A bicultural journey

Our Lenten journey continued this week following the themes of our “Rebuilding the Ruins” series – this time the ruins (and minefield!) of our bicultural story.

One of gifts of journeying with another culture is that we will find ourselves asking questions we never even thought of before. I’m excited about this bicultural journey that we’re on – to uncover blind spots, to explore new ideas, to discover anew what God is saying to us.

But there is a painful side to the journey, and Lent is a good time to reflect on this. We heard Māori echoes in the cry of the colonized people of ancient Israel in Psalm 74. I shared some personal stories that have led me to confront my unconscious bias for the subtle ways that our society and economy is structured to best suit Pākehā culture.

God’s vision is for Māori culture to fully contribute its particular “honour and glory” in God’s Kingdom (Rev 7, 21). Jay Ruka (in his book, Huia, Come Home) claims that our “foundational calling in New Zealand is to relate to, understand and serve Māori”.

God is in the business of “rebuilding ruins”, and invites each of us to join with him in this. Through the cross, Christ brings reconciliation: between Jew and Gentile, and Māori and Pākehā. There is a different “next step” for each of us. What is your next step on the bicultural journey?