THE WOVEN UNIVERSE #937 - NGĀ TAMARIKI A TE ATUA: GATHERING THE BEAUTIFUL DIVERSITY OF GOD’S CREATION

A Morning Reflection

Kia ora e te whānau. This morning, after praying the Lord’s Prayer in both English and Te Reo Māori, I felt a strong nudge to return to a very familiar story, the raising of Raharuhi (Lazarus). Often, we focus so much on the miracle of a man coming back to life that we miss the important things happening in the background. To get a clear picture, I read the account in three different versions: the unedited Ethiopian Bible in English, our own Paipera Tapu, and the New International Version.

Beyond the Miracle

What really caught my attention this time wasn't the tomb or the bandages, but the words of a man named Caiaphas. He was the high priest of the year (te tohunga nui o te tau). In the middle of all the chaos and amazement following the miracle, he said something that he didn't even fully understand himself. He was speaking from a place of political stress, but the Wairua was using him to signal a massive truth about the mission of Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu).