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Ka Mōhai Aloha- The Gift of Grace or the Gracious Sacrifice.
The Season of Lent is a time that we use to reflect on the gracious gift that God gave to us in His Son Jesus Christ. We celebrated his birth at Christmas and now at Easter, we mark his death. But unlike us humans, for whom physical death is final, Christ’s death was not. On the third day after Jesus was crucified, he was resurrected or rose again. This was a sign to us that we too will rise again. That life in Christ is eternal. The Season of Lent is designed to help us to reflect on what that gift truly means to us and how we might be better people while we still have the chance.
Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter, lasting for 40 days (not counting Sundays). There are a variety of practices that the different faith groups have used to prepare for Easter. Some will give up something such as candy, sweets, ice cream or even meat. Others might add something to bolster their faith life, like prayer. For me, I’ll usually turn off my car radio on my way to work and use that time to pray. That’s 30 minutes talking with my Heavenly Father. Do whatever will work for you to strengthen your faith.
For these series of devotionals, we asked some of the leaders, faculty and staff of the various Kamehameha Schools programs to share their manaʻo of what Lent means to them. We hope this will provide you strength and encouragement during this special time.
Looking forward to Easter! Nā Kahu Kordell Kekoa and Kalani Wong
Here are a few kid friendly web pages on Lent:
- http://brightsadness.org/kids.html
- http://www.classychaos.com/links-topmenu-20/959-how-to-explain-lent-to- children-a-kid-activities-for-the-lenten-season
Did you know…
…that the date of Easter changes every year? Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.
…the day before Ash Wednesday is called a “Fat Tuesday” or “Shrove Tuesday”? In some places, pancakes are served. Here in Hawaiʻi, malasadas are a tasty treat eaten by all. What else is that Tuesday known as?
...the ashes used on Ash Wednesday are made from burning the palms used on Palm Sunday the year prior?
…there are a number of events in the Bible that last 40 days including the amount of time that Jesus spent in the wilderness? What are the others?
Lent 1 (February 18-21) by Kahu Kalani Wong, Chaplain KS Maui
Heluhelu Baibala/Scripture Reading
7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person
someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been
justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through
him!- Romans 5:7- 9
Manaʻo
Have you received gifts that you haven’t used? I’m sure the giver must have spent time looking for something that you might want or could use, spending time and money to get the right gift. It could have been for Christmas or a birthday, or just because. Yet it sits in your closet unused or unwanted. There’s a really special gift that is so wonderful and so valuable that it would be really sad if we never used it. It’s a gift that was given to us by God- free and totally unexpected and undeserved. It’s Ka Mōhai Aloha- the gift of grace or the withholding of the punishment and forgiving us of our wrongdoings even though we don’t deserve it. We often do things that go against what God hopes for us. These are called sins. We should be punished for this, just like our parents would discipline us when we do the wrong things. However, there are times that our earthly parents hold back the punishment because they love us. God does the same thing. It tells us in the Bible that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). We should be punished for the sins that we commit, but instead, Jesus took the punishment himself. Jesus became Ka Mōhai Aloha- the Gracious Sacrifice so that we might be forgiven for the wrong that we’ve done, not just now but always. And because of that forgiveness, we have live eternally with God in heaven.
Questions to Ponder
- Is there someone in your life who has done something wrong to you? Can you find a way to forgive them?
- What do we need to do to live our lives so we sin less?
Pule
Dear God, mahalo for all the gifts that you shower upon us so freely. May we never take any of them for granted. Help us to recognize the wrong that we do each day and help us to live pono. Ma ka inoa o Iesū Kristo, ‘Āmene.
Keiki Activity
- Look up the word “Mōhai” in the Hawaiian dictionary. What can you sacrifice for others?
- Do you have any unused gifts in your closet that someone else could really use? Share it with him/her.
lesson this mo‘olelo brings. Jesus fasted for forty days, meaning he went without food for that time. Fasting meats or sweets during Lent, for example, is a common practice amongst Christians today. The fasting, however, was meant to prepare oneself spiritually for the work at hand or ahead. It was denying the needs of the flesh in hopes of strengthening the spirit. During this time of physical weakness in the desert, the devil came and tempted Jesus to do the opposite of what God had taught him, the opposite of what Jesus knew to be the truth, to deny who He really was. However, every time, Jesus was tempted, He did not fight back with His fists or with sarcasm or with lengthy pleading. He spoke the Word of God. He quoted scripture. He came back with the truth. Although the devil tried three times, Jesus never gave in and the story tells us that the devil left. In life we will often be tempted to go against what God has taught us, what we know is truth, what we know to be pono, to perhaps forget our identity in who ke Akua has created us to be. It can also often feel as if times of temptation come when we are physically or emotionally weak. There are times when we want to say and do the wrong thing because it seems justified or we think it will make us feel better at that moment. Be encouraged, mai hopohopo, look to what our Jesus did. He simply went back to the truth, God’s Word. He chose to stand on His loving Father’s promises and holomua instead of giving in. And just as in the story, God too will mālama you, will attend to you in your times of weakness.
