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Wai puna - everflowing water

Archbishop Winston Halapua, archbishop of Polynesia spoke in a Lenten series on Water. He was on his way to participate in New York and London in an Anglican Communion series on Water. 
Archbishop Winston Halapua

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Wai puna - everflowing water

Transcript
For our reflection as we continue. On the common issue of water. I just like to say at the beginning, the reflection is around on a Maori. Concept of why Pune? Why why? Is common to all ocean. Ian people, it's about Porter. And why Bona when the water Springs with joy and free-for-all. First, I would like to express my deep gratitude, for the invitation. if you're vika in other parts of the world, they call recta, we call it in Polynesia, 55 car, Rev dr. Holland. Jacob be thank you. This is the second Hospitality. You have extended to me? One. When you were Dean this time when you are here, it's in Matthew. Friends I stand on, Holy Ground. I recall those in the past. Who came here? For the word of God for life and for strength. And I speak. Of the late Sir Paul Reeves. We cried out from v g as a nation. And as people who instigated cool as a language, and a reality in the Pacific, When we prayed for help Sable Reeves name came out as God's answer to our questions. And his advice, when he found out, I was coming to New Zealand. He said, Winston when you need strength, go to st. Matthew And here I am together with multitudes who have been here. To have a share of life from here. And I made that confession and befitting the season of Lent this morning. The Reverend Helen I said to her I woke up this morning I suddenly realized before I go to New York. I know where I am. when I left Fiji, like many of us, who travel you work after the last minute, And you pick up your suitcase, you are not quite sure when you arrive at the airport, whether everything is supposed to take in the suitcase. So when I woke up this morning I suddenly realized I need a space. I need a space before I go to New York. And leader. I knew that I have culture shock. When I game, I know where the Tower is. And arrived at the foot of the tower, I was looking for the church because I don't remember the road. I Heard the Bells. And when I look for the bells, I was beside the church and I park my car and I got out the beauty of the Bells. Shock Me. I come from the Pacific. We don't have the purity of the Bells you have here, and I think many of us here, take that for granted, for me this morning. It reminded me, welcome Winston to New York. Have a taste of what New York looks like and so my friend, let me return to the white Pune. The beautiful story of. The Samaritan woman. In the spirit of the Pacific. If you stand up and speak for a woman who has no name, they will tell you to sit down, go and find out the name first before you come and share about the life of that person. So let me begin this way. A Samaritan woman with no name. And in this story, I like you to no more than 15 years. I haven't preached on this gospel. Because when people like the Reverend Susan, who is here in their time and able as male to realize they are stories is more powerful and full when you hear women share the story, it has been a long time. I was aware about it so that's a gift. I took from New Zealand every Sunday. I know that the film is on the story I asked Someone else who is a woman, a leader to share with us the inside of the story. So today, what a tremendous Joy. And let me say what strikes me first, the shift of location. Jesus moved from Jordan to Samaria. Secondly, it talks about place the uniqueness of location. One is Samaria. One is Jerusalem. One is Jordan and then we cannot just superficially talk about them. If we do not know the uniqueness, Of each place it talks about what is in the Maori language. About knowing your identity. because the identity is what make you and we in the Pacific when we talk about Toronto, why is The Human Side within the multiplicity of the context and The Human Side cannot stand alone. So when we ask questions of importance, it's not who are you to question? Where are you from? Because without that question, where you cannot move on to who and what Because in the location, it opens up the conversation when we say, oh yes, I remember the person. We were the same University. His or her name is this Then you begin the conversation. All I remember about the beautiful flower. I learned that this only from your place. It begins the conversation from where people are. And here in this story, we see the issue of ethnicity, a Jew, a Sumerian and here in this story we see the issue of gender. The world view. Pacific way of looking at life and I marveled the way how gender comes out how ethnicity comes out, how context comes out and all of them and reach the exchange of the conversation. Then emerge, the Legacy. Where we are is a commonplace, this is a village story. For commonplace in the Pacific when you are at the beach. When you don't know what to do and I must confess, they were time. I ran away from schools, that's where I was swimming during the hours of schools. This is a confess confession. I must make as an Archbishop and if people found it out is a commonplace They would call to see my parents and said, is something wrong with Winston. We went fishing this morning and we saw him at the seaside. Friends is a public place. You cannot hide anything. Amazingly in this story. We said, what is private? And what is actually public? As they go deeper and deeper into the question of water too, many husbands come out. Perhaps the woman is private in the village. There is no such thing as private because if you married to one or your partner's from one, it belongs to a whole network of relations, the whole relations know about it. And if we have three or four it to me, maybe it's two or three villages where they come from. We can't tell if I'm talking about the public and the private And incredible story. As I now try to pull it together into the issue of Why boner? What started off on the basic life? A glass of water so to speak or you can drink from the packet. I grew up in that life in the village. You can't wait for anything, because if you wait for anything, you have to open up a coconut. Then you have to go and look for our coconut. By the