(Maori Version at Papers Past.)
[1] Te Kopara, Number 4, Gisborne, January 1914.
‘Iti te Kopara, kai takirikiri ana i runga i te Kahikatea.’
Although the Bellbird is small, he plucks at the Kahikatea. [cf Nga Pepeha 908]
CHRISTMAS DAY.
Everyone now looks forward to Christmas Day. But each person thinks of and observes that day differently. So one person sees that day as a day to meet with his friends and his family perhaps after they have been parted for a long time and he hopes in his heart that it will be a day when they can meet and be joyful and happy together. Another person sees it as a day of relaxation when he is free from his day to day work at the end of the year. He hopes in his heart that that day will come quickly so that he can be free from his labours and spend it doing pleasing and entertaining things. Another person sees it as a holiday when he can just sit about doing no work or anything and he is happy when that day arrives.
These views are held by Maori and Pakeha people alike. They are all good views but they can divert a person’s thoughts from the real hope that that day brings. But there is one thing we observe in all these different views and that is joy. Happiness features in all those perceptions. But happiness for what? Here they go astray. We have explained above that one man is happy at the prospect of meeting his friends, another is happy at the prospect of a day of pleasure, and another is happy at the prospect of a day off work when he can just sit about doing nothing. But, my friends there is also the main prospect which is excluded [?kutia] by the views about which we’ve spoken above; there is also the real joy which is absent from the happiness spoken of above. This view looks to the time Christ came, the time he became incarnate; this joy is joy at his coming, at his incarnation. ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ [John 1.14] But someone may ask why we should rejoice at the coming of Christ, at his incarnation.
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This question asked by one person may be asked through ignorance, asked by another it may be in thoughtlessness, by another it may be asked through forgetfulness, and by another it may be asked because of blindness. Never mind, the question of the ignorant person, of the thoughtless person, of the blind person, and of the person who asked his question seeking enlightenment has been answered. My friend, these are the reasons why you should be happy and joyful on that day, that is, because on that day one discovers all the plan of God for you, his creation. You realize his love for you even though you have rebelled against him from the time of Eve and Adam. The sin of Even and Adam laid down a great chasm between us and our Creator. He did not create that great chasm; no, it was caused by our rebellion against him, and that of our ancestors, Eve and Adam. But although there is this great gulf between him and us he sought to cross over to us, he sought to bring us back to him, ‘to bring us home,’ as explained in Number 3 of Te Kopara. And the way by which he crossed over to us is the coming of his Son and his incarnation; and that coming and incarnation is the way by which we can cross over to Him. Very well then, consider this. The above verse says, ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ First let me explain what is meant by ‘the Word’. You know that it is from a man’s words that we know his thoughts; we know whether he is a good or a bad man. The man spoken of in this verse as ‘the Word’ is Christ. This name is given to him only and not to anyone else. The reason why it is given to him is because he is the one who interprets the thoughts of God to us people. In the time of the Old Testament we had a cloudy perception of God’s thoughts towards us people, whatever they might be; but in New Testament times all the thoughts of God have been made very clear to us through his sending of the Word and the incarnation of that Word. That Word alone has shown us what he is like, his holiness, his righteousness, his awesomeness, and his amazing love for us people and his yearning for us to return to him.
Let me now explain the ‘incarnation’. The great love of God is seen in the incarnation of the Word. It is not possible for us human beings to draw near to God given his holy character and our terrible wickedness, defiled as we are by sin. We realise our defilement and are afraid to draw near to God although God longs for us to draw near to him. But because of our apprehension God thought it best for him to find a way to do away with our apprehension and our fear of drawing
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near to him. That way was the incarnation of God the Son. That is our way of being in touch with God, through the human side of Christ. This is how it is:
GOD THE FATHER
II
{His Divinity
GOD THE SON
{His Humanity
II
Humankind
We see here that Christ’s position is that of a Go-between, a Mediator, between us and his Heavenly Father. We meet him in his humanity; he meets the Father in his divinity: but because he alone has these two aspects, when we meet with him in his humanity we are also meeting with him in his divinity, and the same occurs with his Heavenly Father. In this way we can appreciate the provision God makes for us to become one with him. This is why the Word was made Incarnate – to become a Mediator between us and God; to seek a way for us to be in touch with God although we are still sinful beings. God and humankind are brought together in the Son who unites us and our Father in Heaven. We were separated one from the other but from the time of Christ we were joined together. Is this not the evidence of the great love of God, that he should become man! This is the time that his love was seen in the flesh, the season of Christmas. This was the time when peace was made between us and our Heavenly Father. This was the joy that the angelic host sang of at the time of Christ’s birth.
