Kamehameha Schools has created a series of Hawaiian-focused devotionals for Lent, 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 Easter, so please feel free to share them!
Heluhelu Baibala / Scripture reading
Uē ihola ʻo Iesū. Jesus wept.
Ioane 11:35 / John 11:35
He manaʻo o ka limahana
KS ʻIke Hawaiʻi Cultural Specialist Hauʻoli Akaka
Aloha mai kākou i kēia Lā i Ala Hou Ai Ka Haku. Happy Easter everyone. Ua ala hou nō hoʻi ʻO ia! Indeed, He is risen!
While we are to be jubilant on this holy day that inspires hope for our redemption and our salvation ma ka inoa o Iesū, Ioane 11:35 reminds us of the immense aloha that Jesus demonstrated for us even before His crucifixion and resurrection.
Our kūpuna will tell you that this paukū paʻanaʻau (memory verse) was one of their favorites as a keiki because it is the shortest paukū in the Baibala and perhaps the easiest to hoʻopaʻa naʻau.
In the Baibala, there are two scriptures that reveal our Haku Iesū e uē iho nei (weeping). In this passage, He wept at the death of his hoaloha Lazarus. Although He would restore him to life, his first response was aloha menemene (sympathy). His heart was broken for Lazarus and his ʻohana. In Luke 19:41, Ua uē ihola ʻo Iesū, Jesus wept for the sins of the people of Jerusalem a week before he journeyed to the cross. Those people who welcomed Him cheering “Hōsana!” on Palm Sunday then shouted, “E kaulia iā Ia – Crucify Him!” on Good Friday.
I believe that His aloha menemene and His waimaka (tears) more than two thousand years ago, continue to flow today in this twenty-first century. Uē ihola ʻo Iesū for COVID-19 and every other plague upon humanity throughout history, famines, natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars and the decay of civilization and its aloha for ke Akua, ka honua a me ke kanaka. In the gospels, Iesū spoke of these hōʻailona (signs) as the beginning “birth pains” of a culminating era.
In this “gestation period,” what might the kāhea of ke Akua be to us?
He is calling us, like our aliʻi and kūpuna did, to mālama mau i ke aloha. To preserve our empathy and reverence for life and the promise of salvation. To lament for one another and all humanity as Iesū did. To be mākaukau for the Day of the Lord that is close at hand.
Queen Liliʻuokalani, more than a century ago, believed faithfully in our salvation when she wrote of our people “crying aloud to Him in their time of trouble; and He will keep His promise, and will listen to the voices of His Hawaiian children lamenting for their homes.” Aloha nō.
He manaʻo o ka haumana
KS Hawaiʻi senior Natalia Ah Loy
Now, more than ever is the time for us to show our mahalo for the things we have. With all that is going on in the world today, there are many things that we can’t control. This can be frustrating and lead to millions of questions of when or why. It is during these times I ask that we focus on what we can control: how we spend this time. Use this break to show your mahalo for your blessings and the people in your life who kōkua – have helped you get to where you are today. Show your gratitude by pule, calling up a friend or family member, writing a letter, or just doing whatever you can to say “Mahalo.” Remember, the aloha and compassion of ke Akua and Iesū Kristo are shown through us, and we feel that aloha through one another.
KS Hawaiʻi senior Natalia Ah Loy and KS ʻIke Hawaiʻi Cultural Specialist Hauʻoli Akaka share our Easter devotional.
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