Hannah Cossey is the Young Adults Coach for the Upper South Baptist Association.
Justice and peace. Both are needed in our world. And by us personally as well.
God has a strong take on justice. Our world has a take on justice. And perhaps the two even look similar at times. However, the substance is inherently different. God has answers for every generation's cry, answers to our cry for justice and for peace.
When we catch the heart of the Father, follow the footsteps of Jesus, and are led by the Holy Spirit, we find a strong desire wells up in us to live as people of depth in this world, to be equipped and engaged in active, peace-promoting, justice-oriented transformation.
Te maara-nui o rongo – The great gardens of the prince of peace is a four-day summer school all about getting closer to God and being active in His mission. This wānanga is for young adults who want to explore the imperatives around Justice given to us by God.
Following Jesus
Sean Delany and I were talking earlier in the year about being people of justice and peace. That kind of life is hard to find; it's a narrow road. There is wisdom and tools we need to walk that road. Most importantly, the only way to find that road is through Jesus.
Sean Delany is a member of Te Whāriki and a leader in Arotahi missional work to and with Māori, Mahi-Pai.
Sean described to me how Māori warriors in the past would take the red berry from the titoki plant and use its oil on their skin as a protective barrier against the wounds of battle. I was reminded of a time when the Holy Spirit spoke and showed me the wounded hands of Jesus; I felt him say to me, It hurt me, and there are times when it will hurt you too. Will you follow me anyway?
Peace has a price; justice has a price. It's worth it.
Because injustice also has a price, and to be without peace has a price. But it is not worth it.
The impact of each generation
Each generation plays its part. For young adults, this is one of the ways we can be best equipped, learning together, to participate in our piece.
There's a great game you can do with groups where you break up the team into three parts. One part gets all the instructions but cannot speak or actively contribute to the task; their only job is to pass on the instructions silently. The next part is caught in the middle; they can hear and speak, but they don't have any information to start with and can't take any action. The third part is responsible for completing the task, but the people in this part cannot see or speak. So it all plays out in stages and requires patience, good observation, trying to understand each other and only doing what will be helpful. The first group tries to set up the middle group as best they can. The middle group then tries to pass on that information and direct the third group. The third group tries to listen and respond.
As you can imagine, on its own, just with those factors described, it's a difficult challenge. If other noise or distractions were added, it would make it impossible for some, and the experience could be pretty defeating.
Generations are connected to and rely on each other. Generations that will never meet or talk but who still set things up and pass things on for the next ones to come. Generations closest to each other are more tangibly connected, passing on wisdom, skills, and information. And the ones present have to ultimately take some action and get on with the work of this world. Because of our broken condition, that process is already one with enough challenge, and now, in this information age, there is so much noise, distraction and competition for time and attention. The experience has become harrowing. How do we keep up or know which way to go? What is right? People seem to be applauded in the media one day and cut down the next. Social media and popular opinion aren't consistent enough to be a good source, but it can often be the loudest voice, and it has morphed us more into consumers than participators. We may have a lot of information, but we often feel stuck on what to do.
Ecclesiastes 7—God has made us plain and simple; it's us who makes things complicated.
Refreshed by God’s perspective
As Sean and I discussed justice and peace, we talked about how it can feel like working in the trenches. It is good work, but we need to take breaks to find a maunga, to go higher, and to be refreshed with God's perspective. We need wisdom from God for how He brings justice and peace.
Psalm 27—the Lord said, "Come away with me O my people and talk with me", and my heart responded, Lord, I am coming.
Jesus retreated often to spend time with his Father. Esther retreated to pray before approaching the King about a matter of horrific injustice. Moses often retreated to speak with God about how to lead the Israelites in a way that would bring them to a place of peace.
The invitation
And so, we provide an opportunity for young adults to retreat away together, away from the noise, to sit and listen and unpack good wisdom and insights about matters of justice. These are important to us; these are matters we want to fight for and get good answers to. We will spend the mornings learning from Michael Rhodes, Lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College. He is an incredible teacher and will help us hear God's voice on matters of justice found in scripture. We can learn with peace, knowing we get several days to focus on content from a sound teacher using good sources.
We will spend some time in a psalm each day to create a rhythm of time with God and communicate honestly from our inner being. The raw cut rather than the polished version of how we are feeling and what we are processing with the safest sounding board we will ever know, our Heavenly Father.
In the afternoons, we will be going on a different trip each day, participating in an experience related to the teaching from the morning. In Mark 4, Jesus teaches his disciples using a parable about a sower. He then talks about light being put on a stand to be useful rather than being covered up. He says to them, "The good soil represents the hearts of those that truly accept God's message", and then later says, "If you have ears listen! And be sure to practice what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand what I tell you". Jesus makes a connection for his disciples, saying that we need to consume good learning, but equally, we need to get active and practice what we learn.
It's really important to Michael, Sean, and me that the experience at Te maara-nui o rongo is one where you feel like your whole self has been taken into consideration. We have a need to learn from a good source and connect with others. A need for rest, for being in nature. For activating and getting to practice some of the things we are learning. And Teapot Valley is committed to providing good food!
So here are the details!
Te Maaranui o Rongo is a brand new 4-day Christian summer school for young adults (18-35).
Dates: 21-25 January, 2025
Arrival: 1pm on the 21st
Departure: after morning tea on the 25th
Location: Teapot Valley
Cost: $310
Our teachers and hosts
Michael Rhodes (Carey Baptist College) is preparing a hikoi through scripture on Justice, Politics and the language of the psalms for finding God in the crunch of it all.
Sean Delany (Mahi Pai and Te Whāriki) is guiding how we weave what we learn into a grounded experience.
Sean Delany with Jazz Glentworth from Arotahi. Jazz has done an incredible job putting imagery to the name that Sean has given this wānanga.
Hannah Cossey (Upper South Baptist Association) will be hosting. We can't wait for you to join us.
You can get in touch with me for more information.
Hannah Cossey: 0220611001 | [email protected]
In the meantime, I'll finish with these words from Jesus found in Matthew 5.
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up to a high place, a hill, he sat down and his disciples came to him and began to speak. This is what he taught them:
Blessed are the poor in spirit! For the Kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who mourn! For they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek! For they will inherit the Land.
How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! For they will be filled.
How blessed are those who show mercy! For they will be shown mercy.
How blessed are the pure in heart! For they will see God.
How blessed are those that make peace! For they will be called sons of God.
How blessed are those who are persecuted because they pursue righteousness! For the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Kia tau te rangimarie (let peace settle).
Cover photo: Hannah Cossey
Photos supplied by Hannah Cossey and Carey Baptist College