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth, goodwill toward men. (Luke 2.14)
Yes, Christmas is a time of happiness, but not because it is a time of entertainments or of pleasures or for holidays, but because it is the time when peace was made between us and our Heavenly Father, the time when our Saviour was born, Christ the Lord. See the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, Verses 10 & 11, where it says:
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
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THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE EXAMINATIONS.
The students of Te Rau College who passed the examinations in the Pakeha section were Te Wana and Henare Paraone, both from the Diocese of Auckland. They passed the second part (Grade II). Wiremu Tureia and Tamati te Kanapu entered for the third part (Grade III). They failed; it was the Greek language that defeated them. Although they got the marks required for a person to pass, the view of the Examiner was that they were not at home with translating some Greek words. Because of their hesitation the Examiner thought that their knowledge of that language was not advanced enough. The Greek language is the difficult part of Part III. Many people in the past have failed because of it. Although Tureia and Tamati failed, they did very well given that this is a difficult part, the work is new to them, and the time they had was short. There are eight subjects in this part and they passed them all except that the Greek language alone defeated them. This means that unfortunately that although they passed all those other subjects, because they failed in the Greek language, their passes don’t count; they mean nothing. Those at the College who sat the exams for the Maori section all passed. Their marks are as follows:
CLASS I.
Old New Catechism Prayer Church Total
Testament Testament Book
Arona (Raukawa) 161 253 216 184 189 1003
Mate (Te Arawa) 151 239 223 145 68 685
Te Hana (Te Arawa) 95 152 141 62 153 605
Wi Kepa (Te Arawa) 103 121 135 87 154 600
Waewae (Motiti) 105 127 110 95 155 590
This class has worked very hard and their work has produced good results. This is for all of them their first year at College.
There is only one student in Class II, Poihipi Tokoroa, from Waikato. These are his marks:
Old Testament, 138; New Testament, 191; Prayer Book, 91; Holy Communion, 82; The Articles, 97. Total, 599.
These are the results of the work of the students of the College this year, Those who have been ordained and have departed have been examined by their Archdeacons. They have all passed and none have been sent back to College. This information has been printed in Te Kopara so that each tribe may know how their young people at the College are getting on.
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A SERMON
By Father T Rees
‘But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly.’ (Hebrews 12.22 AV)
These are the headings under which I will make my explanations: 1, Ye are come; 2, To Mount Sion; 3, To the city of the living God; 4, To the heavenly Jerusalem; To the innumerable company of angels; To the general assembly.
Chapter 1. Ye are come.
The meaning of these words is clear – you have now arrived and are not going to arrive by-and-by. If it was meant to convey that you would arrive some time in the future it would have been expressed differently – ‘soon you will arrive’; however it says that we have already arrived. Where have we arrived? We have arrived at the places mentioned in the following sections. First, we have arrived at Mount Sion.
Chapter 2. Mount Sion.
This mount called Sion is on the north-west side of Jerusalem. This mount is mentioned frequently in the Psalms about Jerusalem, the city of God, and therefore, it is a holy mount. Secondly Sion was a fortress, the first fortress of David. But the Mount Sion spoken of in this verse is a metaphor and is to be understood as the Holy Catholic Church. That Church is likened here to the Mount. This thing, the mountain, also depicts at all times the life of a person. This is a good comparison in that one climbs the mountain and ascends the peak and then begins the descent below. Likewise a person’s life involves a climb and a descent; one climbs as a young person and when one reaches old age one begins to head down. However here it refers to the ascent of the soul, that is, the ascent within the Church, the upward progress in the faith. The first part of this verse says, ‘You have arrived at Mount Sion.’ Yes, we have all arrived. Some of us are climbing, some of us are just standing, some are debating with themselves, some are slowing down, some are halfway up, some are nearing the peak, and some have reached the peak, but there are very few in this category. Many of us in life are climbing but as we get older we give up climbing because we are exhausted, At this point we start to go back down. However the upwards progress of the life of the soul does not end for the mountain we are climbing is very lofty and it culminates in everlasting life. We can make some progress upwards in this life but most people leave it to climb is the life after this one.
