March 2010
Aloha Ka Kou! Members & friends of Wai`oli Hui`ia Church,
It was a pleasant routine. After our family breakfast on the formica table in the kitchen, Pam would send Lani and I out the front door. “Ashley”, the neighbor’s cat, would follow us to my '67 VW bus parked on the curb. We’d get in, buckle up and I’d drive Lani up the hill to her school on my way to my office in Berkeley, California. On the way, I’d pop in a Beatles tape and we’d sing Beatles songs together before arriving at school and walking together to her Kindergarten class.
A few weeks ago, I was again walking with Lani- but this time, down the aisle of a church on her wedding day. Many of you have had that peculiar sensation of walking through time: one instant in one place and then it seems like the very next breath you’re in another instant but years on down the line. For me, it was a sublime but poignant moment woven with many intertwining strands.
The church was in Berkeley, near the place Pam and I first met. It was a small wedding ceremony with the wedding party wearing whatever they wanted to, minimal flowers, decorations, music by a friend, like the ceremony Pam and I had. A friend stood in the pews. I have photo of him holding his infant daughter in one arm and our infant Lani in the other. Now that same daughter stands near the altar as Lani’s Maid of Honor. I wore a Beatles tie with yellow submarines (one of our favorite Beatles songs). And we all sang a Beatle song together in Lani's wedding ceremony. It was a happy and joyful celebration, and for this father, full of sentiments in remembering the past and lifting hopes for the future.
Lent, the 40 days before Easter, preparing for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection, is also filled with recurrent intertwining themes and the power of remembrance. Ashes, a sign of our mortality and penitence (How have you felt the quick passage of time with a wanting to do things over again or better?) ...the color purple, the color of royalty (What holds the central throne of your attention and commitment?) ...palm fronds, waving a jubilant welcome (What you welcomed into your life, only to discover it was something much different than you thought?) ...nails and thorns, (What are the reminders of pain and suffering that still seem to hurt you?) ...Easter lilies, a sweet and fragrant symbol of new life arising from the cold, dead ground (What breakthroughs are you yearning for?) All these are parts of remembering while stepping towards a bright future.
And, it all happens in the Body of Christ. Christians have been called “Easter people” and “the children of the Resurrection”. Every Sunday when we gather, we celebrate a “little Easter” . No matter what state of mind, circumstance, or situation we are in- we’re all about new beginnings, a fresh start, new life and Resurrection... because of Jesus, because Iesu Kristo lived life, suffered in dying, but rose from death to endless, limitless life... because He wants us, who live life and suffer death, to do the same. So even as we live this life, His life can transform our own. It is this hope with the promise to be so, if we ask it and if we seek it, that fills our future with Light.
So during these days of Lent, remember Jesus, read His words, pray to Him, ask Him to reveal Himself to you and perhaps sing this Beatles’ song with Jesus in mind...
“Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love You more.
In my life I love You more. "
(“In My Life” -Lennon & McCartney)