TE TIKANGA O TE ARANGA

The Meaning of Easter

When you hear the word “Aranga” you might think of tiakarete eggs, or maybe even Aranga hunts in the backyard!!

But what is Aranga really all about?

Ihowā made the world and everything in it. He created the first tāne and wahine – Adam and Eve, and put them in a beautiful garden to live. The world was perfect. Adam and Eve had a good relationship with Ihowā – they got to see him and kōrero with him. The garden was filled with gentle kararehe and great kai to eat. There was only one rākau in the garden which Ihowā had said “do not eat from this rākau”.

Ihowā had given humans only one rule, but they didn’t obey. Adam and Eve disobeyed Ihowā. The perfection that had been in the world was destroyed, and sin was brought into the world. Sin took away the relationship Adam and Eve had with Ihowā.

Sin separates us from Ihowā. For thousands of years, iwi have tried to get to Ihowā but there’s nothing we can do. That’s the kino news.

But there’s ka pai news. Ihowā aroha us so much he doesn’t want us to be away from him. He wants us to be a part of his whānau.

So Ihowā sent his tama, Ihu, to earth. Ihu left heaven and came to earth to make a way for us to have a good relationship with Ihowā again. How did he do this?

Back in the garden, Ihowā told Adam and Eve that eating from the rākau would cause them to die. Sin brings death and separation from Ihowā.

Ihu came to conquer death and be the sacrifice for our sin. Ihu died on a rīpeka to take the punishment for our sin.

When Ihu was dying on the rīpeka he said “it is finished”. This wasn’t because his life was finished, but because the mahi that he came to earth to do was finished. He had succeeded in his mission.

After his death on Rāmere, he was taken down from the rīpeka and placed in a urupā. Everyone thought that was the end of the story.

But on Rātapu, Mere Magdalene went to visit the urupā and when she got there it was empty. There was no body there. She did not understand what had happened.

IHU WAS ALIVE!!! He conquered death. He destroyed the punishment of sin.

IHU IS ALIVE!!! If we put our trust in Ihu, he will give us a new life with him. He will remove our sin, and we will be able to have a relationship with Ihowā.

Do you know Ihu as your hoa today? Do you believe that he died for you and came back to life? Do you put your trust in him?

Aranga is a time to celebrate what Ihu did for us.

If you haven’t asked Ihu to forgive you of your sin and be in charge of your life, you can do this today. You can thank him for dying in your place, you can ask him to forgive your sins (the kino things we do) and to help you live for him.

Ihowā aroha us. He wants to have a good relationship with us. He sent Ihu to die for us, so we can be part of his whānau.

Ihu died for us. Ihu rose from the dead. THIS IS ARANGA!!