time you are really really fast. So you dive into the pocket. What of water in those days with, there's no such thing as high genic. If there are six of you you touring from the sign packet of water, And so is the story, simply is about water. Then it went from water to the environment and then, from the environment to what is inside each, one of us, then from what is inside of us to The Wider climate and the universal world. When we talk about water, We talked about the global world. We talked about planet Earth, When we ended up this morning, the liturgical expression of our togetherness in water. It was an acting of what we have together globally as an issue and as we move down to the water, I was asking myself. Are you aware? That today's language and conversation that they are people will be under the water. and if you haven't have a good, look at the preacher, Because scientists said by the end of century, some of us will go underwater. And then the issue, how can we share the glass of water there? Some contradiction in the way how we talk. And so the purity of the story is I will look at it afresh. Here is a story. Of a woman who is part of creation. And God himself, who is the creator? The water is part of creation and the source of water. And within that conversation, we learned that from our creator. There is such thing as y Pune. It's not water. That is transformed into a commodity. It is not a war that we call and beg for it. It is not a war that we can sit down in conferences and continue to share what we would like to know more. The water from the gospel today is a Vibe Oona. It emerges from the heart of God and overflow to where you are. It is free. It is for us to receive it. and a message for today, when we receive such love It motivated us to be waipuna, too. To others and to the world. And so, let me conclude. By bringing where we are in the world today. At the end of February, all primates of Australia out there or New Zealand and Polynesia. Melanesia, which constitute of the Solomons Vanuatu New Caledonia? And Australia. We met and constitute Oceania, primates and archbishops. It is the need. Of the urgent call of God about the climate change. And let me simply put it this way. The water. Which is God's gift for. It's now on serious, serious. Problem. We speak together as primates. The only two countries. One is Honolulu or Hawaii. And the other one is at the North outside, the voice of Oceania. We met and said, talk has to be stopped. Translate the knowledge we have already into action. Before I got to the plane, I address in wrote to all the leaders presidents. Prime Ministers Ministers of agriculture's Foreign Affairs. They care that in Suva. Almost 17 Island States and territories. They have one voice. Action is the only language we know. But then our work is to translate it into policies because we prepare ourselves for United Nations oceans Conference in June and in Fiji the whole world. From Suva. We will hold to New York at the end of the year. and so I left on my way to New York, On water Justice. It will be broadcast alive. So, every corner of this world will have the opportunity to hear about the physiology of water. And may I simply say. I am to myself with the voice of Oceania. And because we have three taking a church. What is good for the grand? Bargain is good for born in Asia. What is good for Polynesia is good for the gander Bank. Aha, What is code for Polynesia is good to take Anna Marie. What is good for? The economy is good for Polynesia. And so I stand here to say, Saint Matthew You are on board a Vaca. We as free Freedom gonna Church. What is a problem? To one is a problem. Two artists, we are one body, the body of Christ. The church and the head of the church is God himself. And so my friends, my appeal is this. There was the first scholarly book in terms of deep research. Rowan Williams came out in year, 2014, the edge of words, God and the habits of language. There, he explores. The way how we use language. And they're in his argument. The reason why we are confused in fiala sizing. And in our conversation because we assume realities And he argues get to know the realities first, because the reality is themselves have their own language. Incredible. That year 2014. He had 2000 2015. Pope Francis in his book, will out a Dorsey. And clearly call letter. On care, for our common home. Our common home is where water comes in. We cannot have a home without water. But we have to find a language. A language of action. And at the end of the year, all leaders of 117 Nations gathered in Paris. For the first time in the world. And they agreed, we can only move forward by being together. So, st. Matthew we have to find a language. The language I found in gradable in the gospel. Jesus said, give me a drink. Do you remember what the woman said when she had that? There is such thing as white boner. She said, give me that drink. That is where we are. People your people who are now sinking in the ocean. We can no longer talk what it might look like to be a glass of water. We will say. Stop. Muttering up with the space because the voice of the water. Now Rises, we failed to speak our voice. Now the ocean Rises and speak Weeks ago, I saw whales. On the beach. And I can't remember how many tides? I saw many responses. From we in the Pacific, we are confused. We need our space to be secured. So I call upon Saint Matthew. Take the water we demonstrate today. We need to go outside the church and properly say to the world together, with our people in Oceania. We have to stop the way we have come. We have to reclaim that life and creation is God's gift. We have to be cleared. It is given to be shared. And all the conversation of the Gospel passage this morning. Is about sharing. and when we throw on here to receive the body and blood of Jesus, perhaps we have been good anglicans for years. What it meant. To take the chair outside the church to The Wider community. And so we come to the water Justice is simply About sharing. To chastise to others. As I am now, firstly, our, there's a face T2. But if we can share the world that we him, it will be like the feeding of the 5000 s. We will be surprised when we share it gratefully before, God. That water will become why Pune. And it will be more than what the world needs in the name of God. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.