Some thoughts for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time and Matthew 10
Two weeks ago we celebrated our Church constitution – Te Pouhere, which weaves us together - Māori, Pasfika and Pākehā. Like the flax strands in ngā whāriki or a woven mat, each Tikanga takes part in the life and mission of our church knowing their voice and way of living the gospel is as important as anyone else’s. It is a gift of God. On Sunday morning we are invited to gather at Te Ranga and remember the battle fought there 162 years ago. We will remember injustice of both those events and the land confiscations that followed, and the ongoing effects of that today. Māori lives did not matter then. How do we make them matter today? Not all will be happy about this. Some of you may not agree with what I have just written. In our gospel reading last and this week we have heard Jesus’ mission instructions to his disciples. Jesus invited them to share in and carry on the task he had described in the Beatitudes and had since lived, of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven into the mids...
