Dear people of Bethlehem,
Grace to you and peace. We have just completed a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School with a 40 foot whale in the sanctuary and a coral reef. The Bible often says, “To what can I compare the kingdom of God?” So often what we see falls woefully short of that in-breaking kingdom. Not so this week. This week we created a community of joy, peace, compassion, hope and light. Volunteers from mulitlple different churches came together. Children from all faith backgrounds or no faith background came together in beloved community for just one week. Even though I know it is just a week, that it does not represent “reality” — I also know it is both real and possible. It is possible to glimpse the kingdom, to live out its deepest values with intention and to see the change it makes in the world.
I heard a sermon by a Hawaiian preacher that gave me a new vision of this beloved community using three words.
Hapai — The Hawaiian word for pregnancy is hapai. It means to carry. The preacher said, “It is not just the young woman who is hapai. Everybody in the community is hapai. Her spouse is hapai, her cousin is hapai. Everybody is carrying this new life, this new vision together.
Hanau — The word for giving birth is hanau. Hanau means to give birth to something, to give breath to something. Again, it is not just the woman. Everybody in the community is hanau, giving birth to something, giving breath to something of infinite value.
Hanai — The third word is hanai, which can be translated adopted. In Hawaiian culture to say, “This child is hanai to me” means I have taken this one as if he/she is my own. Together we can hanai an idea, a vision, a way of being. The word “ha” breath, Spirit is embedded in each word.
The beloved community looks like all of us together in the company of the Spirit. You are never alone in your despair or loss. There is always someone nearby who is carrying hope or giving breath to a blessed new vision. There is always someone carrying the light for your path. Our calling and our gift is to see it happening and to join with them, to partner with them, in every spark of joy and in every expression of the kingdom.
VBS is indeed a glimpse of the kingdom of God, but it is not the only one. Every time we carry together the precious vision of a human community built in love and grace, the kingdom draws near. Every time we give breath to ideas of justice, kindness and compassion, the kingdom sparks in our midst. Every moment we hold tightly to the values we hold dear as a beloved community, we gladden the world and our own lives. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come near.” Indeed it has, in all of us!
Blessings, Pastor Laura