Questions to Ponder
- What are some things that tempt me?
- What can I do to not give in to temptation?
- How can I be an encouragement to others?
Pule E ke Akua Mana Loa, Almighty God, thank You for your promises and being the source of my strength. Please help me to make pono choices even when I am weak. For Your word says, Your strength is made perfect in weakness. Ma ka inoa o Iesū Kristo, ‘āmene.
For Keiki Have you ever felt tempted to do something you know you should not do? Tempted is a word that means you may feel as if you might want to do something that may not be very pono. For example, have you ever wanted to eat a piece of candy even though your mākua said not to? How about stay up past your bedtime without anyone noticing? Sometimes we can even be tempted to not tell the truth or maybe say an unkind word to someone because that person made us mad. Well, in our Bible story, Jesus was tempted too. He was tempted to not follow God, but because He had great pilina with God and loved God, and knew that God loved Him so much, it made Him very strong in His heart. It made Jesus strong enough to continue following ke Akua even when He wasn’t feeling so well.
So when we get those feelings of temptation, feelings like we might want to do something we know is pono‘ole, just remember that God loves you so much that He put His strength inside of your heart already to continue following His ways. You can also always pule and ask God to help you to make the right choices just like Jesus did.
Keiki Pule E Makua Lani, Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me so much. Please help me to make good choices today no matter what is happening. And thank You for also putting your strength right inside my heart. Ma ka inoa o Iesū, ‘āmene.
Keiki Activity Discuss situations in which they might be tempted to make a pono‘ole choice and come up with solutions on how to make a better choice. For example, wanting to eat a piece of candy after being told ‘a‘ole by a parent or being tempted to puni about their homework so they don’t get in trouble.
Hīmeni- E Iesū, e Aloha Mai E Iesū, e aloha mai iā mākou E Iesū, e aloha mai iā mākou Hui kala mai i kō mākou mau hewa E Iesū, e aloha mai
Keiki Activity
Make a list of five things you could do to show God’s grace to some other people this week – especially others who are your age. Share the list with a friend – and each of you pick one to use this week. Then you can come back later in the week and share what happened.
Suggested Hīmeni
“Lokomaikaʻi! He Nani Nō” (Amazing Grace, Nā Hīmeni o Ka ʻEkalesia #133) Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now am found Was blind, but now I see
Lokomaikaʻi, he nani nō Hoʻola mai iaʻu Ua hewa ia e aloha ‘ānō Ua pō aʻe ua lā
Lent 4 by Pua Fernandez, Admissions Director
Heluhelu Baibala/Scripture Reading
Ioane I 3:16- 18
“No ia mea, ua ʻike kākou i ke aloha, no ka mea, ua waiho ihola ʻO ia i Kona ola no
kākou; a he mea pono nō hoʻi iā kākou, ke waiho aʻe i ko kākou ola no ka poʻe
hoahānau. ʻO ka mea i loaʻa iā ia ka waiwai o kēia ao, a ʻike aʻela i ka nele o kona
hoahānau, a papani aʻe i kona naʻau iā ia, pehea la ke aloha o ke Akua e noho ai i
loko ona? E nā pōkiʻi oʻu, mai aloha kākou ma ka waha, ʻaʻole hoʻi ma ke alelo wale
nō; akā, ma ka hana ʻana a me ka ʻoiaʻiʻo.”
1 John 3:16-18 New Living Translation (NLT)
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought
to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to
live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can
God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each
other; let us show the truth by our actions.
Mana‘o
In Hawaiian we say “Aloha kekāhi i kekāhi” – “love one another.” Set to simple music, we teach this value to our keiki in the form of a children’s mele. But
how much easier is this tosing than tolive? Do we truly love one another in our
daily lives? It’s easy to love our ʻohana and our friends. But how can we love strangers? And do we love people who are rude and offensive? Or how about those who have caused us harm? Do we love them too? The New Testament of the Bible, originally written in Greek, uses several words for “love,” each with important distinctions. However, these differences are
often “lost in translation.” Four types of love are mentioned in the Bible: Eros is
romantic love. Phileo is the love between friends. Storge describes the love
between family members. But the type of love most often used in the Bible – more than two hundred
times, in fact – isagape (agápē); and it isagape which is used to describe the very
nature and character of God.
Ourkūpuna, too, recognized that love takes many forms and that one word is
inadequate to describe these nuances. Aside from romantic love (hoʻoipoipo) and brotherly love (hoaloha), our kupuna used words like aloha ʻāina (love and respect for our land), aloha menemene (compassionate love), or aloha pauʻole (endless love).
