Ua ola loko i ke aloha –Love gives life within

27 Haʻi akula ke kākāʻōlelo, ʻīakula, E aloha aku ʻoe i ka Haku i kou Akua me kou naʻau a pau, a me kou ʻuhane a pau, a me kou ikaika a pau, a me kou manaʻo a pau, a i kou hoalauna e like me ʻoe iho. 28 ʻĪ maila ʻo ia iā ia, Ua haʻi pololei mai nei ʻoe; ʻo kāu ia e hana ai, a e ola nō ʻoe.Luka 10:27-28

27He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied.“Do this and you will live.”Luke 10:27-28

This year’s Spiritual Theme“Ua ola loko i ke ola” translates to “Love gives life within” and is taken from God’s word about loving your neighbor as you love yourself. The question is, who is our neighbor? Are our family members our neighbors, or our friends? Jesus, tells the story of the Good Samaritan who while traveling sees a person who has been beaten, robbed, and left on the side of the road. In the parable, Jesus cares for the man, takes him to the nearest town, pays for him to be cared for before he, the Samaritan continues his journey. Was this beaten man a friend? No, he was a total stranger, and he belonged to a culture that scrutinized the Samaritans. However, the Samaritan man did not limit his choice of who his neighbor was, instead he only saw a beaten man in need of help.

Like Princess Pauahi who used her immense wealth to tackle social injustice issues by creating the Kamehameha Schools for the benefit of her people, we too should learn to tend to those in need. Our princess, abrilliant‘ōiwi leader of great honor and mercy, did not seek self-promotion but instead sought to develop and train kānaka to become kūpono and paʻahana.

Here is a truth that will surely bless you, take the time this year to focus on helping those people in need. Love your neighbors by supporting organizations that feed the hungry, who tend to the needy, who care for those people who are not as equipped to fend for themselves. This one mighty act of sacrificial love will center you in goodness and provide a lifetime of blessings to you, to your family, because loving brings forth a state of E Ola that begins from within.

As we prepare to open up our school for a full year of educational service to the keiki there is one more act of aloha that is a foundation commitment for all. Jesus teaches us to prioritize our relationship building with nā keiki.

He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.”Mark 9:36-37

This beautiful imagery further illustrates our Lord’s care over our children and their wellbeing. Our classrooms are sacred places of encouragement and empowerment. Even when things seemingly are going off the rails, God’s perspective is that when we care for our students, we are caring for Ke Akua.