I took this photo of Jesus dressed as a Maori chief in the Faith Anglican Church in Rotorua, New Zealand. The way the artist has placed Jesus in the window it looks like he is walking off Lake Rotorua and right into the church. The etching is on a window in the Galilee Chapel and might easily be connected to the story in Matthew 14 where Jesus walks across the water to his disciples on the Sea of Galilee.
If you look closely you can see Jesus has Maori facial tattoos which during the time of pre-European contact in New Zealand were reserved for people of social status. Jesus is wearing the kiwi-feather cloak of a Maori chief. According to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, these cloaks were called kahu huruhuru and were made from the feathers of the most beautiful birds.
The picture of Jesus in the Faith Anglican Church is an Easter Sunday Jesus. One who is alive and comes to each one of us wherever we are in life. One who has value and is respected and revered.
In stark contrast, the Jesus described in the poem The Maori Jesus by internationally known New Zealand poet James Baxter reflects the darkness of a Good Friday. The poem describes a very different Jesus than the one in the glass window. In Baxter’s poem, the Maori Jesus is killed because he is different and has the courage to state his ideas. Baxter warns that when we ostracize people who are different or eliminate them we destroy our own humanity.
The Maori Jesus
I saw the Maori Jesus
Walking on Wellington Harbour.
He wore blue dungarees.
His beard and hair were long.
His breath smelt of mussels and paraoa.
When he smiled it looked like the dawn…………….
During Lent, it is perhaps wise to consider what we can learn from both the Good Friday and Easter Sunday images of the Maori Jesus.
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