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Weekly devotional: ʻO ke ALOHA kai ʻoi aʻe: The greatest of these is LOVE

Feb. 3, 2023

Ka Ipu o Lono shares weekly devotionals to provide spiritual enrichment to members of the Kamehameha Schools ‘ohana. For more inspiration, visit the KS “Our faith” website.

Heluhelu Baibala
E nā kānaka, nā hoahānau, a me nā mākua, e hoʻolohe mai ʻoukou i kaʻu ʻōlelo hoʻākāka iā ʻoukou.
A lohe lākou i kāna ʻōlelo ʻana mai iā lākou ma ka ʻōlelo Hebera, hoʻoneoneo loa ihola lākou; a ʻī maila ia. – ‘Oihana 22:1-2

“Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.”
And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. – Acts 22:1-2

He manaʻo o ke kumu
Na Paulo e haʻiʻōlelo aku ana i ka lehulehu i kēia paukū. ʻO ka manaʻo ʻakahi e ʻike ai, e ʻōlelo ana ʻo ia me ke aloha i nā kanaka. “...e nā hoahānau, a me nā mākua,” hōʻike ʻia maila, he ʻohana nō lākou ʻo ka poʻe Iseraela.

ʻO ka manaʻo ʻalua i kilo ʻia, ua hāmau ka leo o ka lehulehu i ka hoʻolohe ʻana i kā lākou leo kūpuna. Like hoʻi me kākou, ʻo nā Hawaiʻi. I ka hoʻolohe ʻana i kā kākou ʻōlelo makuahine, pā ka naʻau. He nani nō hoʻi ka hoʻolohe ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma nā ʻano wahi pae like ʻole. He mau momi nā huaʻōlelo e ʻimi a loaʻa iā kākou a pau.

ʻO ke kela o ka waiwai o kēia manaʻo, hūnā ke aloha o ke Akua i loko o kēia ʻōlelo kūpuna i aloha nui ʻia. I ke kālailai i ka huaʻōlelo ALOHA, kaʻawale ʻia ke Alo me ka Hā. ʻIke maoli ʻia ke aloha o Ke Akua i ka honi kapu a ka poʻe Polenekia. Kū kākou, alo a he alo, honi aku, a honi mai i ka mauliola a haʻi. No hea mai kēia hana kapu? Mai ka puke ʻo Kīnohi, mokuna 2 paukū 7, penei i palapala ʻia, “Hana ihola ʻo Iēhova ke Akua i ke kanaka, he lepo o ka honua, a hā ihola ia i ka hanu ola i loko o nā puka ihu ona; a lilo aʻela ke kanaka i mea ola.” He hana ia mai kīnohi mai i ka hoʻokumu o ke kanaka. He hana ia a Ke Akua i hoʻopili ʻia e kākou.

I kēia mahina ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kākou e hoʻolauleʻa ai i ka waiwai o ka ʻōlelo makuahine me ka hoʻomaikaʻi ʻana i ka mea nona kēia makana o ka ʻōlelo. E ʻimi a loaʻa kona aloha nō kākou pākahi i hūnā ka huna o ka ʻōlelo. Mōakāka kēia manaʻo i ka ʻōlelo o ke mele ʻEkolu mea nui…ʻo ke ALOHA kai ʻoi aʻe.

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In this passage, Paul just had an encounter with the Lord. He was about to be persecuted by the Jewish crowd, his own people. It was then he addressed the crowd in the language that he knew would speak to their hearts…and they drew silent to listen.

My first observation is that the language that is used in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi shows that he recognizes the people as ʻohana by using words like hoahānau and mākua. He ʻohana nō lākou. They are ʻohana as all descendants of the covenant between the Lord and Father Abraham to make his children a great nation, Israel.

In my second observation, I see how the crowd was silenced at Paulʻs addressing them in the Hebrew language, the language of these people, his ʻohana. I find this so important as I see the parallel to our mother tongue, ka ʻōlelo makuahine. When we hear our language we connect in a way that is unexplainable in words. It never ceases to amaze me to continue to find amazing beauty in our language. Each and every word is like a gem waiting to be discovered.

Third, and what I recognize as even more amazing is how we get to see the Lordʻs love for each of us embedded in our language. Probably the most common and over commercialized word is Aloha, however Aloha holds one of the greatest connections between us and our Father in heaven, alo, meaning face and hā, meaning breath. When you look at all of Polynesia, one of the many practices we share alike is the honi. In this, we kū alo a he alo, face to face, nose to nose, honi aku, honi mai and exchange the essence of ourselves with one another. Such a sacred act. Where might we have first learned this? Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. It is evident that this sacred act comes from the beginning of the creation of man. It comes from the one who first loved us and we have been repeating it ever since.

In this ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi month when we celebrate the beauty of the gift of our ʻōlelo, let us honor the one who the gift comes from. How special are we? Pretty special. Explore and challenge yourself to seek and find the hidden treasures of the Lordʻs love for you through his gift to us in our own ʻōlelo. It is perfectly said in lyrics of the mele, ʻEkolu mea nui…and the greatest of these is LOVE.

E noiʻi ma baibala.org. Use baibala.org as an online Hawaiian bible resource.



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