WEEK THREE: LILO AND STITCH

I’m sure we’ve all heard that the word aloha in Hawaiian means both “hello” and “goodbye” (which is pretty fun)! But words often have an even more complex meaning than just a surface-level translation, which is true for several popular Hawaiian terms. I had never heard of the word ‘ohana before seeing “Lilo & Stitch,” but the movie does a great job of explaining exactly what it is: “’Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” If you’re familiar with script writing or storytelling, there’s a very popular theme called “found family,” which is when a story focuses on characters creating bonds and relationships through their shared experiences that lead them to choose their family, not through blood but through support and connection. “Found family” perfectly describes the plot of a movie where two orphaned sisters rescue an alien from another planet who was created for destruction and chaos.

In Hawaiian culture, this concept of “found family” seems to be at the core of the term ‘ohana. Because “family” to them doesn’t just mean your parents, siblings, spouse, and children. ‘Ohana includes extended family (even very distant relatives across generations), adopted family, neighbors, friends, co-workers, even your church family! Basically, anyone in your community with whom you interact in the different areas of your life can be considered ‘ohana. According to an educational page on the “Collections of Waikiki” website, this concept of ‘ohana “comes with benefits and obligations…the culture expects everyone in a family group to act responsibly, act with integrity, and mutually support one another.” This is such a great idea… but it’s not the first time I’ve heard about something like this.

This sense of treating your community with honor, integrity, love, and support (treating them like family!) is exactly what the Church was designed to be. When we look at the early growing church in the book of Acts, we see ‘ohana at the forefront of what people strived to demonstrate to the world. Listen to this description of the body of believers who followed Jesus (from Acts 2:42-47): “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Wow! That’s what the Church should be. Family. Community. ‘Ohana.

Remember, when you have a relationship with God, you are automatically adopted into a new family—you are a child of God and co-heir with Christ. But the great thing is, this adoption includes a full and diverse group of people (the Church) who we now get to call family! Let’s always keep in mind that, while we’re still human and none of us are perfect, we should take the responsibilities of ‘ohana seriously and treat our brothers and sisters in the Church with dignity, respect, honor, and love. And we can expect the same in return from our church community. What a gift!