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The place I call home


Whanganui River, the place Emma calls home. Image: Getty
Whanganui River, the place Emma calls home. Image: Getty

CAPTAIN EMMA HOWAN

In recent times, I have found myself exploring how our understanding of our land can support us in our understanding of Scripture. Initially, while preparing to speak at a combined churches Good Friday service, I began by looking at the story of the land in which I now live. I wanted to discover aspects of that story which could help us as we explored the journey of Jesus to the Cross. Something rekindled a spark in my thinking again, more recently, when looking to the place I call home.


I spent my childhood in Whanganui, a city on the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. As I rode my bike or walked to school, I would see Mount Ruapehu in the distance and cross the Whanganui River. For the people of Whanganui, the river holds deep significance. There is a Whakataukī (traditional Māori saying) which defines this area and its people:


‘E rere kau mai te Āwanui, Mai i te Kāhui maunga ki Tangaroa. Kō au te Āwa, kō te Āwa kō au.’

This translates as: ‘The great river flows from the mountains to the sea. I am the river, the river is me.’


The Whanganui River has sustained many generations. For centuries, people have travelled along it, sourced food from it and built villages on its banks. The river was recognised as a living whole and was granted legal personhood by an Act of Parliament in 2017. This acknowledges the river’s identity, providing for its long-term protection and restoration. A living river. Protected and restored so that it will be sustained and continue sustaining. By caring for the river, it will keep flowing for many generations. The well-being of both the river and people will be ensured.


Scripture speaks of rivers of living water. Jesus proclaimed, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’ (John 7:37-38). Jesus promises not just a drink that will sustain us for only a short time, but rivers that will provide ongoing life.


In returning home to celebrate 140 years of the Whanganui Corps, and in celebrating that same milestone within the corps to which I have been appointed, I have been reminded of our great heritage of people who came to the living water; rivers flowing from our ancestors to us. We can thank God for them, for bringing us to where we are today. However, the rivers of living water cannot stop there – they must keep flowing out from us to bless others. If our rivers are depleted or start running dry, there will be little to come forth from us.


We have the promise that Jesus, the source of living water, will never run dry. But we do need to come and drink, be filled and refilled with his Spirit, so that rivers of living water will continue to flow into us and out to the people around us – that life-giving essence giving health to the generations to come.

Jesus invites us to ‘come to me and drink’. Will we come and will we drink, so that our rivers continue to have and bring life to all?


Captain Emma Howan is a Corps Officer at New Zealand's Blenheim Corps, and is also Chairperson for the Moral and Social Issues (Ethics) Council New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory.


This article first appeared in The Officer Magazine.


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