ko au te kete

kairaranga – New Zealand weaver

let your light so shine

Mawhitiwhiti

Sermon on the Mount

Weaving has delivered on so many levels and the lessons are sometimes difficult to extract.

One overarching idea I often return to, is that each whenu (weaving strip) can be symbolic of many things.

The kaupapa (theme) of the work can be layered, functional, celebratory, hopeful.

A theme that seems to resurface, time and again, is the idea that each weaving strip has a unique identity.

The skill of the weaver unlocks the innate beauty that resides in each strip.

The strands are then woven together to create purposeful objects for use in everyday life, baskets, hats, mats.

These pieces are imbued with the ancient history of weaving, the story the weaver is telling and a connection to the land where the weaving material was harvested.

This Easter, while weaving, I finally began to read about Jesus. It’s taken me quite awhile as I’ve really relished going through the Old Testament with the help of Jordan Peterson’s podcasts.

My interest in the bible was piqued when I heard Dennis Prager ask, “Can a secular society produce great art?”.

Today I finally heard the sermon on the mount. Wow!

If the Pharaoh was scared of Moses’ message, the Roman’s were deathly afraid of Jesus’.

His words seem to echo through the weaving.

Obviously, I’m no theologist or expert, but deep inside me there is a knowing that each and every one of us, like the whenu, no matter who or what we are, no matter what we’ve done, not matter how low we’ve sunk, all are loved by God and can return to Him.

Mawhitiwhiti

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