The agape love used in the Bible refers not to a feeling, but rather to a
demonstration of love. Agape love is action-oriented and self-sacrificing. One
source definesagape as “a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience,
discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return.” God, our Father and Creator, loves us unconditionally – as a parent loves a
He mau Nīnau (Questions to Ponder)
- Do I love other people with the agape love that God has for me? If not, what holds me back?
- What Random Act of Aloha can I do this week to show agape love to another person?
Pule
E ke Akua Mana Loa, hemolele a maʻemaʻe. Mahalo for the love and grace you have extended to me, that You would give your precious son as Ka Mōhai Aloha, a sacrifice to cleanse us of our hewa. Please help me to see other people with your eyes and your heart. Show me how to love others the way you love me, and provide me with opportunities to put this love into action in my community and in the larger world. And in all things may I honor and glorify You. Ma ka inoa o ka Haku ʻo Iesū Kristo, ʻĀmene.
Keiki Activity
- Visit the “Live Aloha” homepage http://www.atchawaii.com/LocalInfo/livealoha.html and review the list of examples of random acts of kindness. Have keiki come up with a list of at least three Random Acts of Aloha that they might fulfill at school, at home or in the
community between now and Easter to demonstrateagape love. This could be
as simple as offering to wash the car of an elderly neighbor, or extending the hand of friendship to a classmate who is sometimes overlooked or excluded by other students.
- Implement a “Live Aloha” poster or poem contest in your class or school-wide;
Suggested Hīmeni
- “Ke Aloha o Ka Haku” (The Queen’s Prayer)No. 186 Nā Hīmeni o Ka ʻEkalesia
- “He Aloha Ko Iesū” (Jesus Loves Me) No. 154 Nā Hīmeni o Ka ʻEkalesia
He aloha ko Iesū Jesus loves
I ke keiki liʻiliʻi nō The little children
Kahe Kona koko noʻu His blood shed for me
I pau aʻe ka hewa oʻu To pay for my sins
Keiki aloha! Keiki aloha!
Keiki aloha! Ke aloha o Iesu!
Lent 5 by Kahu Kordell Kekoa, Chaplain KS Kapālama
Mai Hāʻawi Pio…E Hāʻawi Lilo Give up… or…Give All
Heluhelu Baibala/Scripture Reading
“E hāʻawi aku, a e hāʻawiʻia mai iā ʻoukou, me ke ana pono i kaomi ʻia iho, i pili pū
i ka hoʻoluliluli ʻia a hanini i waho, e hāʻawi mai ai lākou i loko o ko ʻoukou poli: no ka
mea, me ka ana a ʻoukou e ana aku ai, pēlā nō e ana ʻia mai ai no ʻoukou.” Luka
“Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. Pressed down, shaken together,
and running over, it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God
will give to you.” Luke 6:
Mana`o I know…we are supposed to give up something during Lent, like God gave up Himself for us and in that way we can honor His gift of life to us. This would be His
mōliaola for us. That sacrifice truly isKa Mōhai Aloha. It makes sense to give
something up, however, what if I give it up…only until Easter? My pastor friend encouraged me with this wisdom, “Don’t give up something that you are going to purge on Easter morning. Your Lenten sacrifice of Big Island Candies does not make you a better Christian if you eat a bag full of them before sundown on Easter
day and forget all about Lent.” God doesn’t want your choice of candy, He wants
you.
While contemplating your Lenten sacrifice, consider the depth of your giving but
also the blessing of your getting. I’m reminded of that old familiar hīmeni,Iesū Me
Ke Kanaka Waiwai:
“E hāʻawi, e hāʻawi lilo loa Give all I kou mau waiwai, of your wealth and riches, Huli a hahai mai iaʻu Turn and follow me I loaʻa ʻē ke ola mau iā ʻoe” that you shall have everlasting life
Maybe you don’t need to give up anything. Maybe you need to give all of
something… specifically, yourself. If you must give up something, give up sin. That which so easily entangles around us. That which stops us from giving all to anything!
So if I am not giving up something but rather giving all of me,e hāʻawi lilo loa mai
iaʻu, how can I do that? What does that mean? Here’s what I attempt to do:
- Ka Hoʻokē ʻAi (Fasting): We normally think of not eating something, maybe this year we can pray instead of eating and give that food or portion of our food budget to someone in need. Graciously.
- Ka Heluhelu ʻAna (Reading): Instead of a fictional novel every evening, how about starting with 20 minutes and build up to one hour a day in God’s Word
- “Ua Hāʻawi Wale ʻIa Mai Iā ʻOe” (Freely Given To You) (Nā Hīmeni o Ka ʻEkalesia #180)
