1 Sermon for August 24, 2014 Matthew 28:16-20 Living Aloha The Reverend Roger Pancost There may be visitors worshipping with us today who are wondering, “What’s up with Hawaiian shirt Sunday?” Well…there may actually be long term members of this church wondering the same thing. Three years ago our church decided to add a little fun to a summer service by inviting people to wear Hawaiian shirts to worship. Although a number of people in this church wear Hawaiian shirts on a regular basis, this designated Sunday gave me, and other more timid individuals, the opportunity to be a little more colorful. There was so much enthusiasm for this idea that we have designated a Sunday each year since as “Hawaiian Shirt Sunday.” Any good preacher who is worth his or her salt can make a theological connection to just about anything. And so, this year I decided to do that with Hawaiian Shirt Sunday. The first connection that I thought of has to do with a part of our denomination’s history. I am referring to 1806 when five students from Williams College met in a grove of trees to discuss the theology of missionary service. These students were Congregationalists, which is one of the four branches that came together to form the United Church of Christ. As these students were meeting, a thunderstorm occurred and forced them to seek shelter in a haystack. While in the haystack the students felt moved by the Holy Spirit to promote foreign mission. This was in keeping with the Great Commission found at the end of Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit., and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” It was during this gathering, which is known as the Haystack Prayer Meeting, that the first foreign mission movement in the United States was started. By 1810 this movement resulted in the formation of the interdenominational American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. This commission later became the mission arm of the Congregational Church. 2 A few years after the Haystack Meeting, seven young men from Hawaii came to study at the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut. One of these individuals, named Opukaha’ia, had fled Hawaii after his family had been killed by Kamehameha warriors. During Opukaha’ia’s time at the Foreign Mission School he encouraged some the theology professors to travel to Hawaii and share the Christian faith. Opukaha’ia died before ever seeing his request become a reality. However, in time, missionaries were assembled and sent on the long voyage to Hawaii. Before arriving in Hawaii these missionaries learned to speak Hawaiian and developed a written form of that language. Beginning in 1820 Congregationalist Missionaries began sharing their faith with the people of Hawaii. Many churches were started throughout the islands. Today many of these churches belong to the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ. There are currently 115 active churches in the Conference. The history of Christian Missionary activity in Hawaii is a complicated one. Missionaries not only helped to establish churches, they also started schools and other human service organizations. Unfortunately, missionary activity also led to the destruction of native culture, as missionaries promoted their western lifestyle. At one point in history the church supported the overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani. In 1993 the general minister and President of the United Church of Christ, The Reverend Paul Sherry, offered a formal apology to the people of Hawaii for harm done by ancestors of the United Church of Christ. Like all of the branches that make up the United Church of Christ in the 21st century the churches in Hawaii bring their unique gifts to the larger church. Some of you have visited these churches. One member of our church told me that he had never experienced a more joyful service of worship than the one he attended at a UCC church in Hawaii. One of the things that the Hawaiian churches share with the greater church is the concept of Aloha. The word aloha has numerous meanings both as a single word and when it is used in context with other words. As you are most likely aware, it is commonly used as a greeting and as a farewell. Aloha also means love, and can be used to express compassion, regret and sympathy. The literal meaning of aloha is “the presence of breath” or “the breath of life.” It comes from the word “Alo,” which means presence, and “ha” which means breath. Aloha is a way of living in which an individual learns to love him or herself, and treats others with love and respect. 3 Aloha is sending and receiving positive energy and living in harmony. When you live the Spirit of Aloha, you create positive feelings and thoughts, which are never gone. They exist in space, multiply and spread over to other people. Curby Rule, in an essay titled, “The Deeper Meaning of Aloha,” writes, “The spirit of Aloha was an important lesson taught to the children of the past because it was about the world of which they were a part. One early teaching goes like this: Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!” Another individual, named Aunty D, states that the meaning of Aloha is indescribable and that for it to be understood it must be experienced. She was told by her elders that Aloha is an invocation of the Divine and therefore is an acknowledgement of the Divinity that dwells within and without. Now to the Hawaiian shirts…In my research I learned that Hawaiian shirts are also known as the Aloha Shirt. Until the 1940’s much of the locally produced designs were sold to tourists. Before that time employees at large Hawaiian companies were required to wear formal clothes – suits and ties for men and business dresses, skirts and blouses for women. In 1947 Aloha Week was established and people realized that Hawaii’s economy would benefit if residents were invited to wear more Hawaiian-made clothing. So each Friday, the City and County of Honolulu allowed men to wear sports shirts (but not all too colorful ones) while on the job. By the 1960’s the fashion barrier weakened even more. In time the Bank of Hawaii became the first corporation that allowed aloha attire on Fridays. Today, it is rare to find a business that does not follow the practice of Aloha Friday. And so you see, wearing Hawaiian Shirts today isn’t just an opportunity to be colorful. It connects us with the wonderful concept of Aloha. A concept of sending out positive energy as we strive to live in harmony with others. A concept that recognizes the Divine within and without. A concept that leads us to care for the needs of other humans and this planet that we call our home. Aloha and Amen. 4 .