Contemplations of Love

Healing Ministries in a Modern World

2009-02-08T01:35:00.000-08:00

Scripture: Mark 1:21-28

1. Jesus' First Healing

In recent times we have been reflecting upon the person, nature and role of Jesus as it is recorded in the Gospels. Mark commences his gospel with the baptism of Jesus, his fasting in the wilderness and being exposed to the temptations of satan. Then, he prepared for the launching of the Galilean Ministry by gathering together the first disciples. From there, "They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach" (Mark 1:21).

Capernaum is a city located on the eastern shore of the sea of Galilee. In the synagogue of that city Jesus began to teach on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a weekly day of rest and worship, observed by Jewish people, which begins the sunset of Friday and ends the next sunset. In Judea, each city had at least one synagogue, a house of assembly and prayer, where Jewish worship services took place. During the service they read and listened to lectures from the Jewish Bible. Anyone could give lectures, providing they received permission from the ruler of the synagogue.

When Jesus spoke there, "The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law" (Mark 1:22).

"The teachers of the law" were people who gave lessons based on the Torah (the first five books of of the law as revealed by God to Moses), and the Mishner (The Jewish Oral law). The latter is a compilation of directions about how to practice teachings of the Torah in daily life. Thus lectures from the law teachers were practical and detailed in all activities of life. In contrast, Jesus taught them as one who had divine authority. His essential message was: "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15).

The audience was impressed and amazed because they found in Jesus' words completely different and new. In that synagogue there was a man possessed by an evil spirit and he began to cry out: "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1:24).

'Spirit' is "רוּחַ -rouah" in Hebrew and "πνεύμα-pneuma" in Greek, which originally meant breath or wind. In ancient times, humans thought supernatural power presented itself in the form of breath or wind. Where a spirit was perceived to be coming from God it was called 'spirit' whereas another which might come from a demoniac existence was called an 'evil spirit.' Ancient people considered psychological illness to be caused by such evil spirits, because the symptoms produced the inability of communication with other humans, extending to that with God.

Jesus made the evil spirit quiet as Mark recorded: "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek (Mark 1:25-26). Jesus' first healing in the Gospel is the exorcism of a demon. Naturally the crowd in the synagogue were amazed: "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him" (Mark 1:27).

According to the Gospels driving out evil spirits and healing people was a feature of Jesus' early work. But, for one's modern reasoning mind, those works which go beyond our human ability to comprehend, are sometimes difficult to accept. Therefore we often leave out or gloss over the issues and the preaching methods of Jesus as the Gospels faithfully record. But I think it would be meaningful to seek attentively the messages we can derive from these episodes of exorcism and healing that Jesus chose to perform in the early days of His ministry.

2. Wrong Spirit in Today's World

To us, who live in the 21st century, the portion of Mark chapter 1, might be descriptive of a cultic exorcism. But, despite that, Mark recorded similar cases repeatedly in his Gospel. For example,"Calling the twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits" (Mark 6:7). And: "They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them" (Mark 6:12-13).

In Jesus time, sickness was considered to be a punishment by God for sin. The people of that time thought God used evil spirits for that purpose. Therefore the sick, especially lepers, were excluded from communities and considered cursed by God. Mentally deranged people were also thought to be impure and therefore prohibited from entering into public spaces. But Jesus was moved with compassion (Mark 1:40–45), because he knew that sickness is not a curse from God. God loved the world so much he gave his only son to grant us salvation and forgiveness (John 3:16). Such a merciful God would never want the sick to be excluded from society. And Jesus, in accordance with God's love continually drove out evil spirits and healed the sick.

In today's world those who suffer from psychiatric illness are also suffering from social prejudice. In Japan, the number of suicidal cases increased to 30,000 last year. If statistics were to include the number of failed attempts, the total would be more than 300,000. The majority of those who suicide are people who are severely depressed and afflicted with a range of psychiatric conditions. If we count their family members there might be more than 1 million people who are suffering from a sickness in kind.

We are living in a society where people think and behave egocentrically, and neglect the needs of others. Neurotic, deranged and depressed people can sometimes no longer cope with the everyday stress of life and suddenly explode into violence. For example, recently an arrested murderous aggressor confessed to the police that he wanted to kill because he was frustrated. However even today's medical researchers cannot fully explain the real cause of some illness related behaviour.

Currently the world economy is undergoing a severe recession, which is hurting industry and causing job losses. During the good times of business expansion, many large Japanese companies employed temporary workers without the guarantee of welfare benefits. Now, they are cutting the jobs of those employees who are not covered with social security. As a result, they have no way of obtaining their essential day-to-day needs. Many of these workers will need help as they suffer through stress related illness and neurotic conditions. Some may perceive this to be unlucky, others might see it as an evil spirit in their midst.

The World Health Organisation describes health as a dynamic state of complete physical, psychological, spiritual and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. I would like to draw your attention to the expression, 'physical, psychological, spiritual and social well-being.' That is exactly what Jesus sought for the sick people of his day. In other words to save those who were excluded from societies due to their physical or mental state. In God's Kingdom there is no segregation.

3. Our Search for Healing

Today's invocation verses are Matthew 8:16-17, "When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.'"

We find in the synoptic Gospels 115 episodes in total concerning the healing works of Jesus. The sheer number explains why writers have considered them to be an important part of Jesus' ministries. However, some contemporary churches do not place much emphasis on the healing ministries. Even Paul does not refer to those episodes in his letters. Many still wonder if there is such a thing as divine healing in the Christian community today. Its a question being asked by thousands of people who long for relief from suffering and illness.

But I think the modern church should take seriously the healing acts of Jesus and his disciples. In many instances, Jesus healed people who were considered to be sinners. For example, a man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean" (Mark 1:40). Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man, "I am willing, be clean!" (Mark 1:41). Even on Sabbath days healing ministries were conducted by Jesus who, for instance, said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone" (Mark 3:3).

Jesus carried the burdens of the sick, the lonely and depressed by accepting social accusations and personal intimidation. He shared their pain. The modern church can still learn from the Gospels by sharing the pain of socially excluded people, by reaching out to them in their hour of need. Jesus commenced His ministry with the words, "The time has come" (Mark 1:15). He healed the sick and dispossessed with a word and a touch. He nurtured the afflicted into a sane and sensible relationship with God.

The miracle of healing gave authority to Jesus' teaching and preaching, and many still believe that God has given today's Christian church the same miraculous ministry. So, the time has come for us to try and do whatever we can for the social victims of today. We can pray with sincerity for those who have lost their jobs and others in society who have a wrong spirit. With a word and a touch we can help the healing process of those afflicted with illness and special needs. By so doing, we will be following in the footsteps of Jesus.

The Gathering of the First

2009-01-30T22:34:00.001-08:00

Scripture: John 1:35-51

1. Come and see

From the beginning of this year we have been tracing the life and times of Jesus by reading from the four Gospels. Today's lecturing portion is from the second half of John chapter 1, which describes the gathering of the first disciples. Today's theme focuses on how people are called to become disciples of Jesus, and how we should spread Jesus' teachings in today's modern world. We will also learn about the methods used for preaching and teaching by following the selected scripture readings.

When John the Baptist commenced preaching in the desert of Judea, many came from all around the country to be baptized. In Jesus time the Israelites lived under harsh conditions due to severe colonial policies of the Roman Empire. They were hoping for a Messiah who would come and save them from the dominating power of the foreign occupation forces. At that very time John the baptist appeared as a prophet, preaching: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew3:2).

Some even thought that John himself was the long expected Messiah. But, John testifies to Jesus' unique relationship with God (John 1:18). The sequence of days continues: "The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, 'Look, the Lamb of God!'" (John 1:35).

John's witness leads his disciples to become followers of Jesus (John 1:37). Jesus initiates conversation with the two disciples with a question that has symbolic as well as literal meaning. "Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, 'What do you want?' They said, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 'where are you staying?' 'Come,' he replied, 'and you will see' They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day'" (John 1:38-39). To seek Jesus is to seek after God. The disciples addressed Jesus as a teacher or rabbi. The conversation ends with an invitation to 'come and see.'

The story of the first two disciples is incomplete until their witness brings others to Jesus. "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah'" (John 1:40-42). A new title for Jesus is introduced - Messiah. The title speaks to Israel's hopes for a future leader, a new king like David or a prophet like Moses. As in all early Christian tradition, Peter has a prominent role.

The next day Jesus initiates the call of Philip: "Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, 'Follow me'" (John 1:43). Thus they became Jesus' followers. Then Philip invited Nathanael to meet Jesus by using the same expression, "Come and see" (John 1:46). Philip, Andrew, and Peter are named disciples in all of the Gospels. Philip bears witness, just as Andrew did earlier. Discipleship is active, not passive. Jesus is identified as the one who fulfils the promises of Scripture.

2. Calling and Response

I would like to draw your attention to some simple words in this story, "come and you will see" (John 1:39), and "follow me" (John 1:43, 46). They are simple words of invitation which started a chain reaction. John the Baptist said to two of his disciples, "Look, the Lamb of God!" Words which led Andrew and others to Jesus. Then Andrew gave his testimony to Peter, "We have found the Messiah." Peter did the same to Philip, who passed on the news to his friend Nathanaeal.

The second step of evangelising is to communicate to neighbors and friends what we have seen and found. Those in the Gospel of John who received the news were motivated to become believers.

The next and most and important step is to stay. 'Stay' is a key word throughout John's Gospel. Indeed, it is repeated some 40 times in total. 'Stay' was translated from 'μένω (men'-o)' in Greek, which has several meanings. We find one of them 'to sojourn' in verse 38, "Rabbi ,where are you staying?" But a more frequent meaning is to remain, or not to depart. That linguistic fact reveals that the apparently trivial question was concealed. Another question which comes to mind is, "Where are you situated inside the salvation plan of God?" Therefore they "followed" Jesus to see the answer, then they decided not leave Him. As a result, they could give their testimony : "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41).

3. Remain in Christ

Today's invocation verse is John 15:4 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

The word "remain" in this verse is the same word as 'μένω {men'-o}' used in John chapter 1. The root is crucial for the life of a tree. The trunk springs from it and from that trunk branches grow out. Branches can survive only by taking energy and water from the root and the trunk. Once separated form the trunk, branches wither and die. And, so it is with us. If we are to bear fruit, we need to remain in Jesus.

The early church was persecuted by the Jewish religious authorities. Furthermore, the Roman ruling power oppressed the early church and considered it to be a dangerous sect. Under such circumstances many new believers left the church and lost their faith. Not all believers remained in Jesus. However, those who remained faithful did not abandon their faith. Many of them suffered for their faith and were tortured or even killed. Their strong public faith drew others to Jesus. Throughout Christian history, the word 'witness (to the faith)' gave birth to the term 'martyr.' The preaching ministry was carried on by those who remained in Jesus, regardless of danger and the risk of losing one's life.

We are not the trunk of the vine, but we are the branches. We must remain in Jesus because if we depart from Him our faith withers and dies. But how can we do that? By staying in the church. Indeed several might say they are disappointed by the church and think they can remain in Jesus by reading the Bible and praying alone. It is possible. But in reality, so far as we know, the majority of those who have left the church also lost their faith.

Unfortunately, it is also true that there are sinners and evil within the church. And that reality pushes people away. Nevertheless, it is also true that once we separate from the church we separate from Jesus. Though the purpose of preaching is to increase believers, encourage baptism, and give witness to the faith, we have another important mission. We must work tirelessly in order that those believers within the church remain.

Last week we conducted a funeral ceremony for one of our church members. The grand-father in law of the deceased was one of the Christians who founded the protestant church in Japan after the Meiji revolution. During that time Christianity was still illegal and considered to be a dangerous sect. Despite such juridical and social conditions, they founded the body of Christ and spread Jesus' teachings. The deceased person became a Christian through her husband who met Christ through his own father. The same effect which occurred and repeated itself here was similar to the chain reaction which started with John the Baptist and his disciples.

If we wish to follow in the foot-steps of the first disciples, there are three main points in today's lecture which will help us to achieve that goal. We must first accept Jesus' invitations to 'come and see' (John 1:39), and 'follow me' (John 1:43,46). We must be prepared to personally testify to others about what we have seen and found in Jesus. And finally, we must pray to God through Jesus, that we will remain firmly in the faith (John 15:4).

The Baptism of Jesus

2009-01-23T01:47:00.000-08:00

Scripture Mark :1:7-11

1. John the Baptist

In this new year of 2009, we continue to trace the life and times of Jesus. We have already turned our attention to Luke and reflected upon Mary's conception at Christmas. Mary accepted the annunciation hesitatingly, by saying to the angel: "May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). Last week, we looked at Matthew and followed the episode of Herod's plot to kill the new born Jesus, who was saved by the divine power of God.

Then Luke revealed how Jesus changed direction in his life: "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph" (Luke 3:23). But before commencing his ministry he was baptised by John the Baptist. So today we will contemplate that very event. A most important occurrence for us because we also commenced our Christian life by being baptised.

Mark describes the scene, "At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan" (Mark 1:9). "At that time" signifies the period when John the Baptist began his ministry. He was a compelling preacher: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2). After hearing rumours of John's ministry, Jesus set out from his hometown of Nazareth, where he was working as a carpenter, and came to the desert region of Judea to be baptized by John the Baptist. Commentators believe that John started his preaching in about 28 C.E., which corresponds to the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1).

In that era, Judea was under control of the Roman Empire, and many bloody rebellious movements involving the Jewish people occurred there. They zealously sought independence. It was embarrassing for the Jewish people to be dominated by Gentiles, like Romans, because they considered themselves to be God's people. They were aspiring to the arrival of the Messiah, who would emancipate them from their current shameful situation.

At that very time they heard about John. They thought perhaps that John might be the long expected messiah: "The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River" (Mark 1:5).

Jesus too was among those who sought to be baptised by John. And when it was accomplished we read, "As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased'" (Mark 1:10-11).

2. Baptism with Water

Today we examine the meaning of Jesus' Baptism by focusing on two points. The first point is there are two types of baptism. For instance, John the Baptist says: " I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8).

We too are baptized by entering into the water after confessing our sins and repenting. However, some of us lose the faith and drift away from our earlier decisions. There are also those who remain faithful, but are unmoved after the event. It is true, that those decisions and symbolic actions like a baptism with water cannot necessarily bring about regeneration or new life.

Jesus' ministry commenced with baptism from John, and his life ends with another baptism through death on the Cross, as it was written by Mark: "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:38).

Cup and baptism are metaphors for the suffering and death Jesus faced. My personal understanding of the meaning of baptism recorded by the Gospel is this: Baptism with water is a symbolic act which opens the door to Jesus. Then, as we mature in the faith we arrive at a time when we feel empowered by the Holy Spirit, and ready to bear witness to the cross ourselves. At that time we should feel refreshed, regenerated, with visions of a new life.

I personally believe that the real significance of baptism is the sharing of Jesus' suffering and death on the Cross. However, frankly speaking, I could not understand that for long time. In fact my first baptism was at the age of 20. Since then I regularly attended Sunday services at the church, but my life-style was not changed at all. One day of Sunday worship, followed by 6 days in business, made me to feel like a righteous man.

But at the age of 45, I experienced an incident, which broke the illusion and forced me to acknowledge my sinful condition. In more detail, I hurt my son, mentally and physically, during an aggressive dispute. In consequence our lines of communication was broken. Moreover the entire family relationship became dark and repugnant. So much so I attended an evening school of theology to seek a way of forgiveness. As time passed by, through biblical studies, I gained some insight into the nature of my sin. Remorsefully, I prayed to God. Then suddenly I felt as if I received the second baptism, not with water but with the spirit. The conviction was so strong, that I decided to quit the company I worked for after 30 years of service.

Some feel empowered by the spirit when they are baptised with water. In addition to the baptismal water, Jesus also received the Spirit of God in the form of a dove (Mark 1:10). Others may never feel the movement of the spirit in their life. Great Christians throughout history have often experienced dramatic encounters with God after salvation. It is also true that equally devout, effective Christians have gone through life without such a 'second work,' of grace. In any case the first step to becoming a Christian member of the Baptist Church, is to be baptised with water. Therefore, I earnestly invite those here today who are not yet baptized to make a decision. And to those who have already been baptized with water, please pray for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

However, it is also encouraging to note that the Apostle Paul argued that we are all united in Christ. He addressed the early church, and some of the members who claimed special privilege and status because of their spiritual gifts. "For in the one spirit we were all baptised into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and we were all made to drink of one spirit" (I Cor. 12:13).

3. Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Mark describes the scene of Jesus' baptism with the words, "heaven being torn," an apocalyptic image of a heavenly response. On the second point of the lecture, we will reflect on the meaning and significance of "heaven being torn" (Mark 1:10). But, first I will read today's invocation verses: Isaiah 63:18 - 64:1 "For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary. We are yours from of old; but you have not ruled over them, they have not been called by your name. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! "

Mark's verse 10, draws on the Old Testament book of Isaiah. And the background to the Isaiah verses is the event which happened in 587 B.C. The Babylonian invasion and occupation of Jerusalem. Conquering soldiers burned the city. They killed Jewish men and raped women. Inhabitants were starving.

The author of Lamentations portrays these terrifying scenes: "Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field. With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed" (Lamentations 4:9-10).

The described scene is the embodiment of Hell itself. And those terrible acts were committed not only in the ancient world, but also in modern times, after the second world war for example. At that time the Japanese who had gone into China or Manchu came back to the home country by traveling through former enemy territories.

Normally these journeys were very dangerous, endured under harsh conditions. A large number of Japanese women were raped and became pregnant. Furthermore, after coming back to their homeland, they were segregated and stigmatised with the label of "illegal pregnancy," and forced to undergo abortions. Many of them died due to poor medication, malnutrition, and other surgical procedures. Such miseries were caused by wars which were generated by sinful humans.

Recognising such degradation and sin in Old Testament times, the Jewish people prayed, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down . . ." (Isaiah 64:1). To such lamentations God later responded by sending his Son. As long as wars occur tragedies will continue. Therefore we must pray, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down." Mark again uses a similar expression, "torn", later in his Gospel, "The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (15:38). That was the very moment when Jesus died on the Cross. That means God responded once again after a period of silence. The torn curtain symbolizes the achievement of Jesus' mission through His own death, which made all previous animal-sacrifices useless.

We accept that truth when we receive baptism with water. Jesus told His followers not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father. "For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). So now, let us pray, as we wait for the promised Holy Spirit.

Further Reading: The Proper Employment of Spiritual Gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:1 - 14:40

Epiphany

2009-01-11T01:07:00.001-08:00

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

1. Visit of the Magi

As early as the fourth century, Epiphany has been the festival commemorating the visit of the wise men to the baby Jesus. The account of that visit in Matthew 2:1-12 is thus the center of attention in our church today. The visit of the Magi is regarded as the first appearance of Jesus to the gentiles. This is the season to declare the manifestation of the divine Son. The festival is usually commemorated on January 6. The text from Matthew begins: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him'"（Matthew 2:1-2).

Magi are like astrologers, and people of that era thought they were capable of seeing into the future. They augured upcoming events by observing the stars. For example, it is said that the birth of Alexander the Great was portrayed by astrologers, as the appearance of one who would destroy the oriental world."We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" means that the Magi predicted the arrival of Jesus by studying astrological movements. A German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, J.Kepler* concluded, after referring to ancient records concerning movements of Saturn and Jupiter, that the year of this phenomena would correspond to about 7 B.C.

To see the new born king of the Jews, the Magi came to the palace because Herod the Great was the king of the Jews at that time. But it was a big mistake, and their words, 'the king of the Jews' upset Herod. Despite his domination over Judea, Herod's origin was not Jewish but Idumaean. He had taken over the ruler's post from Hasmoneans, the authentic Jewish dynasty, with the support of the Roman occupation forces.

He was not popular with the Jewish people, and his status was in reality, very fragile. To justify his reign he married a daughter of the Hasmonian family, but he remained anxious about his status. He killed the Hasmonian's relatives, even his own sons born from that marriage.** So, perhaps it was understandable that he became extremely nervous when he heard the Magi's talking.

Matthew reports that all Jerusalem was disturbed by that news, as was Herod (Matthew 2:3). "All Jerusalem" indicates, "chief priests and teachers of the law," not ordinary Jewish people. Because it was the privileged of society who hated change.

Herod created a plot which would stifle the possibility of the child's survival. At first he needed to know the baby's birth place, so when he had called together all the people's chief priests, and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied (Matthew 2:5). But the high ranking Jewish people, remained aloof, and did not even comprehend what the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem meant to the world.

In contrast, the Magi set off from Jerusalem to adore the future king by following the guiding star. Being informed of Herod's dangerous plot, they were able to warn the parents of the new born Jesus (Matt. 2:11-14). Later, "When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi" (Matt. 2:16). The place was filled with weeping and great mourning for the parents of baby boys.

2. From a Position of Faith

The birth of Jesus, God's agent, into a sinful imperial world brings two responses. The powerful centre rejects him. Herod, Rome's vassal king over Judea (40-4 BCE), tries to murder the new born Jesus. In contrast, insignificant people from the margins - the Gentile magi, or wise men, Joseph and Mary - all welcome God's initiative. We should read the text passage Matthew 2:1-23 in its entirety from a position of faith. The content includes three pivotal elements: the Magi's visiting Herod, the massacre of baby boys in Bethlehem and the escape of Joseph's family into Egypt.

From the faith point of view, the first element from which we comment is the identification of Jesus. Issues of identity and lifestyle were especially important to the largely Jewish audience for whom the Gospel of Matthew was initially written. The Jewish people were aspiring for the arrival of a Messiah, a leader who would free them from Roman domination. The idea that the birth of great leaders would be accompanied by celestial signs were fairly common at the time of Matthew's writing. A more immediate background is provided by several Old Testament texts: Isaiah 60:1-6, which speaks of kings coming to worship Israel's God, bringing gifts of gold and frankincense; the strange seer from the east (Num. 23-24) who saw a star "come forth out of Jacob" Num. 24:17); and the account of Moses being saved from the wicked Pharoah's slaughter (Exod. 2:1-10).

The second comment is about the Savior's birth place chosen by God, in Bethlehem - not in Jerusalem. Bethlehem is a little town approximately 10 kilometers south of Jerusalem. Jesus was born and worshiped for the first time in such a remote place. Even though Jerusalem was a huge city claimed by some as God's city, nobody there celebrated the birth of Mary's baby. Furthermore, the plot to kill the new born babies was secretly conceived and troops were organized for that purpose in Jerusalem. Thirty years later, Jesus was arrested and put on the Cross in that very city. History records that Jerusalem was hostile against Jesus on more than two occasions.

The third and most important point is that Jesus was firstly worshiped by the Gentiles, not by the Jewish people. The Jewish leaders considered themselves to be chosen by God, therefore they saw Jesus as the enemy who challenged their privilege of status. In contrast, the Gentiles rejoiced in the news about the birth of the future Savior of the world, and came to worship Him by traveling thousands of kilometers.

3. Through Acceptance Comes Peace

Today's invocation verses are John 1:11-12, "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. The majority of Jewish people rejected Jesus, whereas the Gentiles accepted Him as the Savior. The verses above represent John's testimony to the fact that the rejection of Jesus by the Israelites opened the way for all human beings to receive forgiveness and became God's children.

We are now living in the 21st century. The preceding one was symbolized by progress in science, research and technology. Thanks to new discoveries and inventions the human life span is longer. Population has increased enormously, and our material lives have become much more plentiful than before. Nevertheless, we cannot say that humans are happier now, because advanced technologies also generated weapons of mass destruction. In consequence, casualties, and victims of war have increased tremendously because humans cannot stop fighting. Conflicts continue in Iraq and Afghanastan, between Christians and Islamic terrorists, for example. Wars due to racism continue to cause misery in Africa and Palestine.

Many wars are provoked by racial hatred. Like those who rejected God's Son, or as the Gospel of John records, "His own (Jewish people) did not receive him." But the Gentiles received him, believed in his name, and were given the right to become children of God.

As long as we are held mentally captive of preconceived ideas about our fellow humans, and continue to bear racial prejudices, we cannot expect anything to change. And that attitude will only lead to open conflict and disputes. The only way to get free from such yolks is to find and recognize God, who goes beyond all racial, religious or dogmatic boundaries.

Paul experienced a similar problem, the attitude which refuses to accept differences in lifestyles. On one of those occasions he taught Christians to open their minds to Jesus' Sacrifice: "If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died" (Romans 14:15).

By believing in the same Savior, Jesus Christ, we can come to understand different attitudes and thinking. Christ died for our sake, regardless of status or life-style. Jesus came to reconcile all of us with our neighbors. However, many of us have rejected Him, and so the disputes and wars in the world continue unabated.

But for those of us who have accepted Jesus, there is a message. Keep in mind our given role, and continue to make the effort to spread peace and good-will among the many different peoples and cultures of this world. To conclude today's lecture, I would like to share with you the words of a thoughtful prayer by St. Francis of Assisi.*** May the words speak to our hearts and encourage us to spread God's love and peace.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy;

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* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean
*** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_of_Saint_Francis

The Practice of Hypocrisy

2009-01-05T01:49:00.001-08:00

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, 6:16-18

# On the 4th Sunday of every month, Pastor Mizuguchi gives a lecture of reflections upon, "The Sermon on the Mount." This session today, is the ninth of the series and the lecturing text is taken from Matthew chapter 6.

1. Charities, Prayers, and Fasting

Today's passage consists in a sandwich-like structure and its core is the verses known as the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15). We are only focusing today on Matthew verses 1-6 and 16-18. The portion of scripture regarding the Lord's Prayer will be contemplated on another occasion.

Among the first 6 verses the most essential is: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1).

For Jewish people of that era "acts of righteousness" included essentially charities, prayers and fasting. And Jesus teaches how those acts should be practiced, in comparison with those who act in a hypocritical way. As we progress, more will be revealed about hypocritical conduct.

1) Charities: "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full" (Matthew 6:2).

2) Prayers: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full" (Matthew 6:5).

3) Fasting: "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full" (Matthew 6:16).

The word "Hypocrite" reminds us first of people who pretend to be good and kind by concealing their malicious thinking or malevolent conduct. However, its original meaning was not exactly so. The word which is translated into 'hypocrites' is hupokrisis in Greek, which means ‘acting out a theatrical part,’ to some extent meaning 'actors'.

Actors play various roles on the stage drawing appreciation from the audience. Their prior concern is how spectators evaluate their performance. And those who seek before anything else appreciation from others, tend to live their life as if they were actors, playing a role on the stage.

Jesus called such people, 'hypocrites." Meaning, if we are always worrying about what other people are thinking, our personality and conduct, we could easily be characterized as a 'hypocrite." Although these teachings of Jesus were originally directed to the Jewish people, they could easily apply to anyone. We must wonder if there has been times in our lives when we too acted hypocritically. If so, we will fully comprehend and understand these lessons today.

Matthew 6:2 tells about gifts offered seemingly benevolently but with a hypocritical purpose. Jesus criticized those people who acted hypocritically, whilst portraying themselves "to be honorable men." The description "do not announce it with trumpets,"means do not draw attention to yourselves for doing good. In Japan, some temples and shrines have a public list of names of all who donate. In some instances, they even show the amount of money given. Their goal is to encourage charitable acts by people who seek to be recognized for their good deeds.

But Jesus says, "Don't behave like they do. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:3-4).

He teaches us also to free ourselves from complacency or self-consciousness. Indeed, the path to faith has traps which might catch us in a mood of complacency. Sometimes we feel arrogant satisfaction through the compliments of others. There are those who might do a favour for someone. Even though no one is told about it, sometimes the person secretly hopes the good deed will ultimately be revealed to their friends.

Moreover, if one does not express thankfulness as we imagined they might, we become disappointed, and even angry. We look for appreciation from others for our favourable gestures. But Jesus criticizes severely that kind of conduct: "to give to the needy, they announce it with trumpets in the synagogues and on the streets" (Matthew 6:2).

In contrast, Jesus compels us to seek real appreciation, the rewards given by God our heavenly Father. Those who seek public recognition and rewards through ostentatious methods are compensated with social appreciation. But such rewards are only of earthly value. We Christians must not seek human evaluations. We must focus on what is best in the sight of God. God can see all our conduct, good and bad, even if something is concealed from human eyes. And we should have no preconceived ideas of doing good just to receive compliments.

To people such as ourselves, God sent forth his only Son, Jesus Christ, who tells us, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). God's evaluation is based on such a great and deep mercy. "To look up to God, our Father" is to live by recognizing God's love and mercy. By remaining in a vivid relationship with Him.

True acts of righteousness are not offering donations to the church, or to poor neighbors. Rather, it is feeling and expressing gratefulness to God, who takes care of our every need. That gratefulness must encourage us to do benevolent and charitable acts. When we conduct ourselves in this manner, we will be freed from earthly concerns, like worldly reputations and offers of appreciation. Our real rewards are only accumulated and received by the grace of God.

2. Concerning Prayer

Concerning prayer, Jesus offers further criticism: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward" (Matthew 6:5).

Indeed, they pray, but their prayers are not sincere or genuine. They wish to pray in order to publicly display their faithfulness. By publicly praying they are seeking expressions of appreciation from those who watch. Prayers must not be given for that purpose. Therefore Jesus teaches: "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 6:6).

Matthew 6:7 also teaches: "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." Pagans might pray continuously in a foolish or incomprehensible way, because they may think the quantity of words have more power. A similar thinking can be attributed to certain Japanese people. They try to appeal to their gods in order to obtain what they seek, by practicing 'hundred-times-prayers'. Those attitudes seem to me a sort of extortion with verbal violence towards their gods.

In the following verse Jesus tells us who our God is, and how our relationship with him should be: "Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:8). Pagans' gods are so far from humans that they need a lot of words to draw their attention. In contrast our Christ is always beside us, in knowing what we need even before we express them in prayer. Perhaps some might say therefore there should be no need to pray in that case.

To some extent they are right because we should pray, before all, not to obtain what we want, but to give praise and gratefulness to God for His love. We pray to communicate with God. God's love has been, and is always with us even before the birth of Jesus. However it is thanks to Jesus Christ that we can recognize and authentically feel the power of God's love, and enter into a relationship with Him. Our prayers must be given spontaneously as expressions of our gratefulness.

3. Concerning Fasting

Matthew 6:16-18 concern fasting. Fasting is abstaining from foods as a practice of asceticism. In early Jewish societies during the time of Jesus, fasting was sometimes recognized to be an expression of lamentation, sadness due to sin. The original purpose of fasting was to show how they are repentant of their sins. Thus the important point of the practice is not physical renunciation of food, but of spiritual repentance.

Nevertheless, as time passed by, the practice became a sort of performance to show oneself as a faithful person, a superficial manifestation of faith. In consequence, very often they intentionally simulated a suffering state during a time of fasting. Jesus criticized this tendency: "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full" (Matthew 6:16).

"They have received their reward in full" means they were already praised by neighbors for their apparent faithful acts. They became so complacent they did not need any further appreciation from God. But the real rewards we must seek is that of God's forgiveness and mercy.

I chose Matthew 9:15 for today's invocation verse: "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast."

The verse above was the answer to the disciples of John the Baptist, who questioned: "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" (Matthew 9:14).

"The bridegroom" is a reference to Jesus himself. Disciples of Jesus did not fast because Jesus was with them. For Christians the time when Jesus remains among them is a time of festivity, filled with joy. Fasting is not appropriate for such a joyful occasion.

It is true, however, that we must be regretful and always repent of our sins. We need to recognize that Jesus came to us as the son of God, to take away our burden of sin. We are forgiven and live with hope and joy. Our sinful past is buried inside Jesus' love.

Today we contemplated three teachings of Jesus concerning charity, prayer and fasting. All three teaches that whatever we do must always focus on God. Worldly reputation and public appreciation cannot hold much importance in the sight of God. Once we become receptive to human acclamation our behaviour tends to become hypocritical.

Naturally many churches seek earthly success, by increasing the size of their congregational membership, or to provide the church building with a huge pipe organ, for example. Those tendencies put churches at risk of becoming a simple human oragnisation - not churches of God.

We must keep in our mind the prior role of the church, given by God: to spread good news about Jesus to our neighbors. For that purpose we do not need "trumpets," or ostentatious methods because: " For I (the Lord Jesus) am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city" (Acts 18:1).

And finally, "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:16). If we were thinking of a phrase to take with us, into the New Year of 2009, perhaps we could consider: Try not to be hypocritical. Be conscious of self-display, when we give, when we pray, and when we fast.

Accepting God's Will

2008-12-25T22:47:00.000-08:00

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38

1. The Annunciation

Today we observe the Christmas service. We will contemplate the announcement of the Incarnation to Mary by reading Luke 1:26-38. The word "Annunciation" makes many of us think about Leonardo da Vinci's painting in which he presents the scene where Mary has received the news from the Angel Gabriel. DaVinci portrayed Mary listening to Gabriel with a very calm facial pose. However, in reality she may not have been so peaceful. Mary's reply reveals her amazement: "How will this be," Mary asked the Angel, "since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34).

Perhaps it is difficult to understand why God decided to do it this way. In that era, pregnancy before official marriage caused general public outrage. So let us seek to find the real significance behind God's method of bringing Christ into the world.

Mary is first approached by the Angel: "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). I found it relevant that the word "Angel" is derived from "aggelo" in Greek, which means messenger. Naturally, Mary was astonished and became fearful upon hearing the announcement. But the Angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus" (Luke 1:30-31).

The name "Jesus" is the Hellenistic pronunciation of "Joshua" in Hebrew, which means: "God is the Saviour." However, we could imagine that Mary was probably more confused and upset, rather than feeling blessed by God. Even though she was engaged to Joseph, they were not yet married.

Matthew recorded the same event focussing on Joseph's reaction: "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:18-19).

As we can see Joseph felt the same embarrassment as Mary. According to Jewish law at that time, sexual intercourse by a betrothed virgin with another man betrayed the commitment to future marriage, and so was considered to be adultery ( Deuteronomy 22:23-24).

But, the Angel said: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:35-37).

Here, we arrive at the core of today's lecture, Mary' response: "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). Mary's positive response to the Angel's terrifying message is a dynamic statement of faith.

"May it be to me" in this translation is, "Let it be" in the New King James version. Even if 'May' could not be clearly understood, she accepted God's will for the future event as it was announced. For the angel said it would be realized by the Holy Spirit. Mary now claims a place in God's household.

2. Let it be

With the expression in many biblical translations, "Let it be," some of you might remember the song by The Beatles, which is titled, "Let it be."* The song is said to be a Paul McCartney composition. The beginning of the lyrics goes something like this:

When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom 'let it be.'
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
Speaking words of wisdom, 'let it be.'

The very thought of, 'Mother Mary' indicates The Virgin Mary, Jesus' mother. McCartney's mother was also named Mary and she was a faithful Catholic Christian. At the time of composing the song, McCartney was involved in disagreements with John Lennon, which resulted in the breaking-up of the band. Under such circumstances he wrote these lyrics. He might have intended to recall and honour Mary's faith, as she accepted the inevitable difficulties which would flow from her belief in God's will.

We find in the New Testament another verse which reminds us also of the "let it be" attitude. It is found in Luke 22:42, today's invocation verse: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

The prayer above was given by Jesus at Gethsemane, on the preceding day of the Cross. At that time Jesus was about 33 years old, so His body was, no doubt, filled with vital power. He was strong and healthy. Besides he might not have completely accepted that His death on the Cross was God's real will.

He might have been wondering if serving God on earth would prove to be sufficient in the role as God's son. Therefore Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me." However, the passage of scripture was followed by: "yet not my will, but yours be done." The entire verse represents a similar perspective to Mary's, "let it be."

3. Faith & Trust

At Wednesday's prayer meeting we are now reading the Gospel according to Mark. Last week's passage was the latter half of chapter 5, which tells about the healing of Jairus's daughter. Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers, came to Jesus, fell at His feet, pleading for his ill daughter to be saved from death. So, Jesus went with him, but before arriving at Jairus's house they received the message about the daughter's death. Nonetheless, Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe" (Mark 5:36).

When Jesus saw her, he said, "Talitha koum!" Which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" She came back to life and was immediately surrounded by her joyful family.

The above story has been received with great personal impact over the years by many people. Kanzo Uchimura,** a Japanese influential Christian during the Meiji period, was one of them. Uchimura's daughter Rustu was gravely ill when she was just 17 years of age. Naturally Uchimura prayed earnestly for her recovery. But, despite his prayers, she passed away.

After her death, Uchimura explained how he felt: "I heard Jesus' voice which said 'don't be afraid; just believe.' Yet, in spite of that, my prayers remained in vain. I was strongly disappointed and my faith was becoming destabilized. I found myself at the bottom of the darkness." However, as time passed by, he found a new faith and vision:

"My prayers for my daughter's life were not abandoned. Because, on the last day of the world, Jesus would make all of us live again and He would say to my daughter too, "Talitha koum!" We must have a faith stronger than Jairus. Regardless of a cure, we ought to believe in the ultimate healing, and the preservation of life. We ought to be grateful to God while we wait. Indeed it is very hard for us to keep such a faith when we see the death of our loved ones. But God will have mercy, even to those who lack real faith."

The responsibility and task given to Mary might have seemed tremendous at first. But, she prayed, "May it be to me." In fact Joseph, despite his initial intention of breaking the engagement, decided to marry Mary. Joseph was an admirable character, who possessed a moral uprightness laced with compassion. By knowing Mary was innocent, he becomes Jesus' adopted father through his paternal tenderness and care.

Mary's response to God's faithfulness is reminiscent of scriptural hymns of praise sung in response to God's intervening graciousness and power. "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour . . ." Mary's song (Luke 1:46-55), is also known as the Magnificat,*** the first word of the Latin translation of this passage. It is a canticle frequently sung or spoken in Christian church services. A Japanese biblical translator considered this portion of scripture to be Mary's expression of gratefulness for God. She who was conscious of the responsibility, and trust placed in her by God.

Jesus was not perfectly calm when He was put on the Cross, as Matthew recorded. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). However, God did not abandon, rather, He was ultimately resurrected. Uchimura's daughter died, but that sad incident led him to a greater belief, faith, and trust. Thus, God responds to our prayers, when we surrender ourselves in faith and trust to his will.

Our lives are filled with unhappy and sad incidents and accidents. However, if we accept them as God's will, those hard experiences could open to a new and more positive way of living. In acceptance lies peace and the prospect of blessings. That is the very meaning of "Let it be." A Japanese preacher Takemoto Masaichi said we can recognize God's love and mercy through seemingly heavy burdens. Indeed, many believers strengthen their faith by experiencing grave illness or harsh living conditions.

The Old Testament book of Job is considered by most scholars to be the finest wisdom text of the Jewish and Christian canons. Let us share in a verse of that knowledge: "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction" (Job 36:15).

I hope we remain mindful of "Let it be" in our prayer time, not as a passive resignation, but as a positive acceptance of God's will. We ought to show our gratitude by surrendering ourselves into God's hands, because they are filled with love and mercy.
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Reference:
* the Beatles - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatles
** Kanzo Uchimura - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanzo_Uchimura
*** Magnificat - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnificat

The Incarnate Word of God

2008-12-19T23:18:00.001-08:00

Scripture: John 1:1-18

1. In the Beginning Was the Word

Today is the third Sunday of Advent. Next Sunday, we will observe the Christmas service. Today's lecturing passage is John 1:1-18, a hymn-like celebration of the coming of the Word into the world. These short opening verses represent the essence of the Gospel according to John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).

And there is more: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14). John concludes the initial prologue with: "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known" (1:18 ). The purpose of Jesus' ministry was to make God known. The Son/Father relationship is incarnational language for the eternal Word/God relationship of verse 1.

In John's prologue, the Magi, shepherds of Bethlehem, or even Jesus' mother Mary, are not present. For the Gospel of John, the beginning is not a particular event in time like Jesus' birth (as in Matthew and Luke), or the start of Jesus' ministry (as in Mark). Instead the beginning is outside the normal calculation of time, in the cosmic existence of the Word with God. The beginning focuses our attention immediately on what follows - the Gospel story is about the very character of God, and how God makes Himself known to the world through the life and death of Jesus.

