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Ka No'ono'o Ho'omana Ka Hikina - Advent Devotional - Christmas Eve

Dec. 24, 2019

Contributed by Nadine Lagaso

Kamehameha Schools has created a series of Hawaiian-focused devotionals for Advent, to honor the deep Christian faith of our founder Princess Pauahi. The devotionals were designed to be used by staffers, students and others to celebrate the coming of Christmas, so please feel free to share them!

Heluhelu Baibala – Scripture Reading

Aia hoʻi, ma Ierusalema kekahi kanaka, ʻo Simeona kona inoa; a he kanaka pono ia, he haipule, e kali ana i ka mea nāna e kōkua i ka ʻIseraʻela; aia ma luna ona ka ʻUhane Hemolele. A ua hōʻike ʻē ʻia mai iā ia e ka ʻUhane Hemolele, ʻaʻole ia e make ʻē, a ʻike aku ia i ka Mesia a ka Haku. A hele aʻela hoʻi ia ma muli o ka ʻUhane i loko o ka luakini; a lawe aʻela nā mākua i ke keiki iā Iesū i loko, e hana aku ai nona ma muli o ka ʻoihana o ke kānāwai; A laila lawe ʻo ia iā ia ma kona mau lima, a hoʻomaikaʻi akula i ke Akua, ʻī akula hoʻi, ʻĀnō, e ka Haku, ke kuʻu nei ʻoe i kāu kauwā nei me ka pōmaikaʻi e like me kāu ʻōlelo. No ka mea, ua ʻike iho nei koʻu mau maka i kāu Hoʻōla, Ka mea āu i hoʻomākaukau ai i mua o ke alo o nā kānaka a pau; He mālamalama e hoʻomālamalama ai i nā lāhui kanaka, a he nani nō kou poʻe kānaka ka ʻIseraʻela.
– Luka 2:25-32

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law. Then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
– Luke 2:25-32

He manaʻo o ke kumu

KS ʻIke Hawaiʻi Cultural Development Director Keʻala Kwan 
ʻIʻo ka Pule (The Pule is Deeply Sincere)

 “She’s been in a head-on car accident... you better come now!” Lani, our close friend, said on the phone. Time eerily slowed down. But my thoughts raced, fearing the worst. I thought the unthinkable – “Was she dead?” Shock, fear and helplessness overwhelmed me. Kaumaha, a heavy, profound sadness filled me. Then I instinctively did what I was taught to do as a child:  pule, pule, pule. So I offered a deep, sincere pule – what kūpuna describe as ʻiʻo ka pule; an impassioned plea to Akua for His mercy, protection and aloha. Mahalo i ke Akua for answering pule by saving my wife’s life on that fateful day.

In celebrating our Savior’s birth, we mahalo His gift of eternal life for us all.  Like our kūpuna, we know the awesome power of pule. Kūpuna offered pule at the start and end of each day, and we would be wise to follow their example. Be it in formal worship or during our most intimate, private conversations with ke Akua, pule is how we speak truth from our naʻau; it is how we express mihi, to humbly ask forgiveness for our imperfections, and seek divine guidance and mahalo blessings from Akua.

He manaʻo o ka haumana

KS Hawaiʻi Keiki Kahu Kamakana Rodrigues

Knowing that God came to save all people is both encouraging and daunting. It is encouraging because that means, no matter what, God is here for us! Nothing we do can push us away from God, and God is always there for us.

However, this can be daunting because we may not know what to do with this good news. Yeah, we know we have to share it, but how? With whom? And what if they don’t accept it or push us away. The answer to this comes through worship, prayer and always having a heart of glorifying God in everything we do, so that there is always the light of God shining through us.

View previous Advent messages and learn more about the Christian values of Kamehameha Schools on the KS “Our faith” web page.

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