There isn’t much material written about a theology that embodies and speaks to the lives of Maori men, and especially Gay Maori men. If this is the reality for Gay Maori men what about Lesbian Maori women and Maori of different gender identities. To a large extent Maori GLBT people are always unrepresented, left out and our expression of ourselves is always in small groups and settings. Nonetheless theologically we can dare to dream and live according to where our wairua demands. Its relatively up to us to make this happen! Theology with no Apology!
In the recent Pihopatanga o Aotearoa Runanganui Hui (2009)in Tamaki Makaurau the discussion on sexuality issues was debated among Maori Anglican trying to find some ground and understanding. Although I wasn’t at that hui (I was in the country at the time) Tom Poata’s response to the hui on the subject matter of sexuality explained it in a clear precise order. There was no need to come up with commissions and reports! What he had to say expressed the views of many who were present and many Maori GLT Anglicans around the world.
“So it was all sweetness and inclusivity? Not quite, because Tom Poata, vicar of St Faith’s Ohinemutu, then strode to the microphone and declared that he could have saved himself a trip from Rotorua – because he’d heard nothing he couldn’t have read on Google.
He wasn’t too impressed with the commission’s original report – he later described it as “a plethora of nice, plausible, enlightenment, postmodern expressions” – and was hoping for something more from the hui.
“A word like ‘abomination’ doesn’t go away easily,” he said.
“We’ve got to go back to the texts, and see if there’s any plausible, rational explanation as to why the writers have framed our understanding of homosexuality in the way they did. “Whatever we find – whether it’s positive, negative, indifferent – we have a responsibility to do that work. “We haven’t. It’s been skirted around, thrown around as being a cultural aberration, a Pakeha issue and not a Maori one – but it’s the church’s issue, and the church has a responsibility to address it head on.” What’s more, suggested Tom, appearances can be deceptive: “What you heard”, he said, “was an hour and a half of ‘from-the-bench’ talk. I know that most of those people there do not believe that homosexuality is appropriate for ministry. “And many will not say it.” http://www.anglicantaonga.org.nz/News/Tikanga-Maori/words-that-won-t
Toms reflection was about the most honest thing I’ve heard out of the Pihopatanga over the past 20 years on this issue. I recall another hui several years back when we were told that if the church doesn’t address issues of sexuality we might as well put our heads in the sand. So rather than wait for commissions, reports and fluffing around on issues that could have saved us a lot of money, it would be better to theologically reflect, engage and develop a theological discourse for Maori GLBT people outside of this arena and move on in life.
The second thing about this is that contextualizing ourselves and victimising ourselves are two different things and much of this can be found in the way we approach our theological reflections. Firstly contextualizing ourselves would be to situate our experiences that shape our feelings and issues that we have experienced in our lives. But to victimizing ourselves out of our context would mean two things. 1) living in a rut denying ourselves of the possibilities out there! 2) crying wolf and gaining sympathy from others to further our ego and climb on that rock of success!
I’ve experienced the 1st and seen the 2nd in action among many others. Yet I guess we are all climbing to that rock of success, our short memory syndrome sinks in, and we forget on whose back we climbed.
Maori engaging on the sexuality debate outside of the church is in a more advanced position then the church trying to get a grip on its ego and writing unnecessary reports when that money could be used on other things. Maori trying to engage on the sexuality issue causes us to draw from the past (whakapapa, tipuna, mana, whenua, whanau), situates us in the present, and encourages us to look into the possibilities of the future. Somewhere in this trinity type format we have forgotten our journey. Our waka is left behind somewhere and we have become fractured. I’ve always believed that we are all fractured beings and need healing and reconnection from something. So Maori in many ways have a fractured self and being reinforced by words like, abomination, fagot, poofter, (and one classic Ngati Porou word at Ngata College was ‘Bo Bo’) does have an effect later on in our lives and intensifies the pain and self flagellating life we already lead.
The church obviously won’t have a definite stance on this matter and there will still be insecurity, obscurity, and the odd name calling by homophobic church going people. But oh well that’s life! The best way to react to these name callings I have found is to meet them face to face and tell them like it is! Of course violence won’t solve the problem but direct straight talking (no pun intended) will at least make us feel better at the end of the day.
There is a movie where a beautiful young girl is hitchhiking and the driver (husband) stops to pick her up and then his wife starts to complain. The driver says ‘darling, it is cold and getting dark. What would Jesus do?’ (knowing that he was using religious rhetoric to win his wife over) And then he said, What would Jesus say? He justified the situation by using Jesus!
The mistake of the church all over the world is that they tend to use Jesus to justify the situation and argue their case against homosexuality and other contentious issues around the world. Again as Maori GLBT we need to remember not to get caught up in this same rhetoric to justify our argument. This could be thrown back into our faces! We could argue our case and say the same thing ‘what would Jesus do?’ when pushing the church to hear our case.
Rather than ask what would Jesus do, because obviously we would never really know. Our better argument would be to understand what Jesus has done already? Using Queer Biblical Hermeneutics, we can uncover, explore, and reinterpret, Jesus reactions to such cases of his time. There are several stories in the Bible where GLBT people are loved, blessed, accepted and nurtured by God. The people in these stories are usually the ones who are not heard or seen but they are there in the story. Look a little deeper and you will find it.
Obviously the hui last October was nothing more than a fervent attempt to get the church to look at this issue but I think what Tom was trying to say is that all the nods and smiles at Runanganui meant that the work of the commission since 2007 was nothing but a waste of time (correct me if I’m wrong Tom!). Homophobia will continue to exist in the established mainstream church, added with Maori heterosexualised paraphernalia, personal attitudes, and a back log of other issues (colonialism, victimization, and indigenous insecurities) so like many other GLTB people its best just to do our own theology and let it do its magic and not get caught up playing into the homophobia of the Church.
Like the abuse Jesus suffered from the Pharisees, the insults and abuse hurdled at us, in similar form, from the church of today is no different. What we can learn from Jesus is that no matter what abuse or curses are thrown at us we need to continue to be who we are and theologise our own faith and ministry among the people. Debating is healthy and encourages deeper reflection and discussion. But my advice to all Maori Anglican GLBT and fellow supporters is to keep working outside of the box and imagine the impossible because one day your imagination will be possible.
Nga mihi.