In the beginning recalls Gen.1:1, but points to a time before the creation of the world. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). The Word's relationship with God, underscored in the three short phrases of this verse is eternal. It begins outside the limits of time and place, but will eventually move into the time-bound world.

Naturally many of us who live in modern societies might find it difficult to believe that, 'God plus word equals creation.' Some Christians reject the Darwinian and Big Bang theory. The book of Genesis contains two accounts of creation. The first is spacious, taking in the whole cosmos as viewed from the earth, while the second has a more limited, localised setting, taking place entirely within the Garden of Eden.

2. Ministry of the Word

However, I think faith and natural science do not exclude each other, but progress of scientific research will eventually explain and even confirm some biblical records of creation. The world was created by God's word, and the Word generated these events. By believing in this theory, we continue to read the Bible and listen to sermons. Those activities help us to gain insight into the meaning of the Bible. God's words will pierce the hearts and minds of people who are receptive to biblical faith and truth. The Word has a dynamism about it which breeds life. As John says: "In him (Christ) was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it" (John 1:4-5).

However John admits that the world rejected God's only and unique son, Jesus: "the darkness has not understood it." The Gospel of John was written around the 90s C.E., or about 60 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. During those years many of the disciples of the first generation were killed after suffering persecution. In John's time of writing Jewish authorities were condemning the Christian church as heretic. They expelled Jesus' followers from synagogs and the community. Being expelled from the synagogs meant no official recognition and protection from the authorities. "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him" (John 1:10-11).

Though Jesus was executed by Roman soldiers, the real executioners were the Jewish priests and law teachers. Originally their role was to communicate God's Word to people. Despite that, they killed God's son. Why such a contradiction? The priests said the people would be forgiven and saved by worshiping God and offering money to the Temple. But, in reality, donated money was used by the priests, who lived in rich and gorgeous conditions as a religious aristocracy. Law teachers compelled people to respect strictly the Jewish law. Jesus once said, "they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi' " (Matthew 23:6-7).

Law teachers, pretending to serve God, sought only to be served by others. In spite of their conduct they considered themselves to be in the light. Jesus criticism of their activities hastened the persecution of His followers and his untimely death on the cross. Even though the majority of Jewish people denied and rejected Jesus' divinity, a few had faith, and remained believers as John testifies: "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

The verses above signify that God's children are not born through human will, or natural procreation. Indeed, from the genetical point of view, we are born from our parents. But in spiritual meaning all humans are created by God. Therefore our lives are not our own, but of God. For that reason wilful acts of homicide, suicide, or abortion, are to be recognized as sin. All human lives receive God's blessing, regardless of physical, mental, or behavioural conditions. And we are compelled to love each other as brothers and sisters, even though some may be enemies. Here we have the drama of rejection, and the saving purpose of the ministry of the Word. Whoever believes in His name - that in the Word one sees and knows is God - is given new life and existence as a child of God.

3. The Word Became Flesh

As lighted candles show, Christmas is often a festival of lights. Because, light shines in the darkness. Although the Church has celebrated Christmas on the 25 December since about the fourth century, the exact date of Jesus' birth is still largely unknown. The celebration of the birth of Christ took over from the pagan winter solstice holiday that fell in late December. From there, the 25th of December was observed by Christians at a holy Mass or Christ’s Mass. Today, one-third of the world’s population celebrates the birth of Jesus, the light of the world, on this day.

We chose John 3:16-17 for today's invocation verses: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Eternal life does not speak of immortality or a future life in heaven, but is a metaphor for living now in the unending presence of God. Jesus' offer of his own life through being lifted up on the cross makes eternal life possible for those who believe.

Surveys and research have indicated that modern-day humans, depend heavily on human intelligence and reasoning from a stable point-of-view. Descartes' famous statement: "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am), ** symbolizes such an attitude. In effect it declares humans have no need of God. And, under the influence of that Philosopher, many have sought to eliminate religious teaching from our daily lives. Many today mistakenly believe that humans are all-powerful and strong in their own right. Some people try to be superior to others, and often exclude the weak, like the disabled or less talented people. The world has changed into a kind of battle field. Wars between countries and cultures appear to be unstoppable. However after experiencing two world wars we began to recognize that human existence is not perfect or self-sufficient. Today we cannot really say, "Cogito, ergo sum."

The time for turning back to God has come. Despite John's encouragement: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17), many remain in the dark, filled with sadness because the world does not yet accept the Cross of Jesus. Therefore we, as Christians, must reveal the light of Christ in the dark tunnels of life.

Let us rejoice in the fact that: "The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). God evolved into a human body. Normally the human body is fragile and defective. Astonishingly, God took such a fragile body to dwell among us in order to open the way to salvation. The story of Jesus is the story of the Word becoming flesh. This verse has a confessional tone, indicated by the first-person plural (we, us). The evangelist (John), is not observing the incarnation as an uninvolved spectator, but is recounting his community's experience of God.

Jesus is the incarnate Word of God. It is through the Word made flesh that Jesus brings God fully to the world. No other New Testament witness places the incarnation at the centre of its theological world in quite the same way as John does. From beginning to end, John bears witness to the gift that God gives to the world in the incarnate Jesus. By reading through the magnificent prologue from the Gospel of John, a hymn-like celebration of the coming of the Word into this world, we have again been reminded of the hope and consolation we have in the light and life of Jesus.

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* http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/english/
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descartes

The Gospels as God's Gift

2008-12-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

Scripture: Mark 1:1-8

1. Beginning of the Good News

We are well into the season of Advent, and during these days we are preparing for the celebration of Jesus' birth, and refreshing our mind in the hope of the second coming of Christ. Today, the second day of Advent, we are reading from the Gospel according to Mark. Although it is located second in the NT canon, the Gospel of Mark was probably the first of the extant Gospels to be written.

Most modern biblical scholars have tended to date the composition of Mark's Gospel to the decade of 65CE - 75CE, with Nero's persecutions of Christians In Rome. The early church was in a turmoil, due in part to the deaths of Jesus' followers, many of whom were martyred. The Apostles like Peter and Paul were included among the victims. Bereft of leaders, believers felt lost, without direction or leadership in the task of spreading the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. They prayed for God's guidance and support.

The story that the Gospel of Mark tells is clearly suited to the needs of Christians under persecution. After a brief initial prologue (1:1-13), the Gospel of Mark is organised into two large sections, the first relating to Jesus' preaching and healing activities in and around Galilee (1:14-10:52), and the second section relates to Jesus' conflicts, arrest, trial, death, and resurrection in and around Jerusalem (11:1-16:8).

The portion of which we are focusing on today comes from the prologue of Mark's gospel, the first verse being: "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1 NIV). "The beginning," in the original Greek text is "archē -Ἀρχὴ " the word which appears at the beginning of Genesis: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."* "Archē" here was translated from "רֵאשִׁית" in Hebrew, and Mark used the same term to commence the first phrase.

So what is about to begin? Mark indicates that it was Good News. Gospel is the translation from ecclesiastical Latin "evangelium," from Greek, "evangelion - good news." As a matter of fact, in that era the word "evangelion" was also used for the inauguration of new Roman emperors. In the Roman Empire, citizens were taught that Emperors were rulers of the world, who should bring forth peace on earth. Mark uses the same word in relation to Jesus' arrival. Through his Gospel, some sixteen short chapters, he declares that Jesus is the supreme ruler and Saviour.

The author of Mark enhances some of his writings by drawing from the Old Testament book of Isaiah: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; a voice of one calling in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him'" (Mark 1:2-3). If this is the way the author of Mark intended the verse to be understood, then they serve to identify Jesus as the messenger of God, of whom Isaiah foretold would be sent to lead the people and prepare them for the coming of the Lord. In this reading, Jesus becomes the messenger of the coming of God, and the "good news" of Jesus begins with Isaiah's prophecy.

However, Matthew and Luke, both compiled and written much later than Mark, clearly apply these verses to John the Baptist, not to Jesus, but in order to follow the formulaic beginning, they introduce John into their stories before the Isaiah quotation is given (Matt 3:1-3; Luke 3:1-6), which Mark does not do. Many commentators follow Matthew and Luke at this point and assume that the quotation in Mark also refers to John, although it is grammatically difficult, though not impossible to make that case. The major hook to John the Baptist is the location in the wilderness found both in v.3 and in v. 4.

The first three Gospels are designated as "synoptic"** in order to indicate the common perspective in which they view the career and teaching of Jesus. Approximately ninety-one percent of Mark is paralleled in one of the other two gospels (Matthew & Luke). They are very much alike at many points and yet very different at many other points, in both narrative and and discourse material. Explanation of these characteristics is most difficult, and theologians and commentators often refer to this as the 'synoptic problem.'

2. Jesus and John the Baptist

Mark's description of John the Baptist commences: "And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River" (Mark 1: 4-5). Hearing about John's activities Jesus decided to set off from Galilee. Luke reports that it was when Jesus was 30 years old. Jesus, a carpenter in his home town of Nazareth, received the calling from God and went to Judea. He was baptized by John the Baptist and began preaching.

The author of Mark records the spoken testimony of John the Baptist: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:7-8). Many thought it was John himself who was the Messiah because he preached with an impressive and convincing tone.

Jesus praises John highly: "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11) Jesus again testifies to John's role: "I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Luke 7:28).

John's importance to the Gospel of Luke is accentuated by the sheer amount of space Luke allots to Him. As "prophet of God most high" (1:76), he paves the way for Jesus' ministry by provoking a crisis around the nature of faithfulness. And he attracts hostility from the people just as Israel's prophets had done before him: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Luke 3:7-9).

I want to draw your attention to the tone of Jesus' preaching at the beginning of his Galilean ministry: "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15). It is very important to recognize the difference between John's aggressive evangelistic style, and Jesus' more persuasive approach to preaching and ministry. Sometimes we have a tendency to spread John's abrasive "good news" and not that of Jesus' love and optimism. John the Baptist says, "no repentance, be cut down and thrown into the fire," like suggesting that punishment is the only cure for human failure. That is not good news. In contrast, Jesus' teaching is one of forgiveness. Love is emphasised through the teaching of Jesus. God's love comes first. Once we are touched by God's love, we change and become receptive to the good news.

3. Good News about God's Love

Whilst, preparing for today's sermon I read a quote from one of Pastor Hayashi Akira's speeches, entitled: "Real and virtual image of Jesus - a lecture on the Gospel of Mark. *** I found this following remark significant: "We find the expression 'repentance' three times in Mark, seven times in Matthew, and fourteen times in Luke. In Mark's record, Jesus does not talk so often about repentance, whereas in Matthew and Luke the theme is more emphasised. Both of the latter might think that Jesus has taken over John the Baptist's theory which connects closely the idea of repentance and redemption." Hayashi thinks that Jesus' teaching is based on the good news which focused on forgiveness, not only on repentance and judgement. Hayashi's remark seems very relevant.

John the Baptist, from his jail cell, heard about Jesus' preaching ministries, and he wondered if the man was in fact the very Messiah. So John sent his disciples to Jesus with questions: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:20). John's question is a real one. After all, Luke has already recounted a litany of negative responses to the ministry of Jesus. Could the anointed one attract such hostility? Has Jesus fulfilled the high hopes expressed of him even by John (3:1-20)?

I chose Luke 7:22-23 as today's invocation verses which is Jesus' reply to the questions from John the Baptist: "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." 'What you have seen and heard,' must include the interactions which Jesus had with the marginalised. So the question of Jesus' identity derives from questions about the suitability of his messianic work. Jesus' reply transforms the potential doubt of his status, to a reaffirmation of his identity as the Messiah.

These days, certain preachers from non-conformist churches evangelise through public address systems and loud-speakers from their cars: "Without faith, receive the judgement," or "No Baptism, Go to hell." Others distribute pamphlets which show images of Heaven and Hell, showing destinations for believers and non-believers. Though they are members of religious groups, they are not practicing real Christianity. To some extent they could be followers of any number of sects, but not of Jesus. All messages in the New Testament are about the love of God, who sacrificed His only unique Son for our salvation. God compels us to love even our enemies. Unfortunately, there will always be those who will practice aggressive Christianity, conduct abrasive ministries, and preach fire and brimstone. But none are necessarily the teachings from the Gospel of Jesus.

Jesus gave us the Good News about God's love. The first thirteen verses of Mark serve as a prologue to the entire Gospel, introducing the main character, the hero of the story, Jesus, and identifying his importance as God's Son. In ancient writings the purpose of a prologue was to give the listening audience the basic knowledge it needed to follow the unfolding story. We must receive the good news of the Gospel as its written and wisely interpreted. I recognised that again today by reading the prologue of Mark, in this period of Advent.

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* http://bibledatabase.net/html/septuagint/index.htm
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Gospels
***Hayashi Akira "Real and virtual image of Jesus - lecture on the Gospel by Mark- "
ISBN 978-4-400-12764-2 (4-400-12764-8)　C-CODE 1016　NDC 193.62

The Work of God Displayed

2008-12-02T14:13:00.001-08:00

Scripture: John 9:1-5

1. Jesus and the Man Born Blind

Today we enter into the period of Advent, during which we commemorate the Nativity and keep in mind His second coming after the Ascension. Jesus' first arrival on the earth was an extraordinary event, unlike anything in History. It is proof that God's work will be finally revealed in humans. John, the Gospel writer grasped the fact this way: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him"（John 3:16-17).

Since then, through the encounter with God's Son, numerous people have become believers and followers. Generations of Christians have passed on the good news of the Gospel about God's saving grace and Christ's sacrifice for our sin, even to this present day. With this thought in mind, we will reflect upon the healing miracles of Jesus, by reading the episode of a man born blind.

The Scripture reading describes the scene where Jesus was walking dawn a path in Jerusalem, when he came upon a man born blind from birth (John 9:1). Blind from birth suggests the disability was not caused by accident or illness. It seems that our life is very often pre-determined, and we are fated with both good and bad, without reason. Traditionally in Japan, many of us think a disability or illness was caused by something beyond our human comprehension, and accept it with passive resignation. Perhaps the wisdom behind this thinking is to relieve the distraught feelings of parents and family.

Jesus' disciples thought in a similar way because His disciples asked: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). Jewish people of that era thought physical problems occurred because of sins committed by the suffering person or their families. But Jesus rejects such a theory and sought to teach: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (John 9:3).

He said the handicap was given by God, not to punish, but to reveal God's work through the disabled man. In other words being born blind was not the result of any curse or sinful conduct. Rather, it was meant to show that even the life of a blind man was meaningful. Jesus did not seek causes and reasons for his blindness. Instead He remarked about the significance of this man's disability, which would ultimately change him into a missionary. The blind man would give testimony to his faith in Jesus for the rest of his life.

Jesus continues in the following verse: "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4). The work of him who sent me suggests Jesus' coming death on the Cross. That was His destiny fixed by God. Jesus accepts it, not as inevitable, but as a mission of the Lord's will. Therefore, Jesus prayed at Gethsemane this way: "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:36).

2. From Physical Healing to Spiritual Salvation

The story continues: "Having said this, he (Jesus) spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing" (John 9:6-7). The situation calls for both physical healing and theological insight. The healing is all Jesus' initiative, the blind man has not even spoken in the story so far.

The following verses introduce the controversy over violation of the Sabbath law: "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath" (John 9:16). It seems the crowd thought it more important to keep the sabbath than to heal a disabled man. The Pharisees could not deny the fact that the man's eyes were opened. Nonetheless, they would not admit Jesus was God's son: "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner" (John 9:24). The authorities insist on their traditional definitions of sin (v.16), but the man points to the newness that came from his encounter with Jesus.

Despite the menacing tone of the Pharisees, the man answered: "Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing" (John 9:32-33). Consequently, the Pharisees, with anger, expelled the man from the synagogue and the community. When Jesus heard about this, he said to the man, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I believe" (John 9:35-38).

Why did Jesus dare heal this man on a sabbath day? Such an act was strictly prohibited and banned. And this man was born blind so there was no urgent reason to heal him immediately. Jesus could have performed his miracle on the following day, for example. If Jesus had done so, he would not have been accused. But He did it on the very Sabbath day. Because: "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4).

Even though He knew that violation of the law would put His life in danger, Jesus cured the sick and disabled. That action resulted in many cases of conversion of those who had not known him before. Those healing acts drew attention to himself and peole began to recognise Him. When the man who was cured of his blindness kneeled down before Him and said: "Lord, I believe," he was in fact witnessing to Jesus' divinity.

If the cured man was afraid of getting involved and left the scene without provoking the Pharisees, he probably would not have been thrown out of the community. But he remained where he encountered Jesus. The encounter led him to believe in Jesus' identity, the Son of God. The Bible gives no record concerning the healed man after this event. But we would like to believe that he testified of Jesus' healing power, and spread the good news of Jesus' saving grace during his life time. His eyes were opened not only physically, but also spiritually, and that fact allowed him to envision his future mission.

Thus Jesus changed this man's destiny from a life of darkness to a mission of testimony and praise for God. Jesus' closing phrase of this episode is today's invocation verse: "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" (John 9:39). Sight and blindness are not defined by one's physical sight, but by one's openness to the revelation of God in Jesus.

3. Divine Intervention

Japanese Christian poet Shimazaki Mitsumasa was born disabled, suffering from an imperfect formation of the spine. It caused disorder in neuronal communication between the brain and body organs, leading to malfunctions of the latter. Actually today's medical technology allows one to know whether there is any abnormality of the spine in the fetus. Shimazaki was a protester against pre-birth dagnosis of embryos. He gave a speech to the International Congress on Spinal disorders in Bonn, Germany, 1997. The speech represented his lifelong story of struggle from his birth.

He talked about his disability which prevented him from pursuing a normal school life with other children. The difficulties of studying alone at a very slow pace. He began to write poems. He was strongly concerned about pre-birth diagnosis of embryos because the undesired results might push parents to choose abortion, the easy way to avoid future problems. Even though he admitted that the life of a disabled person is very hard, he insisted on the significance and dignity of a life given by God, and realized through a mother's pain. He said he did not regret being born. He thought the right and importance of human life must be considered seriously and respected in all communities, regardless of each person's physical and mental condition. At the conclusion of his speech to the International Congress on Spinal disorders, he read aloud: "We all endure the weight of life, given beyond our own will."

When we suffer or face harsh conditions and difficulties we have a tendency to look for the meaning of life. Painful circumstances sometimes cause us to doubt and wonder about the future. Through such uncertainty and reflection we come to recognise that unhappy events and incidents are given by God, as a meaningful experience. Instead of complaining about his life, Shimazaki accepted it positively and lived actively as a protester of pre-diagnosis of embryos.

Jesus also accepted His destiny as a life mission. The man born blind did not escape from the scene, nor did Shimazaki. Healing illness and disability is not the unique aim of God's will. Sometimes we are tested and tried in order to find meaning and significance in our life. A disability, like pain and suffering, draws one closer to God. Rich, poor, abled or disabled, educated or not, there is no discrimination in Christ. Through faith and trust, He will fashion and mould us into a display of His great work. Advent is the very time when God's work is revealed before us. So much so, we wait here together for the coming of Jesus, the one who changes fate, events which are beyond our control, into God-given holy missions.

Love Your Enemies

2008-11-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

# On the 4th Sunday of every month, Pastor Mizuguchi gives a lecture of reflections upon, "The Sermon on the Mount." This session today is the eighth of the series.

1. Love Changes Enemies Into Friends

Today's lecturing theme is 'Love your enemies.' I would like to commence by defining what is "enemy." We have, in Japan, an old saying concerning the enemy: a man has seven enemies just outside the entrance to his house. In general, enemies are those who seek to harm or defeat. They are to some extent competitors, who would seek to damage our favorable conditions. Nonetheless, Jesus compels us to accept such an antithesis: "You have heard that it was said, 'love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you'" (Matthew 5:43-44).

