Some thoughts about covenant relationships.
This Sunday, 5 February, many Methodist congregations will be holding a Covenant Service. This particular service had it's origins in John Wesley's view that individuals should make their own "covenant" with God and renew it from time to time. It has become the practice of most Methodist congregations to do this corporately, either on the first Sunday in the Year, or as soon as is practicable. In this country, many of us use the first Sunday in February for this purpose, as a time when people are gathering again after the summer holidays.
A covenant implies mutuality of privilege, responsibility, and obligation. In covenant, the parties are bound together in mutual agreement. In that respect it differs from the more one sided "promise", in which one party commits to a course of action. Covenant contains within it both freedom and constraint.
This weekend also marks the commemoration of another covenant, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, that lies at the heart of our national life. Te Tiriti, enacted between Maori and the Crown, conferred rights and responsibilities upon both parties.
Waitangi Day provides an opportunity for intentional reflection about who we are as many peoples in one country. While there continue to be academic and political debates about interpretation of the Treaty, surely the best test of the quality of the commitment and the relationship is to consider who has benefited most, and who least, whose rights are undermined or denied, whose aspirations dominate our national life.
As in family or community life, so it is in our life as a nation. If we get our key relationships right - functioning respectfully and harmoniously, based on understanding, cooperation and wisdom, stripped of artificial notions of entitlement, status and power, then there are flow on benefits to other relationships.
A life based on mutual respect, understanding, and trust, where none is privileged simply because of physical, numerical, or political strength, is enriching for the whole community.
This Waitangi Day, pause for a moment and consider whether your freedom, opportunity, and privilege comes at the expense of others. Do you feel entitled to special consideration because of your age, gender, social or economic status or race? Does your sense of entitlement make demands that inhibit the freedom and control the lives of others around you? What might you do to contribute to the building of a just and equitable family, community, and society?
Lynne Frith
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