - that is without ceasing - we will be renewed and sustained. We will have cause to rejoice.

To pray without ceasing frees us from such rituals and formulas. To pray without ceasing frees us from the need to “know” and to “say” the “right words” in the “right way” at the “right time” in the “right place.”

To pray without ceasing frees us from feeling compelled to kneel, to bow our heads, to close our eyes and to clasp our hands. To pray without ceasing frees us from what some see as the necessity of making certain that every prayer ends “in the name of Jesus Christ.”

To pray without ceasing frees us to see that whatever we say and whatever we do is our prayer; to see that our gratitude to God for all circumstances is our prayer; to see that whether we are awake or asleep, our life and our living in every moment is our prayer.

To pray without ceasing is to be aware of the power and presence of God’s Spirit in our lives and in our world. To pray without ceasing is to live our lives rooted and established in the faith that is ours in Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Charlie Noland is a skilled canoe builder in part because of he seems to become a part of the canoe itself. It is as though his every action is a prayer. The canoe is imbued with the spirit and soul of Kaʻililaʻau and the spirit and soul of Charlie and all of the men, women and children who gave shape to its creation through the work of their hands and their prayers.

Ka‘ilila‘au’s ashes have been put to rest in the waters of Ka‘anāpali. May God’s pu ke aloha me ka ‘oia‘i‘o – God’s steadfast love and faithfulness – be a source of reassurance and comfort to those who loved and knew him well. That is what we ask for this day. That is our prayer.

Amen.

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