The third book of the Bible, Leviticus, introduces the basic elements of the Jewish faith. In reference to ritual and the life of holiness, we read something similar to the above words, quoted by Jesus: "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18). There is no explicit command in Jewish literature to hate enemies. As long as one has hate within their heart, the other person does not know one's true feelings. Therefore one ought to reprove the neighbour and get all differences and anger out into the open, otherwise one may take action that would lead to wrongdoing and incur punishment. Rather than taking vengence or bearing a grudge one should love the neighbour as one's self.

The process seems natural because the notion of love is the direct opposite to hatred. Normally we love only those who are close to us and who share the same feelings or ways of thinking. Consequently, it is difficult to love those who are different. Certain types of apartheid are generated from that tendency. it is so easy to become an enemy through conflict. As a member of a social groups or sporting clubs we are often taught to hate the enemy in order to protect and maintain unity and identity within the group or sporting body. But Jesus tells us to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Jesus says, as long as we cannot love those who seek to persecute or harm us, we cannot love our neighbors authentically. But it is very difficult for humans to do so. Soon after I received my Baptism, several colleagues said to me, "we don't understand the way Christians think." How can you love your enemies? If we love our enemies they are no longer enemies. I thought my colleague's remarks explained exactly what Jesus taught. By loving our enemies, we in effect annul the notion of 'enemy' itself. Once we love our enemies and give them our heart there should be no enemies at all.

2. Becoming Gods' children

In the New King James Version, we find a slightly different translation of the passage we have been focussing on today: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" ( Matthew 5:44). We must love even those who curse us. When we come to love those who curse and persecute, we are actually offering our love in return of the offence. This Christian attitude will eventually help to change former enemies into friends, and help us to become children of God.

Why do we love God ? The answer is: that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" ( Matthew 5:45). Loving one's enemies is the way to become children of our heavenly Father. That is God's will as we pray the Lord's prayer, 'Our Father which art in Heaven.' The Bible does not command hatred toward one's enemies. Jesus extends the command to love neighbours (Lev. 19:18) to everyone, in imitation of God's indiscriminate love and life-giving mercy to all, both good and bad.

Very often we consider ourselves to be good. But Jesus' compels us to recognize our sinful nature. He gave his life on the Cross to save poor sinners. Such knowledge of a sacrifice poured out by Jesus, should change our life and understanding to one of love and forgiveness. Considering what Jesus did for us, how can we not love our enemies, offenders, and aggressors? Redemption through the Cross. Very hard to understand. Yet, numerous people have witnessed this divine act, and many more continue to experience God's will through Jesus' death on the cross. We are sinners made clean through Jesus' cleansing blood.

The final and summarising sentence, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect (Matt. 5:48), means the people are to be all inclusive in their love, as God is.

3. Those who loved their enemies

I chose Luke 23:34 for today's invocation verse. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Jesus taught to love one's enemies and acted accordingly to His words. This verse faithfully records the fact that Jesus prayed that God would forgive his enemies. He ended his earthly life practising what He preached. Love and forgiveness, conciliating prayers for persecutors. And that very prayer has changed the lives of many people throughout the years. I present you now with an example by summarizing the autobiography of a Japanese Pastor, Fuchida Mitsuo.*

Fuchida was the captain of an airborne unit of the Japanese navy, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor. At that time he was vengeful, and filled with hatred against the Americans. He was proud of commanding such a strike, which he thought was very successful. But, after 4 years of flying active combat missions, Imperial Japan surrendered. Fuchida was blamed by his neighbors for having been a military officer who had praised the Japanese aggressive policy. He was summoned as a witness to the court of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. The court was meant to judge war criminals who violated humanitarian rights. But, he thought the Tribunal was being directed by victorious countries who were seeking revenge against their former enemies. So he was always filled with hatred and resentment.

In that court other former Japanese soldiers captured by US armies were involved. Fuchida found some occasions opportune to ask questions about their life and conditions in the prison camps. Listening to their stories he heard a heartwarming episode. It was about an young American woman who visited one of camps. She came to do charitable work for the Japanese prisoners, to care for their injuries, for example. Prisoners got curious and questioned her about her kind and charitable work. To their continued persistence, she began to talk about her deceased parents, who were former missionaries in the Philippines.

At the time of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, they had hidden themselves in a mountain. But 3 years later they were found and arrested by Japanese soldiers. They were condemned to death on the charge of spying. Any explanations was rejected categorically. So her parents asked their captors for 30 minutes to read the Bible and pray to God before their execution. When the young woman received the news about the death of her parents in the US, naturally she cried tears of sadness and anger. But, as the time past by, she commenced to seek the contents of her parents' final prayers and came to understand. It was the Prayer of Luke 23:34: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Fuchida found her story beautiful, however he could not as yet understand its deepest meaning. He needed some time before he would recognize the significance of this story. It was only when he read a pamphlet distributed at the entrance of a railway station. The title of the pamphlet was: 'I was a war prisoner of the Japanese army,' written and distributed by Jacob DeShazer.** DeShazer was a staff sergeant of the US army, and he eventually became a missionary in Japan. The pamphlet, showing his photo, was his testimony of conversion and confession. The message impacted strongly upon Fuchida.

He began to reflect upon the reasons for his hatred of humans. DeShazer, who suffered under cruel conditions of life in prison said he was captured by 'Jesus' love,' which is able to change vengeful and self-centered people into loving humans. Fuchida was moved by this statement. Shortly after he purchased and read the Bible at random, then he fell upon Luke 23:24, which reminded him of the story about the young American woman. The verse was Jesus' prayer that God would forgive his executioners.

The young American woman's story revealed that love really can drive us to forgive our enemies. Fuchida could not prevent himself from crying. On that very day he decided to receive baptism and follow in Jesus' footsteps. Fuchida became a Pastor and spent the rest of his life preaching. I had an occasion to listen to one of his speeches. He said that Jesus' teachings and ministries motivated the parents of the young American woman, and their last prayers changed the mind of their daughter, and then ultimately the life of Fuchida himself.

A German Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar Gerd Theissen, ***wrote a book titled "Sociological Analysis of the Earliest Christians." The work tried to analyze how the coming of Jesus changed the world. The author gave a general conclusion that Jesus gave the world a vision based on love and reconciliation. Only a few people accepted the vision, and died for Him by advocating that vision. But since then that vision emerged to the surface of History, and in every generation there appeared a few people who decided to live according to the vision, by believing in Christ.

By the coming of Jesus, at least some people were changed authentically in their way of living. I think that fact is the most important point of the book. And those who changed and became Christians do not complain anymore about the actual conditions of surrounding societies, filled with evil and sin. But they seek and find what they can do to make this existing world a better place. Today's invocation verse must continue to motivate Christians everywhere. Just as we changed and became followers' of Jesus, and worship Him here today, we must continue to spread the message of His love and forgiveness all over the secular world.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuo_Fuchida
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Military_Tribunal_for_the_Far_East
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_DeShazer

[Memoirs of the Commander of the air attack on Peal Harbor]
-Autobiography by Fuchida Mistuo, ISBN: 978-4-06-214402-5
Kohdansha 2007/ 12.

***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerd_Theissen

Listening to God's Word

2008-11-19T13:58:00.001-08:00

Scripture: Deuteronomy 18:15-22

1. God's Word through the Prophets

Today we will examine God's words recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus often read this book and referred to it many times during the course of his teachings. For example, when Jesus was asked which is the most important law commandment, He answered the question by referring to Deuteronomy 6:4, "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength'" (Mark 12:29-30).

Furthermore Jesus rejected the first temptation from Satan by reciting Deuteronomy 8:3, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" (Luke 4:4)

Deuteronomy is written in a form of a compilation of commandments given by Moses, when the Israelites entered the promised land of Canaan, beyond the Jordan river. The Jordan river was the boundary line between the desert and fertile country. Idolatrous worship were practiced on the east side of the river, on the top of mountains or under huge trees. They built porticoes to revere Baal and Asherah,* gods of fertility. In their temples male and female prostitutes served to the sexual desire of idolaters. Baal and Asherah represented lust itself. Similar idolatries seemed to spread generally all over the region.

Deuteronomy consists of five major parts, the centrepiece of which is the list of laws and regulations in 12:1 - 26:15), covering matters of worship, administration of justice , and family life. For instance, the followers verse is one of instruction: "But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety" (Deut. 12:10).

This verse warns against Idolatry and pagan shrines: "You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods" (Deut. 12:31). It is quite possible that these unfortunate children were the off-spring of prostitutes.

We find yet another similar command in today's chosen text: "When you enter the land the lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there" (Deut. 18:9).

"The detestable ways of the nations, "indicates the practice of pagan rites. Idolaters sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. This list of such illegal activities is headed by a further warning against infanticide, already referred to in 12:31). Telling fortunes by uttering mysterious oracles, interpreting signs on animal entrails, casting spells, or consulting with ghosts of dead people were some of the ways by which practitioners could claim knowledge of individual destinies (Deut. 18:10-11).

In fact, the majority of Japanese people go to Shintoist shrines or Buddhist temples to offer donations in exchange for physical and mental healing, or material privilege. Humans seem attracted, or have a general inclination to supernatural events, which might bring forth earthly comforts. We, Christians also have a tendency to distort God's words according to our own wishes. Throughout human history, and still today, there are religions and sects which offer reassurance, secular prosperity, and wealth. They still attract many followers, even today.

But Deuteronomy compels us to reject those false beliefs: "The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so" (Deut. 18:14). God is God, and humans are just His creatures, who would never be able to change God's will. So how can we know and follow God's will? It is through the prophets' mouth, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him" (Deut. 18:15).

Prophets communicate God's words to humans: "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him" (Deut. 18:18).
In contrast to sorcery and magic, prophecy could offer messages of guidance and hope for individuals, especially in times of stress, and it would also reflect the major part played by prophets in the life of Israel.

2. Warning against false prophets

Nonetheless, not all prophets authentically reveal the truth of God's words. Because very often humans are reluctant to listen to harsh words of judgement. In contrast, these self-made prophets take a rather consoling approach to their teachings, applying a sweet talking attitude. This approach receives a warm response because most people do not want to hear the truth.

False prophets are severely condemned: "But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death" (Deut. 18:20). Speaking as a prophet in the name of some other god was a self- evident mark of presumption as falsity.

God's words have such importance and righteousness that they deserve such a strong condemnation. There is always the need to distinguish between the genuine and the false. "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him" (Deut. 18:22). Ultimately the test of true prophecy depends on its conformity to the facts of real life and history.

In 597 B.C. Babylonian forces occupied Israel and the Jewish leaders were brought to Babylon. This was the first Babylonian captivity. Yet, despite that, the people who remained in Jerusalem did not accept that this painful event was really a punishment from God. They sought emancipation from Babylonian domination with Egyptian support. At that time many of Jewish prophets said the independence from Babylon was God's will. But Jeremiah, a real prophet of God, objected categorically, and challenged another prophet about his preaching:

"Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the lord says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.'" (Jer. 28:15-17). In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.

Even today, foolish prophets often pretend that our societies are peaceful, even though there is no real peace in the secular world. Their attitude is like putting plaster on the surface of fissured walls, the damage to which will be sadly revealed after a steady fall of rain. Then, not only the false prophets but also those who follow them will be exposed and pulled down.

Israel committed that very mistake. Israelites, by believing in false prophecies, revolted against Babylon. That action resulted in the second invasion of Jerusalem by Babylon. The Holy city was demolished and burned. Jewish people received the ultimate judgement of God and many of them died. The kingdom of Israel disappeared.

3. Message from History

Today's invocation verses are Ezekiel 13:3, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!"

"Prophets" in the Old Testament might be almost equivalent to Pastors in the present time. From that point of view we feel that the Jewish history we have been speaking about is much closer to our present lives. Karl Barth** too, a Swiss theologian, criticized Pastors who sought to make believers complacent :

"Although a pastor considers himself to be a messenger of the good news about Christ and a servant of God, he works only for humans. He mistakes himself for a representative of God's words. But, in reality, he teaches in favor of public opinion or socially respected persons. Being Christian might be comfortable for us because it gives us amiable aspects. Nonetheless we must recognize there is no peaceful concession between the Holy Spirit and secular existences. Therefore teachings which give false illusion of the fusion of God's will and humans' is meaningless. Because the life in God's kingdom and another in this earthy world are completely apart. So making efforts to dissimulate gulfs in human relation ships by using religion is worthless. It should be the same to pasting smoothing plaster on the surface of fissured wall. ...... If you decide, after listening to this lecture, not to go to church anymore or think you have no need of pastors, it might be a probable choice. But there is also a possibility to be convinced and grasped by God's will inside such a very church. We can not take two opposite alternatives. We must choose one."

Very severe remarks but true. When we try to listen and reflect sincerely on God's words and promises, normally all of us would find great difficulties in understanding. At the beginning of Jesus' ministries, many of his followers were those cured of illness or disabilities by Him. But, once Jesus rejected the crowd's request to be their king, who should free them from poverty and Roman domination by restoring David's kingdom, they commenced to hate and insult Him. They called for His crucifixion. The fact reveals that no peaceful concession between the Holy Spirit and humans are possible.

Historic Prophets had characteristics very similar to Pastors of modern societies. As Pastors are human beings they run the risk of presuming God's words translated into their own language. Thus, audiences must evaluate their Pastor's teaching by observing if the speeches are communicated in divine words or not. The checking point is whether Pastors are faithful to what they teach, or not. If a Pastor compels believers to donate their tithe, while he omits to do so, he must be portrayed as a false prophet.

While teaching not to commit adultery, while he has sexual desires for a women who is not his wife - he fails the test of authenticity as a prophet. One who receives the calling to be a Pastor should not serve and belong to the earthly world, but the Church of Jesus Christ.

And believers should better listen to a Pastors' words to see if they teach and bring forth a genuine message from God. Otherwise, "If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account" (Deut. 18:19).

Paul too predicted the arrival of false prophets: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

As long as we refuse to face reality and truth, we won't be recipients of God's salvation. The Pastor communicates a messages received from God, which gives listeners the opportunity to realise their sinful existence, and seek repentance. That is the very meaning of attending the worship service each Sunday.

Kawano Shin, a Japanese Pastor, wrote a poem of such relevance: "There are prayers we can pray, there are miracles we can believe in, there are words we can listen to, there are sacred places we can approach, there are faces we can look up to, only through our sufferings. Without pain we would not even be human."

It is true, without exception, that we can understand the reality of truth and divine words only through suffering and pain. God is God and humans are humans. Nonetheless God loves and blesses us, humans. When we feel the warmth of God's love and His righteousness, we have arrived at a place of spiritual tranquility, calm and peace.
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Notes:
* Baal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal
Asherah - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah
**Karl Barth -
http://books.google.com/books?id=8JWw3JV7-IkC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=KArl+Barth+Safenwil&source=web&ots=vK0DKd_4V3&sig=s1sQnCLzYcRX05f8CKDidlq2Mzw&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result

A Place of Worship and Prayer

2008-11-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

Scripture: 1 Kings 8:22 - 53

1. Dedication of Solomon's Temple

Today, after the worship service, we will hold a meeting to discuss the proposed construction of our church, by taking advice and recommendations from Mr. Shiraishi, the planner of Tamagawa church. This church building was constructed 35 ago and we need to fortify it for seismic protection in compliance with current land legislation. But, before we take a step toward the reality of commencing the work, I think we must reflect upon the importance of the church building itself. So today we will seek some spiritual guidance by lecturing on a passage from the Bible, concerning the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem.*

This passage is very often read on the occasion of church building programs in Japan. The verses of our text represent King Solomon's prayers for the future vision of the Temple. Although, the Temple is not exactly the same as the church, there are many similar factors which should give us some spiritual and thoughtful guidance.

The kingdom of Israel was established under David's rule and he wanted to build the Temple to express gratefulness to God. However God had not yet accepted that offering. It was Solomon, the son and successor of David who was destined to achieve that privilege: "Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name"（1 Kings 8:18-19).

The completion and dedication of the Temple fulfilled God's promises to David. Because a persons name represents that person, God is present where that name is, thus God is in the Temple, listening to the prayers of the people King Solomon planned the construction in lieu of his father, and realized a tremendous outside structure by 950 B.C, after spending seven years on the work (1 Kings 6). The edifice was accomplished and the Ark was moved from the tent built by David to the new Temple (I Kings 8:1-6). "There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt"（1 Kings 8:8-9).

The presence of the stone tablets or the edifice of the Temple themselves did not hold any spiritual importance for the faith. Because God does not live in a building made by humans (2 Samuel 7 ). This observation teaches that the altar and ritual symbolic objects of precious materials do not have any fundamental spiritual value. Human prayers to God is what ultimately determines faith.

Solomon makes nine prayerful petitions (1 Kings 8:25-53), for God to continue faithfulness to the promises made to David by hearing the prayers made in the Temple, "the house of prayer" (vv. 25-29); (2) for God to judge disputes righteously by upholding the sanctity of of the oath ( vv. 31-32 ); (3) for God to forgive the people when they confessed their sins after defeat in war (vv. 33-34); (4) for God to forgive the people when their sins brought calamities caused by drought (vv.35-36); (5) for forgiveness and divine assistance in times when the sins of the people led to natural disasters, understood as divine displeasure over the sins of the people (vv.37-40); (6) for God to grant requests of non-Israelites who went to pray in the Temple because God's name was there (making the Temple a house of prayer for all peoples) vv.41-43); (7) for God to vindicate the cause of the people by granting them victory in war (vv. 44-45); (8) for restoration of the people when they called from exile in a foreign land (vv.46-51); (9) that God would again hear his prayer and the prayers of the people whenever they prayed (vv. 52-53).

Solomon concludes his prayerful petitions by thanking God for bringing peace to Israel and for being faithful for the promises made to the people ( 1 Kings 54-61). The presence of the Lord with Israel assured the relationship between God and the people. The Temple was indeed a house of prayer, just as our church is a house of prayer. God hears the prayers of the people in the church today, just as he listened to the prayers of the people in the Temple.

2. Jesus and the Temple

Solomon built up the Temple and humbled himself before God. However, during the later years of his reign, God warns Solomon: "But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given" (1 Kings 9:6-7). The survival of Solomon's dynasty and of the nation depends on such faithful observance.

As God suspected and even predicted, Solomon's sincerity gave way to arrogance, and his descendants also ignored God's word. God spoke through the prophets and warned against impending destruction if the people did not return to their faith. However, the Israelites attention still proudly focused only on the gorgeously embellished Temple. They thought as long as the Temple structure remained strong and intact, their life would be safely guaranteed. Observing such an attitude, God allowed Jerusalem, including the Temple to be demolished with the Babylonian invasion in 587 B.C. (2 Kings 24:13-17, Jeremiah 52).

The Temple of Jerusalem, once ruined by the Babylonian forces and reconstructed by the returning exiles was a rather modest building. Later it was restored and enlarged by Herod the Great, with extraordinary beauty.

Now let us move forward in time to where we find Jesus entering Jerusalem for the Jewish Passover. On that special occasion many merchants came to the Temple, where their trading voices and the loud cries of animals filled the Temple court. In facing such disorders within the site, Jesus became furious and drove out the traders and merchants: "So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, 'Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!'" (John 2:15-16).

It was his faithful zeal and concern for the respect and dignity of the Temple which made him act in such an angry and extreme manner. Watching the scene, the crowd reacted with astonishment. To those people Jesus portrayed himself as decisive. Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" (John 2:18-20). This verse refers to Jesus' own death and resurrection. The Jews interpreted Jesus' words literally, but Jesus indicates that he meant them symbolically. Because he is the incarnate Word of God, His body is the Temple, the place where God can now be found on earth.

The Temple building is not a place for God to live. God will not live in any construction built by human beings. Nor is it the place to practice ritual sacrifices or to trade animals and merchandise. Though it is easy to decorate the Temple with donated money the reality is not to do so. It is a place of prayer and worship where we feel the presence of God. The real faithful attitude is to be humble before God, by showing spiritual and authentic obedience to Him. God's real dwelling place is in each of you who accept Jesus as your saviour. Your way of living reflects the living God which entitles you to be called children of God.
3. New Church Building

The church is the place where God is revealed through the presence of the Holy Spirit. It is not God's residence. Nor is it a place where humans get support or find solutions to their problems. Solomon's Temple was originally conceived as a place where Israelites, people chosen by God, prayed and felt the presence of the living God. It was also a place for repentence. Sinners, who considered themselves through sheer arrogance to be the superpower, must come to pray for God's forgiveness.

