An Early Christmas Service

An Early Christmas Service in Whanganui

From an article by Peter Best in the Wairoa Star

A number of long wooden canoes were moving swiftly down the river, each expertly paddled by a crew of swarthy men. Other canoes were being hauled up the gently sloping banks and their occupants – men, women and children laden with flax baskets and various provisions, were making their way to a grassy place of assembly where a crowd was already gathered, squatting in family groups, waiting expectantly. Who were these people and what was their purpose?

These were Maori people of different tribes gathering for worship at a place called Putiki on the banks of the Whanganui River. The year was 1848 in the month of December. A pulpit had been carried to the field and the Rev. Richard Taylor, Church Missionary Society Agent, prepared to address a large gathering. Many of these people had been barbarous heathen, but now among them were some candidates for baptism and others to partake of the Lord’s Supper. These converts had, in previous years, practiced cannibalism, infanticide and other atrocities. They were now exhibiting “marks of grace” and showing evidence that they were “new creatures in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In his journal, Richard Taylor remarked, after having examined the candidates, “It is a very gratifying consideration that I have such a body of persons in my district living so consistently, that even the most censorious could not allege anything against their religious or moral conduct”. He went on to explain that the examination of these candidates was so thorough that “if it was found that any had lived on terms of intimacy with any immoral person, he was at once rejected”. Each candidate was presented by his “teacher”.

The following day after the service, Richard Taylor addressed a meeting of the “teachers” or “lay preachers” and listened to 42 of them preach before him from a selection of texts which they had not previously seen. He was struck by the good sermons he heard and the extraordinary fluency of speech of these dedicated “pastors” who had the oversight of churches in the Whanganui district.

On December 24th, a Sunday, he remarks:

I began the service a little after 7. It was a glorious day, not a cloud to be seen. We had the pure light of the sun shining upon us; but it was a still more glorious sight to see before me upwards of 3000 Maori people uniting in the solemn service of our church, and listening with deep attention to the Word of God.

Around the pulpit stood my band of fellow labourers – the teachers – no inconsiderable company, being 150 in number, and by my side nearly all the head chiefs were assembled, dressed in their picturesque costumes of dogskin mats, elegantly woven parawais; some in their newly acquired European clothing. Beyond them the entire field was filled with the congregation. The lesson of the day afforded a most appropriate text: St Paul’s confession before Felix (Acts 24).

After the sermon I administered the Sacrament to 360. I was obliged to divide the communicants, part for the Sunday and part for the Christmas Day as the Church could not contain the whole at once.

On the Christmas Day it was fine, hot and sultry. Richard Taylor preached from Luke chapter 2, verse 14, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men”, and afterwards administered the Lord’s Supper to 350, making a grand total, including his family, of 710 for the two days.

At this communion a remarkable scene was witnessed. Two Maori chiefs approached the Lord’s table. One of these men, Tamati Wiremu Puna, was seen trembling. After the service he was asked the reason for his emotion. He related the extraordinary circumstance that the other man who had accompanied him, Panapa, a chief of the Ngati Apa, had in former years killed and eaten his father. He went on to say that only the Gospel of Christ, which had given him a new nature, could make him eat of the same bread and drink of the same cup with one who had been the murderer of his own father!

It is interesting to note also, as did Taylor, that while upwards of 3000 Maori people were happily engaged in this great Christmas church service, on exactly the other side of the river, almost the entire European population of around 700 in the infant New Zealand Company settlement of Whanganui, were attending a race 7

meeting. This diligent missionary, however, did not neglect these Europeans, and on more than one occasion he went over the river to take services for the immigrant townspeople. At one of these services there were only three persons present besides his own party.

Richard Taylor also learnt later from these revelers at Whanganui that the great assembly of Maori people at Putiki had been looked on with suspicion. Forty men from the military had been specially posted to keep an eye on the proceedings. They could report no untoward incident.

The following day, December 26th, while Richard Taylor was occupied with a host of visitors, giving counsel, distributing books and administering medicine, the great meeting slowly dispersed. The people quietly entered their canoes and paddled away to their distant homes.

“You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me”

(Exodus 20:3).

When we think of a false god, we tend to think of an idol made out of wood or stone. But not all false gods are made out of wood or stone. Some are just a figment of our own imagination.

A common mistake people make is to think that God fits into their agenda. They have their plans and the way they want to run their lives and they just want God to be a part of it and help them achieve what they want. Those people are serving a false god.

First of all, they have no idea of the greatness and majesty of God. Have they ever looked up into the starry sky on a calm, cloudless night and wondered at the awesome power of God who created it all? Have they ever looked at the intricacy of the world of nature all around them and wondered at the overwhelming intelligence that brought it in to being? Have they ever studied the Bible and seen what the real God is like? There they would learn more of His amazing attributes – His power, His holiness, His sovereignty and His love for you and me. They seem to think that this almighty God can be contained within their agenda.

No, the true God does not fit into our meagre little agenda; we fit into His! We submit ourselves to Him to serve Him; He does not serve us. It is in submission to Him, saved by the precious blood of Christ and motivated by His Holy Spirit that we find true peace and meaning in life. -- Editor 8

KINGSTONE COMICS

Kingstone ComiCs is an American, comic-style presentation of the Bible. Originally written by an American children’s pastor who saw a need for a more accessible and entertaining form of Biblical story-telling, the series has a total of 80 titles.

Some time ago, MPA and “Reach Beyond” began collaborating on translating them into Māori and publishing them. We are pleased to say that Matua Tom Roa has been engaged to do the translating. Tom Roa will be a familiar name to many people. He is an academic at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato and had his translation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland published in 2015. He is in the throes of following up on this by translating The Hobbit. Both present considerable difficulties as both are full of made-up words and creative uses of language. Translating the ‘tone’ of the words is the priority for Tom.

The first Kingstone Comic, called in English “The Story”, gives an overview of the whole Biblical narrative. God willing, it will be available from early 2022. Thankfully, the nature of translation work means Covid-19 has had indirect but small effect on progress. It is hoped “The Story” will be available to those attending next year’s Festival One in a free, back-toback English-Māori edition. “Reach Beyond” are looking to use the series in prison ministries. As a high-quality comic, it will naturally find its way into many other uses. MPA is pleased to be able to supply the expertise in publishing the series.

COVER PHOTO

The blazing red flowers of pōhutukawa around Christmas time have earned this tree the title of New Zealand’s Christmas tree. Pōhutukawa and rātā belong to the genus Metrosideros. In New Zealand, this genus is represented by two pōhutukawa (mainland and Kermadec), six species of rātā vine, a related shrub, and three tree rātā.