Unity (1) Maori and Pakeha

On Waitangi Day in 1983, I preached a sermon in a small church at Waikaka Valley near Gore, Southland describing the parallels between Saul’s treatment of the Gibeonites and the breach of the Treaty of Waitangi explains. An article based on the sermon published in the Challenge newspaper later that year created considerable interest. Muri Thompson circulated it widely to Maori groups and a few government officials. After that, I thought that I had done by bit, so I have not given the topic much thought since then.

A couple of weekends ago, I attended a conference called Behold a New Era in Christchurch. One of the speakers was Norm McLeod. His message about the relationship between Maori and Pakeha in New Zealand really set me thinking about this topic again. He shared a vision of Maori and Pakeha standing together on the rock, which was really compelling. This unity in Jesus is essential for a move of God in New Zealand.

He shared a second vision in which the Pakeha church on one side crying to God for revival and the Maori elders on the other side crying out for someone to bring them justice. As I was pondering this vision during the night and thinking about some of the teaching about the Kingdom of God from the conference, the thoughts for the following posts came to me. They are not the complete picture, but I believe they are an important part of the puzzle.

God’s Purpose

God brought the British and Maori together for a purpose. They each needed something that the other had.

• The British had the gospel and the scriptures: Jesus and the Holy Spirit. However, they needed to learn about caring for the land and building community.

• The Maori understood the spirituality of land and community, but they needed the gospel of Jesus and the Spirit.

Maori needed the gospel of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit. They understood the spirituality of the land, and they lived in strong communities, but sin and the spiritual powers of evil created divisions that often manifested in war. The violence allowed evil spirits to attach themselves to the land. They needed the peace and unity that only Jesus could bring.

When the British settlers came to NZ, they needed the Maori understandings of land and community, but pride prevented them from seeing what Maori had to offer them. All they saw was the warrior spirit, disturbed by oppression and fired up by muskets. Pakeha politicians manipulated that warrior spirit to get Maori fighting in European wars that did not concern them, but trampled on their understanding of law and community, which Pakeha settlers really needed.