The very role of the Temple was to offer such a holy space to humans. But, as time past by, the genuine spirit was lost and people began to use the Temple for ritual sacrifices and empty protocols. And merchants took profit from the Temple by trading animals and disturbing people in prayer with their loud voices. They neglected the real significance of the Temple. Jesus severely criticised this attitude, "It is written," he said to them, "My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers" (Matthew 21:13).

That particular Temple was destroyed by Roman Armies in 70 C.E., and all that remains is the western wall. By looking back through the history of Jerusalem we recognise that the Temple should not be a mere symbolical building. And the church building is the same. They must be places where people can come to pray and worship God.

Some might say that we do not need a church building, believing we could still worship God and pray, for instance, in someone's house or even a rented room. But, without a solid and tangible building site, the organization of believers becomes fragile. We learned that from our own experience of the Maihama preaching place. Recently we had to close Maihama which we struggled to support for the past 20 years.

One of the reasons for its closure is that we could no longer afford the financial cost of a permanent and independent site. The church building is a base for a lot of our preaching activities. Many people who visit for the first time are interested to see inside. We did some refurbishment two years ago, which changed the entrance door from wood into glass. Since then we have received more visitors than before.

The church building is more than a mere physical structure because it plays a role in the expression of our faith. So, to present our faith correctly to the outside world we need to find a building plan which is adequate for our beliefs. Just as Solomon's prayer of dedication and Jesus' words reveal, the church is a place of worship and prayer. So the building itself must contain some of those corresponding values. We need a place where we can listen to God's words, and interact spiritually. A place where we can feel the presence of God, perform Baptisms', and participate in the Lord's communion.

For sure, the building needs protection against probable earthquakes and violent winds. But its architectural design should present a welcoming aspect to the outside world. We must take enough time to reflect upon the probable elements for this future project.

When I was first appointed here as a Pastor, seven years ago, I did not ever imagine I would undertake such a visionary project. Now, after giving thanks to God for the history of our church, we shall adjourn to discuss the possibilities of a newly designed place for worship and prayer. We pray God will bless our discussion about the proposed new building!
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* Solomon's Temple - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem#Temple_periods
Jerusalem - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem

Faith, Love, and Hope

2008-11-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

1. The Coming of the Lord

We will participate today in the commemoration service for our foundation day. This church was originally established as a preaching place belonging to Koiwa New Baptist church, which observed the first worship service on the 6th November 1969. Since then, the land was obtained, construction was achieved, and the independent church structure was organized on the 3rd November. So, we celebrate every year our foundation day on the first Lord's day of November. According to the Baptist church calendar the first Lord's day of November is All Saints Day* or all Souls day.**

Our church has 39 years of history by counting from the opening of the preaching place, and 35 years as a real church. During those 35 years the majority of founders have passed away. However, still, by listening to the wisdom of our predecessors, we continue to serve God and maintain the church activities. On this occasion, today, we will contemplate just "what is the death of believers" by reading from Paul's epistle addressed to the Thessalonians.

What is specific to the Thessalonians' faith is that they were an expectant people. They are waiting for the appearance of God's son from heaven, Jesus, whom God raised from the dead: "For they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath" (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

The phrase, "to wait for his Son from heaven" indicates the second coming of Christ, or the second Advent. Though modern churches generally focus their preaching on the cross and the Resurrection, the core faith of the early church was the second coming of Christ. The verse of the Lord's prayer: "Thy kingdom come" expresses the aspiration for God's kingdom being realised after the second coming of Jesus.

"Advent" means "arrival," derived from the Latin word "adventus," a translation of: "Parusia" in Greek. The word signifies the arrival of Jesus Christ on earth. The first arrival as a human baby, celebrated at Christmas, and the second coming of Jesus was expected by the early church after the resurrection and ascension. Believers in the early Church were waiting for the latter as zealously as they celebrated the former. In the modern church we speak of the second coming, but the early generation of Christians aspired to and fully expected the second coming of Christ as a real event in the near future.

The Christians in Thessalonica, at that time, were suffering oppression from the Jewish people, but despite these difficult circumstances, they lived in the hope that once God's kingdom was established through Jesus' second coming, they would be saved and honored. However, as time passed by, many believers died without witnessing the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. These events upset the Christians because they wondered whether those who died before the second coming of Christ, would be saved or not.

To those believers Paul wrote: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). For non-christians, death is a sorrowful event which is accepted. We can do nothing against death. We leave behind relatives and friends. All we can do is to console each other. Without faith, death is complete despair with no sense of hope.

The majority of humans think death is the absolute end of life. But Paul says: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). He affirms that what God has done for Jesus, God will also do for those who die in Christ.

Paul forecasts the scene of our own resurrection like this: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

"The Lord himself will come down from heaven" or, "with the trumpet call of God." These descriptions are difficult for us to accept literally, but people of that era described miraculous events in this very manner. Anyway, the point which Paul is making here, is that death for humans is only a state of deep sleep, and we will be woken and raised up again on the Last day.

2. Hope in the Resurrection

The epistle of Paul reveals that the believers at Thessalonica were afraid of dying before the second coming of Jesus Christ. Because, even though they believed in the Lord Jesus as their Saviour, death was not yet included within the notion of salvation. They sought life through faith, but they ignored death as an element of faith. So much so, once death occurred prior to the coming of Jesus, they became severely upset and terrified.

We, who live in today's world, also live with the prospect of dying one day. Over the centuries the human life-span had been around 50 years. In contrast we are now expecting a life-span up to almost 80 years. So, even in our sixties or seventies, the feeling is that we still have many more years to live. Our concerns, including matters of faith, are not about death, but about living.

We have the hope that a life based on faith in our Lord provides us with joyful days, even with secular sufferings and pains. Because, we think God will empower us. Nevertheless, very often such faith does not embrace the notion of death. Thus, even the most faithful Christians despair or become depressed by facing death and losing relatives and friends. Paul noticed, "they grieved like the rest of men, who have no hope" (1 Thess. 4:13).

The majority of humans think they create their own existence, dominate their own body and mind, including their whole life. They ignore death, and focus exclusively on the present conditions and situations, seeking only happiness based on earthly satisfaction. As a result, the world became a place where the strong exploits the weak. But even if we are successful, death will catch-up with us sometime in the future. After all, we are destined to be losers by human nature, regarding physical death.

Christians however, consider every historical event and evolution to be under God's control. All human history will result in our salvation which will be through the Cross, the Resurrection, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore, even death must be a blessing of God, in the form of peaceful rest and divine release following a difficult time of suffering. The hope of restoration of our life, promised by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, should calm our anxieties. Indeed, despite that hope, we feel naturally profound sadness when our relatives and friends pass away. We are normally scared by imagining our own death. But, to soften the fear of death we must keep within our mind the hope of which Paul writes. Christ is the victor over death and there is hope of the resurrection through him.

3. Belief in the Resurrection

Today's invocation verses are 1 Thessalonians 5:10-11, following on from today's lecturing theme: "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

Paul promotes death as state of sleeping: "whether we are awake or asleep" means "whether we are alive or dead." If we are asleep there will be a moment when we wake-up again. So sleeping time can be understood as a period during which we are waiting for the moment of waking up. That is the very notion of the resurrection. One's life is not cut off and finished by death, but through belief in Jesus' Resurrection, one sleeps until God's kingdom is realised in this world. Those who have faith in the second Advent after the Cross, also have a hope of another life after death. Life beyond death is a hope exclusively based on that faith.

Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians: "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus Christ was resurrected and appeared before Peter, the twelve disciples, and then Paul. It is a fact that we Christians cannot deny. Paul called Jesus' Resurrection - the first fruits, which suggest, a similar phenomena, a hope which can occur successively to His followers.

The world where we live now seems dominated by scientific reasoning, and we accept facts as truth which can be scientifically proved. Consequently, it has became difficult to accept events which artificial and modern experimentation cannot explain.

As a result, the people of today scarcely believe in the Resurrection, and easily reject it. But to deny the Resurrection is to deny eternal life. Consequently, one is to be locked up in the fear of death with no future hope. Such fear, encourages our minds to ignore the reality or conceal the very thought of death. Nonetheless, death is always very real in our life. We must recognize that science is not the master key which can open the door to all knowledge. We must talk about death sincerely. Try to understand faith and belief in the Resurrection, while being alert to 21st century research, discovery and thinking.

We Christians believe in the Resurrection. Having such a faith we need to be less worldly. Then social success or respect from others would no longer become our final goals. Once we receive that faith we can consider apparent pathetical events to be positive, even meaningful, for example birth of handicapped children, or early death of gifted leaders of industry. Those who have that belief can console others who are suffering and depressed through the loss of loved ones. Because we have overcome earthly fears and anxieties, we are now empowered by faith, and therefore called to encourage others.

Augustine, *** in his work, "God's Kingdom," wrote about two types of kingdoms made up by two kinds of love. One was established with selfish love by those who scorned God. Another was built with love toward God by those who were humble. To believe in the Resurrection is to chose a life in God's kingdom.

That means to renounce satisfaction of selfish love, seek to serve others through a life which is free from egocentricity. The early church was established at the center of the secular world by God. This church was founded and blessed by God, 39 years ago. So, by standing in this church, we join together in the mission of spreading the good news about Jesus Christ to all those who are suffering in this world. That is the conclusion we should keep in our mind today, as we commemorate our Church anniversary and remember the souls who have passed through these doors.
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notes
* All Saints Day - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints_Day
** All Souls day - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls_Day
*** St. Augustine of Hippo - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Augustine_of_Hippo

Restricted Revenge

2008-11-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42

# On the 4th Sunday of every month, Pastor Mizuguchi gives a lecture of reflections upon, "The Sermon on the Mount." This session today, is the seventh of the series.

1. To Forfeit a Natural Right

Today's lecture concerns Jesus' antithesis on retaliation, which in fact deals with the law of compensation for injury. In the time of Jesus, and perhaps from earlier times, Exodus 21:24 was understood as allowing an injured man to claim damages. Jesus replaced this reasonable practice by instructing those injured not to insist on their rights, but to give more than is demanded of them: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:38-39).

The phrase, "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" is very well known in Japan, even by those who have never read the Bible. Shortly after I received my baptism, one of my colleagues teased me by saying, "I'll strike you on the right cheek, so turn to me the left one too." I thought he challenged me because he was almost sure that I couldn't do so. Generally, if we are struck by someone, the majority of us seek revenge by striking back, or by taking revenge in some other way. Or we just walk away from such aggressors. We would never invite them to repeat that kind of conduct.

I had such an experience when I was a soldier during the World War II. One of our commanders struck me on the cheek with his fist. The punch was so strong that I fell down on the floor, and the terrible pain remained in my cheek. Besides the pain, there was also the feeling of great humiliation.

Being struck on the right cheek had a special meaning in Jewish society. Normally a blow, given with the right hand strikes the victim on the left cheek. So a punch received on the right cheek tells that the aggressor attacked with the left hand, an act which was a deliberate humiliation for Jewish people. Contrary to a slap across the face, it was the back of the hand which touches the cheek. That was another humiliating element for them. So such a conduct signified a double humiliation. But, despite that indignation, Jesus tells us to dare the aggressors to strike again.

Jesus was drawing his reference from the ancient book of Leviticus: "If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured" (Leviticus 24:19-20).

The rule above seems to us, who live in modern societies, to be very cruel and savage. But its fundamental purpose might be to prohibit aggression without justification. Causing pains to others was permitted only as pay back and with a similar degree of damage.

Nonetheless, when we happen to fall victim to certain aggressions we have a tendency of wanting to revenge ourselves excessively against the aggressor, because of anger. So the aim of "eye for eye" might be to limit the degree of revenge.

Nevertheless Jesus compels us to forfeit that legal right, which was largely permitted in the world of that era. Why ? Because vengeance, even if socially justified, creates a vindictive chain of reaction, which breeds and spreads evil.

In order to stop that we must abandon the right of revenge. Because, Jesus says that is the way of living for Christians, as citizens of God's kingdom. But we must wonder whether such an attitude will allow us to survive in this severe earthly world.

2. Active Obedience

Then Jesus continues: "And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well" (Matthew 5:40). If 'someone wants to sue you' signifies a creditor seeking to get back the loaned money from a debtor, and if the debtor does not have enough money, he must pay the debt with his material possessions. In the case above even one's clothes could be taken to defray the debt.

In Jesus' time, a cloak was not only a garment to wear, but it was also used as a sleeping bag, which protected the body during the night. The Old Testament reference: "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate" (Exodus 22:25-27).

But Jesus says, "let him have your cloak as well." It seems too severe to compel the poorest to give up their minimum necessities of life. Further, the following verse reveals: "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matthew 5:41).

In that period of time, Judea was under Roman rule, and the phrase "someone forces you to go" probably meant that Roman soldiers sometimes ordered Jewish men to go with the troops, and carry the munitions. One (1) Roman mile is about 1,480 meters, a distance which is painful to walk when carrying a load. Furthermore, it caused not only physical pain but also humiliation for the Jewish people. Nonetheless, Jesus says: "go with him two miles." That teaching also seems to us to be very contradictory.

What Jesus is telling us to do is extremely painful, take part inactive trails, bear humiliation, and exploitation, without applying any defensive reaction. Rather one is to accept all of this with a benevolent attitude. "Turn to him the other also," " let him have your cloak as well," and, "go with him two miles." Our response is to be non-violent with expressions of love.

Jesus is offering examples of resistance which aims to confound the more powerful, restore dignity and initiative to the oppressed, and publicly shame or disarm the aggressor.

3. True Righteousness

We chose 1 Peter 2:22-24 for today's invocation verses: "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

Jesus' teaching concerning retaliation is sometimes difficult to follow. It seems too idealistic to accept exploitive or aggressive conduct without seeking revenge against the perpetrators. This attitude goes beyond the reality of the world, where illegality and fraudulence prevail. Nevertheless, when we look back through Jesus' life we recognize He remained perfectly loyal to His own teachings.

He committed no sin, no deceit, no retaliation and accepted suffering and pain caused by his persecutors. Even though he is the Son of God, he humbled himself with the poor and lonely, and was executed as a criminal. All of this symbolises the behaviour of a man who would give his cloak to a predator. Jesus would have done what he preached and gone willingly two miles if he were ordered to do one mile.

Peter understood the meaning of Jesus' life by following Him. And he says: "so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24).

Through today's lecture portion, Jesus tells us about the ruling righteousness in the Holy Kingdom that God will establish in this world. It should be realized not by vindictive methods against evil, but by absolute love. That love should lead us to accept pain and suffering, without revenge or retaliation, in order to overcome evil. Jesus exhorts us to believe in God's rule, and to find the joy of living, as people of God.

Jesus' teaching, which rejects every type of vengeance is closely connected to the ideal of God's Kingdom. Emancipation from vindictive minds and hatred will only be realised by the establishment of God's Kingdom, which will be achieved through Jesus. In a first century CE Palestinian context, the term Kingdom of God would first call to mind the Roman imperial system of domination and exploitation. Jesus' annunciation of the Kingdom of God offered an alternative vision to that of the Empire of Rome.

The teaching itself is still meaningful in this secular world too. For example, the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York, 9-11, 2001, caused death to more than 3000. The incident was equivalent to "punch on the right cheek" against the USA. Then the U.S. retaliated by invading Afghanistan with their air force and then invading Iraq, all in the act of revenge. Since then the war between Afghanistan and Iraq has continued for 7 years. The number of dead casualties has increased to 6000 on the American side, and including the Afghans and Iraqis, more than than 100, 000.

Once the principe of an "eye for eye" is practiced in the world of international relations, outcomes like this will remain. If the US had not sought revenge, today's world might have been different. They could have made efforts to use the international organization, which aims to settle conflicts and disagreements caused by general inequity, unfairness or worldwide poverty.

We must try to find within Jesus' words an accurate perception and deep wisdom for the truth. And we must recognize also that he is not merely a patient and pacifist person. Even though he accepted all the insults and brutal conduct of aggressors, he condemned energetically those who distorted the holiness of God.

For example, priests who made the Temple a "'den of robbers" (Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15, Luke 19:45, John 2:13), or law teachers who changed the law into simple human yolks (Matthew 12:1, Mark 2:23, Luke 6:1).

We know very well that in this real world the powerful very often torment and exploit the weak. To protect those weak people modern societies established the police and judicial systems. And social welfare systems too are provided to support the basic physical and material well-being of people in need. Because even the most poor should not be stripped of his cloak.

And before everything else, we must learn to live and find a lifestyle deserving of God's Kingdom, and be defensive against evil in a non-violent way. Jesus' love allows us to enter God's kingdom. Jesus came into this world as a human, he lived, suffered and died on the cross for our sin and salvation. So, in Christ, we live a new life free from hatred and vengeful minds.

Christians are encouraged to live a life between the "already here" and "not yet achieved" kingdom of God on this planet earth. We are on the way toward the fulfillment of the promise. Meanwhile, we will be tested and tried. Jesus summoned the twelve disciples and told them to go out among the lost sheep of Israel. He issued instructions and teaching on how to accomplish their mission (Matthew 10: 5-15).

Everything Jesus said to the twelve disciples then, is just as relevant to his disciples gathered here in this church today. He warned them as he warns us now about coming persecutions: "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). May God be with us.

Citizens of Heaven

2008-10-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-21

1. The Joy of knowing Christ

Today we are reading from Philippians, Paul's writings, of whom many researchers and commentators describe as the 'Epistle of Joy.' However circumstances under which Paul wrote this letter were extremely harsh and tense. He was imprisoned in Rome and destined for martyrdom. Normally, we mere humans, only feel joyful when we are in a favourable and comfortable situation. But in times of difficulties we can scarcely remain happy. So we could learn from this reading of Philippians chapter 3, how we could learn to know happiness in severe situations.

Paul uses the word "joy" many times in the letter, which was addressed to the church at Philippi from a Roman prison. He was arrested and sent to Rome to be judged by the Emperor. Meanwhile believers in the church at Philippi offered some gifts and trusted them to Epaphroditus to encourage and console Paul. Epaphroditus was originally meant to stay in Rome to serve Paul, but he needed to come back to Philippi because of serious illness. On that occasion Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians, revealing his prayers and gratitude for their considerations and gifts (Philippians 2:25).

Therefore, chapters 1 and 2 are filled with thankfulness and love to the Philippians: "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you" (Philippians 3:1). Nevertheless, such a sweet and gentle tone is suddenly changes: "Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh" (Phil. 3:2).

Perhaps, in writing the letter, Paul was reminded of the Jewish traveling legalists who were preaching around the church at Philippi. He was so upset by their activities that he referred to them with very strong languages, "dog," "evil," and, "mutilators of the flesh."

In fact the church at Jerusalem taught Christians that receiving baptism is not enough for the salvation but observation of the law and the practice of circumcision were also essential. Thus those preachers sent from Jerusalem preached this way in Philippi, which destabilized the Philippian's faith based on Paul's teaching.

Paul considered circumcision, which was strictly observed by Judaism, to be a mutilation of the body. Furthermore he severely criticised those who tried to make circumcision obligatory for male Christians.

The word, "dog" was often used by Jewish people to describe gentiles, who did not practice circumcision. Nonetheless, Paul continued to argue and debate with the legalist preachers. He was so angry because such teachings of the legalists might destroy the faith of the early church. If circumcision was thought to be necessary for salvation, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus would become meaningless. Therefore, Paul says, that the legalist preachers are, "those who do evil."

However Paul himself was once one of those zealous integralists of Judaism, as he admits: "though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless" ( Philippians 3:4-6)

He had sought salvation through observation of the law, more eagerly than others so far as to become a persecutor of Christians. But, Paul met Jesus one day on the road to Damascus and was dramatically converted to Christianity (Acts 9).