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But we have all arrived there now and we can all begin to climb.
We turn our thoughts now to climbing mountains. It is not an easy task but a very difficult one. It is difficult first because it is uphill, and secondly because of the bad things one has to face; those bad things are steep places, places where there are slips which come down, carrying away those who are climbing, and gullies which one is not able to cross, and other dreadful things. However there is a way by which those climbing are able to escape these threats and that is to get a guide, a person who knows the tracks by which that mountain can be climbed, a person who knows the best place to climb, who knows how to get over so that one is not carried away by an avalanche, who knows how to climb the cliffs, and who knows how to cross the narrow gullies and the valleys. The most valuable equipment the guide has is his rope and his staff. His staff enables him to stand firm. His rope serves to link him to those climbing with him. It is for them to hold onto and steady themselves with so they are not carried away by avalanches or slips, and to haul them up the very steep parts. This is what the upward progress of the soul is like. There are steep cliffs before one over which a person may fall, there are avalanches before one which may swallow one up, there are valleys before one which cannot be crossed, there is ice before one on which one might slide, one might be caught in the snow, one might freeze to death, and we are speaking now of a person’s soul. It is for us to see parallels to these steep cliffs, these gullies, this snow, in our faith. How many people have slipped, how many have fallen, how many have perished in the snow, their faith frozen in their hearts, how many have fallen into the gullies as they’ve attempted to cross and have ended up there? But let us return to climbing the mountain. We saw that if we have a guide then few misfortunes will come upon us. Likewise if the soul proceeds with a guide few misfortunes will happen and the climb will be pleasant. Our Guide is Christ. His staff is the Scripture and his rope is his love. That staff is a staff for us and will help us to walk confidently. His love for us binds us together to one another and to our Guide so that we can climb on a straight course. If the rope, which binds the people who are climbing to their guide, breaks then they are in trouble; likewise, if the rope of love which binds us one to another and also binds us to our Guide, our Saviour Christ, breaks then we are in trouble. ‘Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself … neither can you unless you abide in me, etc.,’ [John 15.4] – the end is death, the end is being burned in the fire.
(Later the other headings will be explained.)
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THE ARTICLES.
Explanation.
Article 1.
There are two main parts to this Article. The first part condemns the following teachings:
First Part.
1. The teaching of those who say there is no God. This teaching is called Atheism.
2. The teaching of those who say that there is an Originator of all things that can be clearly perceived by a thoughtful person. That being is to us, God. They do not believe in the Scriptures. This teaching is called Theism.
3. The teaching of those who say that there are very many gods each having great powers. This teaching is called Polytheism.
4. The teaching of those who say that this world is God. This teaching is called Pantheism.
Second Part.
1. A condemnation of the teaching of those who say that there is one God but he manifests himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This teaching is called Sabellianism.
2. A condemnation of the teaching of those who say that Christ had no divine side. This teaching is called Arianism.
3. A condemnation of the teaching of those who say that the Holy Spirit is not divine. This teaching is called Macedonianism.
The Divisions of this Article.
1. There is only one God.
2. He is the living and true God, eternal, without body, without parts, unaffected by pain, and of infinite wisdom and goodness.
3. He is the maker and preserver of all things.
4. In the unity of God there are three persons.
Verses of Scripture which support these statements.
1.
There is one God. Deuteronomy 6.4; 1 Corinthians 8.4.
2.
(a) Living God. Acts 15.15; Romans 9.26
(b) True God. John 18.13
(c) Eternal. Psalm 90.2
(d) Without body. John 4.24, 5.37; Luke 24.39
(e) Without parts. There is no confirmation for this aspect of God in the Bible but its truth is attested by his aspects explained above, namely, that he is a living God, without body, and eternal. But the short explanation is that God is in all places listening to the many supplications of the world. Were he like us with a body and parts then he would be like us and be in one place at one time listening to the prayers of the congregation in that place, and when that was finished he would have to move on to a different place. It is not like that. Rather, although in all parts of the world people are praying he hears them all because he is God, without body and without parts, because he is a spirit.