Due to his conversion Paul forfeited his high reputation and comfortable life as a law teacher. His life was threatened and menaced by other Jews who considered him to be a traitor. Despite all of this, he says: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8).

He lost all, and he gained all, because he found Christ. All those who find Christ have no further value for earthly matters and things that once seemed precious. Those who know Christ become humble, because they have been saved, not by their own efforts or virtue, but though Christ's death on the Cross.

Yet Paul still says: "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11).

2. Life - After Encountering Christ

We have already met Christ. He found us. However, we continue to seek the ultimate goal, encouraged by Paul: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).

He compels us to take his experience as our own: "Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you" (Philippians 3:17).

Those who seek righteousness through human effort denies the meaning of the Cross. Paul goes so far as to say that they are enemies of Christians: "For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:18-19).

There is little agreement about the identity of these people or about the meaning of the comments about 'their stomach' and 'their shame'. Paul mentions them to provide a model of behaviour in stark contrast to his own. However, some believe Paul is referring to those who pay homage to nutritive prohibitions as a way to find salvation.

Then comes Paul's famous saying: "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21).

I recently read a book entitled: "Ten new Japanese religions," written by: *Shimada Hiromi, a Japanese scholar of religious studies. The author presents and analyses three of the most popular newly founded Japanese religions. According to the contents, Souka-gakkai, the biggest one, has about 10 millions believers, and the second largest, Tisshoukousei-kai and Reiyu--kai, have 3 millions followers each. All three were founded in 1920~30s.

Preaching activities of Christianity commenced in Japan about 150 years ago, a much longer history than those of the new religions mentioned above. But, the number of Japanese Christians is still only about 1 million.

Almost all successive new religions are derived from the function of Nichiren, based on "Saddharma Pundarika Sutra," a code which is said to be compiled from Gautama Buddha's disciples between B.C 150-50.** Comparable with the more traditional Japanese Buddhism, Nichiren's teachings were revolutionary in that period. Because, where the former seeks the salvation in Gokuraku jo-do, Buddhistic Paradise, the latter looks for mental consolation and material privileges in this real world. Nichiren taught that humans could be saved simply by repeating aloud "Saddharma Pundarika Sutra," not the contents but only the title.*

Though it might sound rather primitive minded, I find in this theory a certain resemblance to the attitude of those who seek salvation through earthly efforts, like observing nutritive interdicts, offering contributions, or good works. Paul strictly denies such thinking through living the Christian life.

3. Faith Through Trials

Today's invocation verses are Philippians 4:4-6 , "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Sometimes it is difficult to feel happy because, throughout life, we experience failures, deception, or disappointment in relationships. Nevertheless, Paul remained joyful, even though he was in prison. How was this possible? He explains in his letter, "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly"(Philippians 1:12-14).

Thanks to the hope in Christ, he could remain fearless and his attitude encouraged many more people around him. Furthermore, some of those led by his words, converted to Christianity. Paul was joyful because he recognized God was still with him, even in prison.

If we suffer we should share our pain with God. When we are sad, we should explain our sadness to God. Then God will show us the significance of our pain. By understanding the meaning of our pain and suffering, we learn to recognize God's mercy.

Many of us here might often have those experiences. In the beginning of our sufferings we prayed and received God's blessing, which changed our way of living. After the difficult time passed, we find such an experience provided the opportunity to listen to God in prayer. Suffering and pain tends to draw us close to God.

The attitude of seeking earthly compensation or rewards will fail. Even though we pray for healing or answers, incurable illness and insoluble problems might remain the same. Even if an illness was cured we humans must die some day in the future. Physical healing and material satisfaction are transitory, it is not salvation. And salvation is achieved only by accepting Jesus Christ as our own personal saviour. That is exactly the point we should keep in our mind.

Paul says: "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20). Philippi was a Roman colonial city.* Though it was located far from Rome and almost all of its free-inhabitants had Roman citizenship, they were all considered to be Romans.

Just ss the Philippians were Romans, we are citizens of Heaven though we live now on the planet earth. In consequence, God, the King of His Kingdom, always protects us like the power of Roman Emperor protected the rights of a Roman citizen. We might lose much in the earthly world. Many of us might be thrown off and discarded by secular societies. But God takes care of us because, He loves us. So much so, He sent forth His only Son, Jesus Christ, to live and die for our own sake. Christ is always with us. He lives in our hearts. Thus, we must be joyful under all circumstances and conditions. May God help us.
-----------------\

* Shimada Hiromi http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/島田裕巳 Ten Japanese new religions, edt. Togensha, 2007 Nov. [ ISBN-10: 4344980603 / ISBN-13: 978-4344980600]

** Nichiren http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitiren Saddharma-pundarika-sutra
http://www.orientalia.org/dictionary-Buddhist_Dictionary-
definition 21400-SADDHARMA- PUNDARIKA-SUTRA.html
Gautama Buddha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha

*** Philippi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippi

God Overrules

2008-10-20T00:00:00.001-07:00

Scripture Acts 6:1-7

1. Internal Problems

Today we will read together from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6. Although the early church grew steadily since the day of Pentecost, we learn from this reading that there were certain disputes occurring within the community.

Conflicts among God's children! It should be impossible, it should not be, because such hostile conduct only makes God sad. Naturally, we too might feel that way. However the Bible reveals the truth. Disagreements are normal for human beings, and if such disturbances occur we should not try to conceal them. Rather, we should pray for a peaceful resolution, and seek to find the cause and then settle the dispute harmoniously.

Luke, the writer of the book, the Acts of the Apostles, reported the problems in an open and transparent manner. We will try and grasp his message by turning our attention to his writings which describes just what happened, and how the church dealt with it.

The episode begins: "In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food" (Acts 6:1).

The first reason for the disagreements was the fact that the community grew too fast for them to remain organised as they were before the increase of believers. The Pentecost event attracted a large number of people which resulted in many conversions. Thus it became impossible to co-ordinate thousands of new believers in the same way as they did in previous years. Therefore feelings of dissatisfaction, followed by disagreements arose within the church.

It happened between the Hebraic and the Grecian Jews. Naturally the first generation of disciples were the Hebraic Jews, who were born and lived in Judea. Their mother language was Hebrew. However, later, descendants of the diaspora became believers too. Their ancestors had been scattered out from Judea because of invasions by foreign powers, events which happened very often throughout Jewish history.

Those particular citizens spoke Greek, so they were called "The Grecian Jews." They had come back from their native countries to Jerusalem and converted to Christianity. Even though they were originally Jewish, their cultural background was already a mixture of Judaism and Hellenism, which created a certain gap. So, conflicts became rife between the Hebraic and Grecian Jews. Luke wrote: "their (The Grecians), widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food" (Acts 6:1). Trouble concerning the distribution of food created a hostility which triggered disputes.

Many of the believers in the early church lived a communal life, where the rich sold their possessions and donated the wealth to the community. The church distributed that wealth to the poor, a system which allowed all believers to live adequately. Proportionate amounts of the allocations would be calculated by the twelve Disciples, and executed by the Hebraic believers, who represented a majority of the community.

But, as ordinary humans, they allotted shares in accordance with their personal choice and relationship. For example, more was given to those who were close and favoured friends. Besides, the distributors considered that the Hebraic and Grecians would not know the difference, because of the language barrier. There might be misunderstandings too. In consequence, the Grecians found the system of distribution unfair. Even though the church is a community based on the same faith, there were problems concerning money. As you may well know, money troubles experienced in the contemporary church today is very similar to that of the early church.

2. Chosen to Serve

As I said previously it was natural that disagreements sprang from inside the early church. We now focus on how believers found a solution in order to settle these disputes. The leaders of the community held a meeting consisting of all believers for that purpose. "So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, 'It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them'" (Acts 6:2-3).

The Twelve thought the issue was important and took advantage of the occasion to re-organize the structure of the church, by holding a meeting. They nominated others to chose people who would take care of daily and earthly matters. From that election the office of stewards in the church was formed. The term "deacon," which signifies a lay officer appointed to assist a minister, especially in secular affairs, is derived from Diaconos in Greek, a "servant".

Thus the church established the office of which staff would deal with secular works in order for the Disciples to concentrate on their spiritual ministries: "... while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word" (Acts 6:4). Every task within the church comes from the necessity for its most important mission of praying and preaching. The Twelve Disciples re-organized the early church while still respecting those prior missions. In contrast, the Japanese Christian community traditionally appreciate Pastors who visit and take care of the believers' daily lives, rather than those who are gifted in preaching and presentation. Pastors should not try, or be expected to try, to do everything. Instead, the work of the church should be spread out among its members.

At the time of their appointment, "They presented these men (chosen stewards) to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them" (Acts 6:6). The act of praying and laying hands on the nominated people who are taking an office position is still practised today as the rite of a designated appointment. The prayers are for God's wisdom and guidance, so the new functionaries will be filled with spiritual power to achieve their tasks.

That tradition supports the belief that leaders of the church should always be chosen by the congregation. We elect those who show proficiency in their chose field of service. Then they receive the gift from God through the rite of praying, and the laying-on of hands. In summary, the leaders of a church are chosen by believers, appointed, and empowered by God.

Regarding myself, on one hand I was chosen as your Pastor by yourselves. So as long as you consider me to be proficient in this office, I can remain here. On the other hand, I was appointed by God and received His gifts in order to serve here as a Pastor. If it happens that I am deprived of those gifts, for example, I begin to feel indifferent to my original calling, I could not remain here as Pastor to this church. Therefore the office of the Pastor always needs to be monitored, while remaining vigilant to the other functionaries of the church. So I ask you, our dear stewards, please continue to be guided by the God's Holy spirit. Be attentive to the needs of the church, and make every effort to remain in God's love, and therefore, gifted for the services he has called you to do.

3. From Tragedy to Triumph.

We should notice the names of the chosen stewards in Acts 6. All of them were Greek names. It shows that the majority of the community, who were the Hebraic Jews, commenced to give consideration to the Grecian Jews. Such awareness helped the community to be more harmonious, flexible, and ready to leap forward into the future.

Further, in the same chapter Luke records the arrest and martyrdom of Stephen, one of the chosen stewards. At that time the Disciples understood Jesus' teachings still in the context of Judaism. They went to the Temple to pray, respected the practice of circumcision and observed the law.

However the believers who were born in foreign countries, like the Grecian Jews, were free from Jewish traditional rites. Consequently they were hated and oppressed by Jewish legalists. Stephen was one of those who brought accusations against Israel for opposing the spirit, and the insignificance of their law since the coming of Jesus (Acts 7).

Such words were intolerable for the ruling legalists, who gave extreme importance to the temple and the law. They arrested Stephen and stoned him to death. The parallels between Jesus and Stephen were numerous. Both are filled with grace and power. However, from this reading in Acts Chapter 6, we can see how the Grecian Jews inherited Jesus' teachings, and not the Hebraic Jews.

I chose Acts 8:4-5 for today's invocation verses which tells of those who were scattered and the evangelisation of Samaria. "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there." But, to understand the circumstances better, we will need to read the preceding part of Acts 8:1, "On that day (execution of Stephen) a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." The verse above tells us what occurred just after Stephen's martyrdom (Acts 7), and I want you to pay particular attention to the expression,"except the apostles."

That means the Grecian Jews were expelled from Jerusalem, not the Hebraic Jews. Because the latter remained within the confines of Jewish traditional teachings. The oppressors had no need to persecute them.
The expelled believers scattered across the world, spreading the Good News. For example Philip, another chosen steward, went to Samaria and preached there. In this way Jesus' teachings were carried to regions and countries beyond Jerusalem. Some others went to Syria, where they founded the church in Antioch, the city where the disciples were first called "Christians." For the first time the followers of Jesus were clearly distinguished from Jews. (Acts 11:26). Indeed, Antioch became a sort of home base for preaching activities to foreigners living throughout the Roman Empire.

To summarise the events thus far, we see that conflicts between the Hebraic and the Grecian Jews, ironically gave birth to the function of stewards. Then the newly chosen stewards' faith grew strong and became more powerful through the fulfilment of their tasks. Such rapid growth of a movement caused the Jewish authorities to oppress them. However, that oppression set in motion a chain of events which caused Jesus' teachings to be spread all over the world. That is the Providence of God. God's power changes the bad into good. From conflicts inside the church, to the power of preaching beyond Jerusalem. There is a message here for us in which we must grasp: "don't be afraid of disagreements within the church."

It is rather natural that disputes and disagreements spring from within the church. When such events occur we should never try to conceal them. We must openly discuss, reflect, and pray over the reasons which cause the conflict. Through these efforts, God will show us wisdom and understanding, and reveal desirable solutions. God turns tragedies into triumphs. He turns harm into good. He changes night into day. God can direct human affairs to a positive end, even when human beings act in immoral and unprincipled ways (50:19-20). May He continue to pour out His blessings upon our church.

The World Of The New Covenant

2008-10-11T17:31:00.001-07:00

Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-22

1. The Definitive Nature of Christ's Work

In accordance with the church calendar, I will lecture today from the letter addressed to the Hebrews. Hebrews was written to one or more Christian communities in Rome. Perhaps we should clarify that what we know as the letter to the Hebrews, is not really a letter, certainly not written by Paul*, and some have questioned whether it was written to Hebrew Christians. In fact, Hebrews was a sermon/treatise that was sent as a letter. There is much debate about authorship. Some scholars have suggested that is was very probably a Jewish Christian. Others have attributed the writings to Apollos, the Alexandrian Jewish Christian. But we can only guess. However, it is clear that readers of the sermon/treatise had faced and continued to face persecution for their faith, with the result that they were tempted to abandon Christianity. They are likened to the Israelites in the wilderness. They needed to be informed concerning the superiority of Christianity and the new covenant, over the old sacrificial system of the old covenant.

The high priest killed beasts, which were a sacrificial offering to God for the forgiveness of human sin. The writer to the Hebrews describes the scene: "Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lamp stand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place" (Hebrews 9:1-3).

The tabernacle was a lightly constructed tent which God originally ordered Moses to set up as a place of worship. It became a model for the Holy Temple. It had two rooms, of which the first part is called the Holy Place. The second one is the Most Holy Place, where God would be present. Ordinary worship services were observed in the first room. The Most Holy Place was opened once a year for the sacrificing ceremony. Only the high priest could enter there exclusively for that purpose. On the ceremonial day he would bring a sacrificed goat and a calf to and offer their blood to the alter.

The Holy Place and The Most Holy Place were separated with a curtain, which prevented humans from entering into the divine place as the writer to the Hebrews explains: "But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance" (Hebrews 9:7-8). The curtain closed off the entrance to the Most Holy Place, which symbolized the absence of a direct relationship between God and humans.

In describing the last moments of Jesus' death on the cross, Matthew records: "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split" (Matthew 27:50-51) Cosmic signs, including a new temple, earthquakes and raised bodies, signal the in-breaking of God's empire in Jesus' death and life. The curtain, which blocked the relationship between God and humans, was torn. Thus the way was opened, which allowed human interaction with God.

The writer to the Hebrews interprets it another way: "When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9: 11-12). The work of Christ as high priest contrasts dramatically with that of the temple rites. The good things that have come. The present salvation. The greater and perfect tent and the Holy place are ideal and not actual, pointing to the ultimate reality of Christ's atoning work, rather than to any literal temple in heaven.

2. Sacrificial Offerings

In the old covenant it was necessary to bleed sacrificed animals in order that humans were forgiven and saved. There is some familiarity with the present world too, not with the blood of animals, but with the law of capital punishment for humans. For example, judgements by the modern courts of law often deliver the death penalty to those who have committed aggressive criminal acts against society.

Indeed, the majority of families of criminal victims often demand extreme and severe punishment for culprits, as a means of closure or psychological compensation. I find a such a tendency similar to the world of the old covenant (Exodus 21:12-31). Even though we might have compassion for those families, from a faith point of view, we should be emancipated from that attitude, which generates a continuous shedding of blood.

American invasions of Afghanistan, or Iraq, as a retaliation against terrorists' attacks, are based on the same kind of thinking. Lawful self-defence methods to violent attacks from others, reminds me of the sacrifices practiced in the time of the old covenant. But vindictive over-reactions only gives cause to worse outcomes and revenge. As a matter of fact, the current situations of which we speak seems to confirm the truth of that theory.

Contrary to traditional thinking, Jesus offered His own blood for His aggressors' sake, and for ours too. That was the crucial point which separated the world of the new covenant from that of the old one. Whereas the high priest entered the Most Holy Place to redeem humans with the blood of sacrificed animals, Christ did so with His own blood and God accepted it. So we do not need an animal sacrifice in order to purify and heal. We will not seek revenge or compensation. We must live in the world of the new covenant.

The writer to the Hebrews explains: "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant" (Hebrews 9:15). The word "covenant" is "ברית" in Hebrew, which has another meaning, "to break." In the Jewish society of that era, a symbolic act was necessary to sign a contract. Two concerned parties would cut an animal in half and then they would pass through the space between the two parts of the animal. That symbolized their willingness to fulfill the promises and if they failed that, they would agree to be killed in the same way as the animal (Genesis 15).

The contract based on a similar principle was confirmed between God and Israelites, after the Exodus on Mount Sinai where God gave the Ten Commandments to them. As the act of confirmation, Moses and the Jewish people gave burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar (Exodus 24).

Nonetheless the people could not respect the contract. In consequence Israel was punished and destroyed by God in 587 B.C. The covenant was invalidated. But Jeremiah predicted at that very time: "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," says the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33).

The new covenant could not be a restoration of the old one, but a newly conceived covenant from God. Restoration is meaningless because humans are not capable of keeping their promises. Therefore, salvation would be given through God's mercy, not through redemptive blood. And the New Testament records that the new covenant was written with Jesus' blood: "In the same way, after the supper He (Jesus) took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you'" (Luke 22:20).

3. Redemption Through the Cross

I chose 2 Corinthians 3:6 for today's invocation verse: "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." This verse contains the important awareness that in Christ, a new covenant is being formed, and Paul and other missionaries are the mediators of its formation. We too are to become ministers of the new covenant.

The old covenant was based on the law which was written with ink. And the contract between God and humans would be validated through the human effort of respecting the conditions and clauses of the very law. However humans are incapable of fulfilling the law. Therefore the redemption with blood of sacrificed animals was the condition sine qua non for being forgiven by God. Thus the law and the sacrifice were inseparable notions in the old covenant .

In contrast Jesus Christ established the new covenant, which is written with the Spirit not with ink. It does not require fulfillment of the law with every effort a human can muster. Paul also uses the expression "the new covenant" in his first letter to the Corinthians,
" In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:.25).

He implies that the old and the new covenants are fundamentally different: "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Corinthians 3:3). Our nature was fundamentally changed, through the blood of Jesus once and for all.

We do not need blood of any type to receive God's forgiveness or to forgive others. We will not seek human blood or sacrifices from those who demand recompense for offensive acts to human kind. It is becoming more severe and difficult for people to live in the Japanese society today. The number of suicidal cases have increased up to 30,000 this year, and there are more people than ever, suffering from a mental disturbances or medical disorders, like depression or melancholia. Recently I read a book entitled "About the difficulties of life,"** of which the author remarks that certain psychological problems are caused by socially environmental difficulties. For example, people who live under financial strain, caused by redundancy or unstable employment, often suffer from identity disorders and loss of dignity. They feel engulfed and alone within a busy society which passes them by.

In the present world the commercial markets are globalized. Companies and societies undergo international competition more than ever before. So, to run their businesses successfully they try to cut all costs, including personnel everyday necessities. In consequence, working conditions became harsh for under qualified or aged people. Redundancy and pay-cuts as excuses for restructure might destroy lives of the weak, not only financially, but also psychologically. Besides, when parents are gloomy and depressed, so too are the children. Often they feel desperate, even worse, many want to abandon their own lives. Such tendencies can result in suicides or violent crimes.

I see a certain similarity to the world of the old covenant in such a society, where the weak bleed. Only those who are fortunate enough to be talented or born rich, seem to have the privilege of living an adequate life. And they go on their way by sacrificing the weak. Almost 2000 years has passed since the death of Christ, yet this world still does not recognize the meaning of redemption through the Cross. But even under current circumstances we must seek a way to live as real Christians, by showing and telling the world about the new covenant.

There are many ways to live. We are all born as humans and many of us look to realize our own existence,*** by satisfying our inner needs. But that life goal often requires that we become engaged in contests and winning. Winners automatically make losers. But once we enter into the world of the new covenant, we are changed. So we will not prevail on others, rather we will co-operate. It does not signify a resignation of our own personal standards of living. On the contrary, we enrich our own lives by serving others.

The majority of us want to please others, be appreciated, and to make others value our competence. Sometimes those desires draw unhappiness because they might fail to be achieved. Even if others do not love us, we can still love them. If it is difficult to get our virtues and talents appreciated, we can still recognize the gifts which others may possess. Paul reminds us that Jesus once said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).

Jesus offered His own life for the sake of humans, and by so doing He purified us. The writer to the Hebrews says: "And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore" (Hebrews 13:12-13). We are invited to offer our lives for others' sake, while remaining in this world where the strong exploit the weak. Jesus Christ redeemed our life with His own life. So let us respond to that invitation.
--------------------

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Hebrews

**About difficulties of living, by Kayano Toshihito,
Edt. Koubunsha, 2008 July ISBN 9784334034610

***Self- actualization / Maslow hierarchy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Harold_Maslow

Oaths, Promises and Vows

2008-10-04T14:36:00.001-07:00

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

# On the 4th Sunday of every month, Pastor Mizuguchi gives a lecture of reflections upon, "The Sermon on the Mount." This session today, is the sixth of the series.

1. Prohibition

Today we are exploring another of Jesus' antitheses on the fulfilment of the law. Jesus, on this occasion, was preaching the Sermon on the Mount* when he focused on the value of oaths. Matthew captures his teaching with these opening words: "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord '" (Matthew 5:33). Here Jesus was emphasising the importance of telling the truth. He further develops his theory about giving oaths: "But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne, or by earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great kink" (Matthew 5:34-35).

Perhaps the above verses are confusing to us because sometimes it is necessary for 'to swear' allegiance in a formal solemn manner, or 'to declare' or 'to promise.' On certain occasions like a marriage ceremony or receiving baptism we need to declare some promising words publicly. Before sharing the Lord's Communion, our Baptist church members read together, aloud, 'the Communion Promise of the Church.' By promising, we will serve our Lord and respect His teachings. We show love for each other and wait for the day of the Lord.

It occurs in the secular daily life too. We are obliged to swear or declare our willingness aloud, for example, at an opening ceremony of a sporting competition, or an entrance ceremony of the school. When we sign contracts for trades, loans or rental accommodation, we must express our willingness to respect the conditions of the contract and its clauses. In short, we cannot live without giving words of promise.

But, here in our reading from Matthew, Jesus extends the prohibition against false oaths (Exodus 20:7) to all oaths. He is implying that a small community of integrity and 'right' relationships does not need oaths that can be used evasively. Oaths and promises sworn in God's name should be sacrilege. But, throughout history people substituted God's name and swore upon other things, such as 'heaven' or 'earth,' things they perceived to be worthy anchors as a guarantee for their oaths.

These 'other things' often provide the excuse for failure when it does not involve God's name. Oaths and promises were common in Jesus' time, as they are today, but Jesus told his followers not to use them - their word alone should be enough. Jesus' stricture against oaths by the temple, the temple gold, the altar or heaven (Matthew 23:16-22), are aimed at the casuistry which attempted to classify oaths, according to degrees of validity.

2. Careless Words

Relative to the times of Jesus' ministry, and as it remains in our world today, people continually break promises and use sacred language casually and carelessly. Keeping oaths and promises is important, because it builds trust and makes committed human relationships possible. However, sincere willingness is not always enough to keep our promissory words because human intention is basically flawed. A person with a reputation for exaggeration or lying often cannot get anyone to believe them by word alone. We change our minds as personal feelings and surrounding circumstances change.

Jesus' teaching requires us to be faithful to our words, with emphasis on the importance of telling the truth. The thrust of our speaking should be sincere, honest and authentic, even if the words are not delivered in the form of a vow or promise. Jesus said, "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken" (Matthew 12:36). Before God we are responsible for whatever we speak.

Our word, not only towards God, but also to other humans must always be sincere and honest. So Jesus compels us: "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one" (Matthew 5:37). After all, I think the teaching about oaths focuses on our manner of speaking. If we tell the truth all the time, we will have less pressure to back up our words with an oath or promise.

Recently I heard that in some churches the Pastor has modified the traditional wedding vows. The original expression of "I promise" is replaced by "I'll try" or "I will make the effort." As the percentage of divorce cases have increased to approximately 50% of all married couples, perhaps these Pastors might think the old 'I promise' has became meaningless, or too binding. But personally I find the change to the phrases unnecessary.

3. Jesus' Ruling

I chose Deuteronomy 23:22-23 for today's invocation verses: "But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth."

We must respect whatever we promise. If it seems that something is too difficult to achieve, we should not make the promise. We need to be faithful in all that we utter. However it is not always easy to keep promises. As long as we cannot control our tongue, there is a danger of speaking superficially (James 3:5-8). Oaths are still needed in certain situations only because we live in a sinful society that breeds distrust. We still make promises when receiving baptism, or exchanging wedding vows. Law courts in various countries throughout the world expect a witness to place their hand on the Bible and say: "I swear that the evidence I am about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God."

The church is based on the free will of all believers, without external pressures or obligations. We are a collective of Christians who support each other prayerfully. Especially the Baptist church respects of the members' free choice. Therefore on every ceremonial occasion we make and declare our own decisions. For example, when we receive baptism, or when the Pastor and Steward accept their nomination the act of giving witness to the faith is required.

Nevertheless, it happens sometimes that we cannot remain totally loyal to any original decision. In that case we pray that Jesus will intervene and show us the right way. Our future is not in our own hands. It is God who decides everything. And through God we have met Jesus, who died on the Cross for our salvation. That encounter with our Lord should purify us and make us free from sin. Therefore we once again sincerely declare ourselves to be His followers. When that declaration is at risk of failing, we pray to God, through Jesus, for His guidance, wisdom and support.

Today we have briefly studied the antithesis on oaths through Jesus' preaching the Sermon on the Mount. It began with the legal principle that a person who has taken an oath (i.e., called God as witness to the truth of their statement or promise) must not break their word. This opens up a wide area of debate including the question whether all oaths - those made on the name of God and those in some other form - are equally binding. Jesus' ruling is that all equally involve God and his sovereignty, but his fundamental judgement is against taking oaths at all. He is teaching us to be so aware of the presence of God that we are totally committed by our "Yes" or "No" (Matthew 5:37).

*The Sermon in Matthew:
5:13-16, address to the new community
5:17-48, six antitheses on the fulfilment of the law
6:1-18, on almsgiving, prayer, and fasting
6:19-7:12, on possessions, anxiety and trust, behaviour to neighbours
7:13-27, concluding challenge

Further readings about: oaths, promises, and vows
Exodus 20:7
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
James 3:5-8
James 5:12
Matthew 23:16-22

A Call To Holy Living

2008-09-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-25

1. believers under oppressions

Today we will read Peter' letter addressed to the early Christians in Asia Minor. He wrote them to encourage believers there, who were suffering oppressions by non-christians. The christian life style was completely different from that of others, therefore they were always excluded or portrayed as nuisances by the surrounding societies. Peter's writing reveals the harsh and difficult living conditions of the believers.

We begin the lecture with chapter 1 from the first letter, and read Peter's encouraging words. "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance" (1 Peter 1:13-14).

Peter is implying that although the suffering seems to have lasted a long time, it will ultimately come to an end when Jesus returns. So he compels them to be patient and not turn back to their previous non-christian lifestyle. "The evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance," suggests that many of them were gentiles before their conversion.

We, who live in the modern world, still find "evil desires" everywhere, desires which push humans to conduct themselves in hypocritical and fraudulent ways. For example, recently in Japan, some illegal rice trading cases were discovered.* Traders bought from the Japanese government, imported rice meant for industrial use only, but they sold it as a nutritional product, at abnormally high prices. It was monetary greed that persuaded them to perpetrate such acts.

We find a similar case, including exploitation, in ancient Israel and recorded in the book of Amos: "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?"—skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat" (Amos 8:5-6). As it reveals, the human inborn nature without faith in God, was evil. Hence Peter compels us: "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do" (1 Peter 1:15).

" Be holy" means to live by following God's will. So we must change our inborn nature, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

God resurrected Jesus form the dead, and gave us hope for eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith and hope depends on God, whose words are eternal, and will not alter. Peter says, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever" (1 Peter 1: 24-25).

2. Consoling News for Suffering People

The verses from Peter above are a reflection of Isaiah 40:6-8), "Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." And the background to Isaiah 40 is the historical event of the Babylonian captivity. In 587 B.C. Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians, and the Jewish leaders were brought to the conquered country as war prisoners. During the captivation period prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah received God's calling and relayed His messages to the people. The messages from God contained a repetitive theme which implied that they were being punished because of their sins. But if they repented God would forgive them and bring them back to their homeland, Jerusalem.

Prophesies and predictions were plentiful and fifty years passed by. Nonetheless the promise was not fulfilled. Jerusalem was in ruins and the majority of the first captured generation were dead. Therefore their descendants thought it was impossible to ever come back to their Jewish homeland, and so they commenced to adapt themselves to the Babylonian way of living. At that very moment, new words from God came to Isaiah, predicting that the time was close for the people to return to Jerusalem.

However the prophesy was more perplexing rather then enlightening because they were already adapting to a new life in Babylon. Their hope of going back to homeland had already disappeared. Isaiah recognized their feeling: "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass" (Isaiah 40:6-7).

God destroyed Jerusalem and brought the Israelites to Babylon. During 50 years under captivation the people felt abandoned by God. It was natural that desperate people were doubtful of God words. But Gold says, "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

After all, the prophecy was ultimately realized. Though the punishment of God was harsh, that painful experience changed the Israelites. After the emancipation from Babylonian power they began to contemplate why God put such a burden on them, presumably, His chosen people.

Those reflections were drawn from the repeated readings of the holy books, inherited from their ancestors. And, as its consequence, they compiled and wrote down the Torah. That experience and action brought the Jewish people to again believe and have faith in God's word. After some time, Assyria and Babylon were destroyed. Greece, and the Roman empire, the world's dominating powers were defeated and quietly dissapeared. But the country of the Israelites, who rediscovered their faith in God, continues to exists even today.

Once Peter wrote to encourage oppressed believers: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:6-7).

He encouraged early Christians by saying in effect that just as the trials of the Babylonian captivity purified and fortified the Israelites, so too will they benefit from their current harsh circumstances.

3. Life based on God's word

Do we who live in the modern world today, undergo similar trials like the early christians? To reflect upon the theme, I chose today's invocation verse from Isaiah 10:12, "When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, 'I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.'"

The background to Isaiah chapter 10 is God's judgement of Assyria.** Assyria obtained control over surrounding counties in the 8th century B.C., including Palestine. Isaiah thought God used Assyrian power as His rod, which would punish unfaithful Israelites. But Assyria became so arrogant that it went beyond that assumed role by considering itself to be the supreme power.

Therefor God decided to destroy Assyria. Isaiah predicted the event, which today's invocation verse shows. Indeed the incident happened historically. In about 701 B.C. during the siege of Jerusalem, the Assyrian army was severely inflicted with a certain disease. The damage was so grave that they were obliged to return to their home country. Historically, it seems that the incident triggered enfeeblement of its domination and power, then its total demise.

Referring to Isaiah's prophesy, Yanaihara,*** a Japanese Christian of a non-church movement, wrote a dissertation in 1937, which criticised the Japanese invasion of China at that time. It was published in a magazine, under the title: "Principe of the State." Yanaihara, wrote in the article: "the principe of a state must be based on righteousness and peace, not on military power. A state which seeks to take control of weaker nation by using armed forces cannot prosper. Even if it seems to work for a certain period of time, it eventually declines in the future."

Assyria successfully occupied Palestine as "God's rod," but once it considered itself to be supreme and dominant, its power declined and they self-destructed. Yanaihara alluded to the Assyrian case to denounce the Japanese government's policy, which was to occupy China by force. The writing was censured, and the magazine was prohibited from being sold. Yanaihara himself, lost his title and position of professor.

I wonder whether such a brave act was only possible for a special and exceptional man like Yanaihar, having incomparable intelligence, and being highly respected by society. Yanaihara said "through harsh trials, like the Assyrians' threatening pressure, followed by the Babylonian captivation, the Jewish people regained their faith in God. So too, should the Japanese people. For that goal we Christians must continue to spread the news of God's righteousness."

Perhaps we can see that the course of action chosen by Yanaihara was inspired by God. We today are not heroes, but we are sincere believers who could be inspired to attain that high purpose, through our daily lives.

Early christians were obliged to worship the Roman emperors, an act which would be condemned by God as idolatry. So many of them refused that and were arrested or even killed. Many Korean Christians experienced similar trials under the Japanese occupation, regarding the worship of the Japanese Emperor.

How could they endure those painful conditions? Because they wanted to follow in the foot steps of Jesus. Peter wrote to suffering believers, "He (Jesus Christ) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24).

The followers of Jesus accepted secular disadvantages and through that act they received the spiritual peace from God. We too might suffer painful trials like the early Christians but we should always remain courageous as Peter says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed" 1 Peter 4:12-13).

As long as we live a life by standing on the promises of God's words, we will find spiritual peace and happiness. I invite you all now to continue in your walk with God, and follow that way of life.
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references
*Rice scandal - http://globalgeopolitics.net/wordpress/?p=797
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43945
** Assyria - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Assyrian_people
*** Yanaihara - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadao_Yanaihara
Nonchurch Movement - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonchurch_Movement
Japanese invasion of China - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_China_1937

I will carry you !

2008-09-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

[ Special Service for the elderly ] Scripture: Isaiah 46:1-4

1. Throw away your idols

Today Japan celebrates the national holiday for elderly people. On this occasion I would like to contemplate the meaning of growing old, by reference to the Bible. In the Old Testament we find expressions which honor aged people, for example: "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life" (Proverbs 16:31). Or, "The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old" (Proverbs 20:29). Moreover the Bible compels us to respect the elderly: "Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God" (Leviticus 19:32).

Those words show us Jewish wisdom which respects the elderly in a corresponding way as to worshipping God. I think it is a wonderful and thoughtful attitude. The Bible teaches that we must learn form aged peoples' experiences. However there is a certain bitterness to growing old. One example is Ecclesiastics 12: 3-7: when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well,and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

This particular passage makes us face the fact that all humans grow old, and eventually die with a weakening body. Indeed, from that point of view, growing old is more or less painful. But the Bible gives heartening words to the aged in today's text from Isaiah 46:3-4, "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

We will reflect today upon the meaning of growing old through Isaiah's words. The book of Isaiah begins a new phase from chapter 40, of which the background is the period of the Babylonian captivity.*

Israel was defeated by Babylonia in about B.C. 587, and the Jewish leaders were brought to the victorious country, and kept there. The incident is now called the "Babylonian captivity." At that time, the depressed Jewish people thought they were defeated because Yahweh, their God, was less powerful than Marduk,* a god worshiped by the Babylonians. There was a general tendency for the defeated people to try and worship their conquerors' divine protector.

But militarily based countries loose dominance when the power of their armed forces become weak. Once Persia** became stronger, Babylonia could not maintain the status of the world-wide Empire, and was threatened by Persian armies. As that menace approached, the Babylonians began to take refuge with their gods. Isaiah's verses describe the scene: "Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity" (Isaiah 46:1-2).

Bel* is alternative name of Marduke and Nebo* is another god of the Bablynians'. Idolaters would carry their gods with them when they needed to flee. Isaiah described such gods as cult statues with no power and incapable of saving themselves without the help of humans.

2. Acceptance

The prophet speaks God's words to the Jewish people, "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth" (Isaiah 46:3).

They have been attracted by the Babylonian gods, which could not move without being carried by humans or beasts. But, Isaiah tells them that now is the time to awake to the words of their own God, who upheld His people from their birth. Isaiah continues, "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" ( Isaiah 46:4).

In the context of the book, the verse above indicates the emancipation of the Jewish people from Baylonian domination and their return to Jerusalem. For that purpose God will use Persian power, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand,and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do" ( Isaiah 46:10-11). Here, a "bird of prey" represents the King of Persia, Khallushu,*** who would defeat Babylonia and free the Jewish people.

Jewish people of that time worshiped the Babylonian gods because of the country's hegemony which had prevailed in surrounding countries. So for us, who live in the modern world, what are our "idolatrous gods"? They might be earthly conditions which seem to guarantee a certain happiness of life, social status, money, or health, for example. Zeal for substantial privileges surround and tempt us. To some extent, we are controlled and dominated by such kinds of eagerness. Many sorts of greed play the role of idols. If we consider them to be indispensable for a happy life, the lack of them will distress and depresses us. So, when God compels us to get rid of those "idols" and attitudes which remain in our lives, it can be rather difficult for ordinary humans.

However, perhaps, we could think that by growing older is to approach that time when we can enjoy the abundant life under the realms of modern idolatry. Here I want to refer to the comment concerning old age made by professor Murata Hisayuki of Kyoto Notre Dame University. He divides the characteristics of ageing into 3 elements:

One is the shortage of time left before us, in consequence a diminishment of hope for the future. The next is reducing reverence from others, due to enfeeblement of body and intelligence. That might give the impression that our existence becomes vulnerable. The third is loss of physical autonomy. The old and worn body is not so flexible and strong as before. Therefore, many of the aged people become dependent upon others for their daily necessities.

Even though all of the elements seem negative, I think we can find a positive phase in aging. It is being free from idolatry, like Isaiah urged us to do. For the beginning we should accept those undesirable facts with a serene mind. We can do so because our Lord 'carried us' through painful and suffering days. He says "Even to your old age and gray hairs I will carry you." So, it is by trusting our life to that same God that we arrive to accept ageing and death in a calm way.

Whereas the word "acceptance" stresses the inevitable stance of resignation, but on the other hand, to accept, (accipere in Latin) means to take something to oneself. To make one's own decision.a The original notion represents a positive and active attitude by facing the uncomfortable facts.

Therefore to age is to be free from earthly jokes, which attached us to secular desires. We know now our Lord, who caused us to live, is the God who will carry us through to our old age and gray hairs.

3 Ageing with Grace

I invite you now to reflect upon how to accept ageing, by presenting a book written by Mitch Albom****. Albom is a best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. He had been close during his college years to Morrie Schwartz, a sociology professor. After his retirement Schwartz was living and dying with a terminal disease, ALS. (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease), a desease of which has symptoms of a progressive degeneration of the motor neurons of the central nervous system, leading to a wasting of the muscles and paralysis.

At the age of about 60, when Schwartz was teaching as a professor at the university, he began to suffer from asthma, caused by ALS. In his seventies he had difficulties walking, and then he became totally incapable of carrying himself at all. At 78, he commenced to spend all his time in bed, without any possibility of caring for himself.

When Albom visited the former professor, Albom was surprised because despite such a painful physical condition, Schwartz was not desperate nor depressed. Albom started to visit Schwartz on a regular basis every Tuesday, which continued for six months, during Schwartz's last days. They discussed life and death, which are the most important themes and issues for humans. Albom has recorded their conversations and published it as a book, titled: "Tuesdays with Morrie."

Morrie made Mitch share his ideas about death. In spite of his physical state, Morrie always possessed a clear and logical spirit. He says to Mitch: "One can only know how to live if they know how to die. We are too involved in material things, and they don’t satisfy us. But what makes our life happy is the loving relationships, willing to be useful for the universe around us and creation of anything which could give us meaningful living"

He was ready to accept the worst stage of the disease, while he wa losing control of body wastes. He considered it as becoming again, a new born baby. So he thought, in that condition of life, there were was nothing to be ashamed of. During his hospitalization many colleagues, students and volunteers came to console him but it was they who were encouraged and given advice about their problems.