(f) Unaffected by pain. Numbers 21.19
(g) No end of his power. Matthew 29.26; Job 42.2; Daniel 4.35
(h) Infinite wisdom. Romans 11.33; Psalm 147.5
(i) Infinite goodness. Luke 18.19
3.
He is the Maker and Preserver of All Things.
(a) The Maker. Genesis 1.1; Jeremiah 32.17; Revelation 4
(b) The Preserver. Hebrews 1.3; Acts 17.28
4.
Three Persons in One God. Matthew 8.16-17; John 14.16-17; Matthew 28.19; John 10.30
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OTHER INFORMATION.
On Thursday, 24th January, 1914, the Synod to choose a new Bishop for Waiapu will be held in Napier. We have heard whispers of many names but these are some of the names that have been put forward: Bishop Wilson whose term as Bishop of Melanesia will end shortly; Archdeacon Lang from Sydney; Archdeacon Herbert Williams from Waiapu, and Canon Sedgwick from Christchurch. There are several people and no-one in the land knows which of them will be appointed Bishop.
This is to urge you to whom Te Kopara has been sent to show your support for our bird and to be quick to send sustenance for it lest it rapidly follow after the last bird. Very few people have sent sustenance. This is a district which has plenty of shillings and people from here should be quick to do something. What are the ministers doing who are backward about sending articles. Makoare Taurere is the only one we know who is making an effort to encourage the people of his district to take Te Kopara. My friends, what are you thinking? Do you want our paper? If you do want it then be quick to tell us that it is wanted, and if you don’t want it then tell us quickly. It is no good working for nothing. Ministers shouldn’t forget to send us articles about the work that is going on in their parishes. Don’t be lazy about sending them.
Raniera Mitingare of Te Arai, Manutuku, has sent us a pound as a result of the article in Te Kopara about the centenary of the Maori Church. Thank you, Ra, that you have been moved so soon to help with this objective. If everyone responded in this way it would not be long before the innumerable pounds were raised.
PRAYERS FOR THE ELECTION OF A BISHOP FOR THE DIOCESE OF WAIAPU.
Almighty and eternal God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, graciously hear the prayers of your servants, and give us a Bishop whose teaching and whose works accord with your will, someone who is watchful and is committed to bring life to the human soul and to magnifying your Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, we pray that you will give the members of the Synod hearts that are aware of you so that they may make a careful choice of a true Shepherd for this part of your Church. Keep far from them envy, anger, and wrong thoughts, lest they fail to choose the man you would have for this work of ministry, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
These are the prayers set by Bishop Averill to be used by the whole Diocese from now until the time the Synod is held to choose the new Bishop. Other Dioceses are not discouraged from helping in this matter and therefore these prayers have been made widely available.
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RULES OF THE PAPER.
1. Te Kopara is published monthly.
2. The subscription for the paper is five shillings (5/-) a year paid by postal note or stamps.
3. Anyone wishing to take Te Kopara should send the money with the covering letter.
4. Articles are welcome from all parts of the country, but the Editor reserves the right to decide on what to print. Write clearly.
5. Address all letters to:
Te Kopara,
Te Rau,
Gisborne.
A NOTICE
To those wanting a Prayer Book or Hymn Book. I now have plenty of books. The prices are:
Large, soft cover 2/6
Large, red cover 3/-
Large, hard cover 4/-
Large, superior cover 5/6
Small, soft cover 1/-
Small, red cover 1/6
Small, hard cover 2/6
Small, superior cover 3/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, soft cover 1/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, red cover 1/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, hard cover 3/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, superior cover 4/-
Hymns -/6
Words for the Prayerful Heart 3d
I will pay the postage to send the books to you
H W Williams,
Te Rau, Gisborne
People wanting a Bible or a New Testament should apply to the Bible Depository Sunday School Union, Auckland.
Bible, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 1/-.
New Testament with explanatory headings 2/6, 3/-, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
Small New Testament with Psalms 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 3/6, 4/-. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
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