Morrie said, "we can get force by giving courage to others." Morrie's words are filled with wisdom , some of which I mention here:

- To die with a serene mind we must concentrate on only the most meaningful matters in our life.
- To get old is to grow up, not to weaken.
- I accept what I am now, which make my life joyful.
-This sickness harms my body but not my spirit.

After 13 visits with Mitch, Morrie passed away, and each time Morries teaching changed Mitch Albom's way of thinking and living. If only we, as Morrie did, can come to accept the reality of aging, by throwing off secondary matters, we too could experience wonderful days of ageing.

I chose 2 Corinthians 4:16 for today's invocation verse, " Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

This phrase was written by Paul in a letter addressed to the Corinthian church members, who had rejected his teachings. If we read it literally the phrase might mean: "though we are exhausted by earthly difficulties our internal power will be enforced by our faith"

However we can change our thinking by saying, "our body although weakened by age, our spiritual existence will be renewed day by day," just as Morrie indicated. Ageing allows us to concentrate on essential matters by abandoning the secondary secular things. To grow old is to threw off what is superficial for a meaningful life. No baggage. We have no need for earthly ambitions because God promises us, "I will carry you to your old age and gray hairs." So let us trust ourselves to the grace and mercy of God, throughout our life. By living such a life will make all our living days meaningful.

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*Babylonian captivity : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity
Marduke : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marduk
Bel : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel_(god)
Nebo :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebo_(god)

** Persia : a former country in southwestern Asia, now called Iran. The ancient kingdom of Persia became the domain of the Achaemenid
dynasty in the 6th century bc. Under Cyrus the Great, Persia became the center of a powerful empire that included western Asia, Egypt,
and parts of eastern Europe; it was eventually overthrown by Alexander the Great in 330 bc. The country was conquered by Muslim
Arabs between ad 633 and 651. It was renamed Iran in 1935. (American Oxford Dictionary)

*** Khallushu The Cambridge Ancient History P36
http://books.google.com/books?id=OGBGauNBK8kC&pg=RA1-PA36&lpg=RA1-
PA36&dq=Khallushu&source=web&ots=wll3Ot6QJp&sig=9gyWL610vRwOPUnj8A-vRcu-
iCY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PRA1-PA36,M1

**** Tuesdays with Morrie : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuesdays_with_Morrie

Nicodemus Visits Jesus

2008-09-13T23:55:00.001-07:00

Scripture: John 3:1-15

1. The First Encounter

Today, we celebrated with the baptism ceremony of a believer, and welcomed a new member into our congregation. Their confessions and testimonies reveal their conviction of God's love and acceptance of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. They are dedicated to following the Christian path through which they will come to experience a strong faith, while being helped and supported by teachings from the Bible.

Once Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). We contemplate today, by extrapolating from the new church members' experiences, and what it signifies more precisely, " to be born of water and the Spirit."

John chapter 3 represents the scene where Nicodemus visited Jesus for the first time. He was a man of the Pharisees, a member of the Jewish ruling council (John 3:1). So naturally he was also one of the law teachers. This man had a profound knowledge of the Jewish bible and lived a faithful life in accordance with Jewish teaching. Besides, he was a member of the ruling council, which meant that he must be from a rich family. In short, his life was apparently satisfied socially, intellectually and financially. He occupied a position where he was respected and appreciated by others. Nonetheless, he did not feel fulfilled and was always frustrated in seeking the real meaning of life.

Then he heard about this man Jesus, said to be giving outstanding and remarkable teachings by performing marvelous acts. Many Jewish people listened to His teachings and witnessed His works and miracles, like opening a blind man's eyes, or helping a crippled person to walk. Thus they commenced to consider Him to be the promised Messiah. Nicodemus too wanted to meet Jesus. He wondered if this man might be a teacher who could give him the answers to his questions about life.

For the first meeting Nicodemus avoided coming to see Jesus during day time, "He came to Jesus at night" (John 3:2). Perhaps because he thought, in consideration of social his status, it was not appropriate to be seen visiting a simple man who held no authority or official title. He cared about neighbors watching eyes, instead of God's will.

Jesus had insight into his mind and said to him, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). But Nicodemus objected, "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (John 3:4).

Nicodemus, an aged man with common sense, thought it was impossible to be born again. In original Greek the word translated into "again" was "ἄνωθεν(an'-o-then)", which has another meaning: "from above, from a higher place" or "of things which come from heaven or God"

Jesus appears to be using the word with the latter meaning. But Nicodemus did not understand its real significance. Therefore Jesus explains further, "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" （John 3：5-6).

But, Nicodemus could not yet grasp just what, "born of water and the Spirit" exactly meant.

2. The Ultimate Encounter

Jesus continued, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).

"Wind" , πνεῦμα (pnyoo'-mahhas) in Greek, means also "spirit". Wind cannot be seen by humans, nor can the spirit be seen. However we can feel the movement of the wind when it touches our skin, or by hearing the sounds of the wind. Much the same as the spirit according to Jesus. Even though we cannot know of the spirit's existence directly, we can often feel it inside of our being. By believing in the Spirit we ourselves can be changed, like today's newly baptized believer was, after experiencing years of physical and spiritual suffering. Jesus tells Nicodemus, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up" (John 3:14).

This phrase refers to the event, which happened to the Israelites after the Exodus from Egypt and wandering in the desert for forty years. The Jewish people began grumbling about their harsh conditions of life. This was interpreted by God as ungratefulness so he sent forth venomous snakes, which bit them and many of the people died (Numbers 21:6).

So Moses prayed a prayer of reconciliation on behalf of the people. Then, the Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live" So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived (Numbers 21:8-9).

As "Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up" Jesus said. That signifies that Jesus, as the Son of Man, should be lifted up high on the Cross, suffer, and ascend to heaven. Only by gazing at that Cross can humans receive the Holy Spirit from God and be born again. Because, 'everyone who believes in him may have eternal life' (John 3:16).

Yet Nicodemus could not understand what Jesus was teaching. In the Gospel according to John, Nicodemus appears three times. His second appearance is in chapter 7, during the Feast of Tabernacles. Jerusalem was filled with crowds on that particular occasion and many of them began to wonder if Jesus was the real Messiah because of His impressive teaching. Jewish authorities thought the issue would be so dangerous for them that they tried to arrest and kill Jesus. At that time Nicodemus tried to advocate in Jesus' defence before the other law teachers and pharisees. "Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, "Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing? (John 7:50-51).

However, he fell into silence when they asked him, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee" (John 7:52). Even at that moment Nicodemus, always hesitating, became again uncertain of his belief. He was not yet "born again".

But later in chapter 19, we will find him a changed man. It was the ultimate encounter, and John reports: "Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs"（John 19：38-40).

At that stage Nicodemus takes responsibility of the burial of Jesus, without fear. He did not care any longer about his social status and possessions. After all, by facing the Cross, he finally understood what those words meant, " As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up." It seems he received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost along with the other disciples. He came to recognize what Jesus taught through the expression, "born of water and the Spirit." Now, Nicodemus, after seeking for a long time had nothing to be afraid of, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

One of our new members said that he was always 'going to' confess his faith in Jesus, and I appreciate his total honesty by making that statement. In life, we humans have a way of always waiting for the right time, which never seems to arrive. By reflecting upon the path that Nicodemus followed, we come to learn that salvation is still possible for those who procrastinate and wait before confessing their faith in Jesus. Only after we make that decision can we receive the power and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our lives.

3. A New life in Christ

I have chosen a Pauline verse which concerns a baptismal theme and a new life for today's invocation. "Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:3-4).

Many among you might have seen, Ikiru (1952),* a movie directed by Akira Kurosawa. The scene is situated in post-war Tokyo. The bureaucratic chief of the department of the City Hall Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) finds that he has a terminal cancer. He decides to live intensively the last months of his life. While dying, he finds the meaning of life, and fights for the construction of a playground in a poor zone of the city and a lasting legacy of his existence.

About this film, Kurowa reportedly said, "I tried to describe how a man reflected upon his life during the last days before his death. A life which he found had no profound goals, direction or meaning." The script of the movie is based on a novel written by Leo Tolstoy,** "The death of Ivan Ilych." Ilych, like Watanabe, was a respectable citizen, a high court judge in St. Petersburg. He had a carefree life until he began to suffer from a pain in his side. His physician could not pinpoint the source of the pain, and soon it becomes clear that his condition was terminal.

After the long and painful process of death, he finally arrived to realize that all of what he possessed on the earth, like family, status, and wealth, were of no value in facing the fear of death and death itself. Yes it's completely true. Money nor family nor friends are ineffectual against death. In facing that ultimate and absolute event humans become powerless. And death must grasp all of us without exception.

Recognising that fact Shiina Rinzō (1911-1973), a Japanese novelist wrote in one of his works "My Biblical Story, "It is a dreadful truth that humans cannot live beyond death, beyond this earthly world. I was frozen before that truth." But after that he met Jesus, the resurrected Lord, and he found that a life beyond death is possible. As Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3).

We must acknowledge the above written words with genuine sincerity. If we are inflicted with a grave disease we would pay as much as we can for medicine and care, because it is a question of life or death. Nevertheless, even if that disease was cured we must die some time in the future. Therefore Jesus compels us to seek now the way which will lead to the gates of eternal life.

Nicodemus found the way after a long period of hesitation. He was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. Today we have reflected upon the significance of a spirit filled life, and warmly witnessed the fruitful and spiritually moving testimonies of our new church members, for whom we pray God's blessings. May we all continue to follow God's chosen path which leads to salvation and a new-born life.

--------------
* The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%207;&version=31;

**Ikiru
:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044741/
plot by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
http://www.imdb.com/SearchPlotWriters?Claudio%20Carvalho,%20Rio%20de%20Janeiro,%20Brazil

***The death of Ivan Ilych
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Ivan_Ilych

Living in a Non-Christian Environment

2008-09-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

Scripture: - 1 Peter 2:11-17

1. Letter to the Nomads - Then and Now
In accordance with the church calendar, we commence today by reading: 1 Peter 2:11-17. The letter claims authorship by the apostle (1 Peter 1:1), but, many interpreters doubt that the apostle was the actual author. It seems the letter was written by Silas, one of Peter's disciples, and dictated by Peter (1 Peter: 5-12).

The letter was addressed to the Jewish Christians, who were driven out of Jerusalem and scattered throughout Asia Minor. At that time, being a Christian meant automatic expulsion, segregation, and social oppression. Because a believer's lifestyle was so different from that of the non-Christian majority.

To those suffering Christians Peter said: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Let us for a moment extrapolate the conditions suffered by those early believers, to whom Peter writes, and the Japanese Christians here today. We are in similar situation to those early believers. Both are representative of an extreme minority. Christians in Japan risk certain difficulties and face oppression when we openly witness to our faith. So today, we will focus on various portions of 1 Peter, and try to reflect upon this issue of how Christians can live in a non-christian environment.

Peter tells the early believers how they should conduct themselves, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul" (1 Peter 2:11). We too are probably aliens, because just as Abraham set off from his native land after receiving God's call, we in Japan left the surrounding environment of the secular world. We became nomads because we met God through Jesus. Being baptised as a christian should be a crucial moment in our lives. However Peter's chosen words "aliens and strangers" tend to make us doubt, and wonder: "As we live within this regulated secular world, does our Christian faith remain questionable?"

To our uncertainty Peter gives the answer,"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1Peter 2:12). Non-Christians, during the time of Peter's writing, accused Christians of wrongdoing. Because believers refused to worship Roman emperors as their god. Therefore they were blamed for disrupting the social order by disobeying the authorities.

During World War II, Japanese Christians were accused in a similar way. In those days, Japanese citizens who believed in "a foreign god," were considered to be traitors. Moreover, in today's China, according to an unofficial report, Christians who do not belong to the church authorized by the government, are blamed for being evil and wicked. It is said that more than 70,000,000 Christians fall in that category.

Similar situations to the believers in Anatolia,* to whom Peter was writing, also exist here today in this present world. When one's belief is not the same as that of the majority, their very differences can cause conflict between themselves. Peter's verses above suggest ways of living for those minority groups. His teaching is based on Jesus' words: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

But, what represents good living in order to show the glory of God to non-believers? (1 Peter 2:12). It is being a respectable citizen, Peter says, and agreeing to, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right" (Peter 2:13-14).

Once Jesus said: ". . . give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Matthew 22:21).

The Pharisees plotted to entrap Jesus concerning the matter of taxes. So they sent their spys along to ask questions of Jesus: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus answered, "Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?" When they replied, "Caesar's," He said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Matthew 22:21-25).

"To give to Caesar what is Caesar's" means to respect the current law and order of the secular world. Those social structures were also established by God for the secular governing powers. So Peters teaches: "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king"（1 Peter 2:15-17).

Peter said, "For the Lord's sake" (1 Peter 2:15), submit to earthly authorities. However, though he recommended they be good citizens by obeying earthly powers and authorities, it is not without conditions. He insists on the perseverance of displaying their faith within the community, despite the oppression it may bring.

2. In the World, But Not of the World
In the following verses Peter gives advice to servants (slaves) and housewives. He says: "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh" (1 Peter 2:18). And, "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands" (1 Peter 3:1).

Masters and husbands of that period were not always kind and understanding. Sometimes they were arrogant and brutal to their wives and household staff. To some extent, they were similar to the tyrannical and cruel Emperors who ruled over their subjects. The apostle Paul taught that believers are free and equal before God, "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:27-28).

Therefore the weak and lonely believers of society came to Church. Yet the real world remained the same where sexual, social, and racial discrimination continually existed. Wives and servants (slaves) were considered to be inferior to masters. So much so, those who came to the Church and worshipped God, became fearful and frustrated. It was to those people that Peter directed his teaching.

Peter, writing in his letter recommended a submissive attitude towards servants and household staff: "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. in basing the acts of Jesus" (1 Peter 2:18-21).

This passage reinforces Peter's teaching, based on the death, resurrection and glorification of Jesus. And he suggests the submissive obedience by wives might even lead their husbands to embrace God and the Christian faith, "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives" (1 Peter 3:1).

Today I have chosen 1 Peter 2:22-24 as the invocation verse to advance our reflections: "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

Peter learned about suffering from Jesus. We may suffer for many reasons. But, Peter is writing about suffering that comes as a result of doing good. Jesus never sinned, and yet he suffered so we may be set free. When we follow Jesus' example and live our lives for others, we too may suffer. However, we must always believe that God is in control of the future.

At this point in time, I want to remind you of a prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr, widely known as ** The Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.

There are absurdities and injustice in the real world. Some of these vagaries, can change, with the help of human effort and education. But some things cannot be changed in a pacifying way. If we suffer from the latter, we ought to pray the words of the serenity prayer, and "accept the things we cannot change." Otherwise the offensive action will impact us negatively, giving rise to hate, and revengeful acts. So, its most important to have the wisdom to distinguish the difference between the two. The prayer is worth repeating, "God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference."

Once we acquire the wisdom to see the difference between the two and behave accordingly in a wise and sensible manner, our humble acceptance will set an example to those who perpetrate harm. By responding to persecution and discrimination with such humility and grace will ultimately influence and lead the offenders to behave more sensitively and responsibly.

Indeed, Peter did not compel one to accept submission by oneself, but he advises obedience with active and positive vision. That is required by today's Christians too, for those who live as a minority in a secular world. Peter implores us by saying, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing" (1 Peter 3:9).

The adoption of this attitude will avoid the vicious spiral of aggressive and dangerous reaction. If we can do it pacifically we can make a difference, and change what seems to be unfair. If not, we will accept the difficult situation caused by such unfairness, and believe they are trials given by God (1 Peter 1:6). Those who suffer for being Christians become partners with Jesus in His suffering. As we suffer, we must remember that Jesus is both our hope in the midst of suffering, and our example of how to endure suffering faithfully.

It is true that we are all free and equal in our Lord. So we should live to show that fact to the watching world by witnessing to Jesus Christ's love and conducting ourselves in concert with His teaching. In conclusion, as Christians, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" ( 1 Peter 2:9).
---------------------
*Anatolia or Asia Minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, and the bulk of the Asian mainland to the east. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolia)

**Reinhold Niebuhr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr)
Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer (http://www.geocities.com/~spiritwalk/serenityprayer.htm)

Relationships - Sinful and Loving

2008-08-30T14:57:00.001-07:00

Scripture: Matthew 5:27-32

# On the 4th Sunday of every month, Pastor Mizuguchi gives a lecture of reflections upon, "The Sermon on the Mount." This session today, is the fifth of the series.

1. Concerning Adultery

The sermon on the mount was a discourse of Jesus recorded by Matthew (chs. 5-7) as having been spoken to disciples and others in the hill country of Galilee in the early part of his ministry. It begins with a group of blessings (the Beatitudes), and then deals with social duties in a series of contrasts between the teachings of Jesus and the ancient legal traditions of the Jews.

Today's lecture from Jesus' sermon on the mount is concerning adultery and divorce. There remains many moral views and cultural positions which need to be taken into consideration. The focus of today's lecture is upon Jesus, and His teachings about these moral issues. The first antithesis is on adultery, Matthew 5:27-30). Matthew himself was Jewish, and the traditional Jewish teaching was that adultery was a sin.

Adultery can violate a neighbours right of possession, and destroy any feeling of loyalty. We can find that notion in the Old Testament record of the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) Exodus 20:14), and the following verse: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour" (Exodus 2:17).

The Bible does not denounce sexual relationships as Genesis so readily shows, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Genesis 1:27-28).

Concerning adultery, however, Jesus In Matthew 5:27-30, interprets the Decalogue's prohibition of adultery (Exod. 20:14), to condemn the predatory behaviours and structures of a patriarchal society, to curb male power, and to establish different male-female interaction.

Jesus' asserts that the marriage bond is injured even by the thought of unchastity, so that marriage is judged by its inner quality as much as by its legal form. The sayings on renunciation (vss 29-30), appear again at Matthew 18:8-9, with more consistent eschatological language. Here the offending hand or eye refers to natural desires that become uncontrollable and destroy the whole body - i.e., ruin the whole personal life.

2. Moral Issues in the Bible

There is a story about king David, who was once the most powerful king of Israel. From the bible we read,"One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing" (2 Samuel 11:2). David was immediately attracted to the woman who was very beautiful. Her name was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, a loyal soldier in King David's army. David sent messengers to bring her to him. She met with King David and slept with him. David later sent Uriah into a fierce battle, knowing he would be killed. However, the Lord sent Nathan, a most influential prophet of the time, to confront David about his behaviour.

Nathan came to David, and told him a story: "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. ... Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him." David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ... Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!"... (2 Samuel 12:1-7).
Instead of getting angry at Nathan, his preacher, for pointing out his wrong, David went to his knees in confession. Fortunately, we still have a record of that confession which saved him. It will save us too. It is the 51st Psalm.
There is another moral issue from from the bible which we can gain some insight through reading: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?'" (John 8:3-6). To the surrounding crowd Jesus said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). Jesus does not fall for the test but, instead, calls the authorities to accountability for their own past actions.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir" And Jesus said, "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:9-11).

The authorities' departure answers Jesus' challenge of verse 7. His words to the woman, urge that the freely given acquittal, become the beginning of a new life. Jesus, understanding human weakness, does not condemn us for our sins, rather, he tries to save us through confession, repentance and forgiveness.

3. Concerning Divorce & Commitment

Jesus says, "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery'" ( Matthew 5:31-32).

Deuteronomy regulates, but it neither justifies nor forbids divorce (Deut. 24:1-14). Against other permissive views, Jesus interprets it strictly to limit male power and declare that a man does not have unlimited power to dismiss or divorce a wife at his whim (Matthew 5:31-32).

Mark reported Jesus' teaching concerning separation and vows: "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.'So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate" (Mark 10:6-9).

God originally commanded man and woman to love each other with a reciprocal respect by fulfilling the task required of each other. The Apostle Paul says: "The commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law'" (Romans 13:9-10).

Here we have the thought of agape, selfless love, the debt of taxes which can be paid, recalls the debt of love, which can never be paid. Owe no one anything is a double negative in Greek, emphasising that believers should be debt-free, except with respect to love. Four times Paul defines Christian love as other-directed as opposed to self-pleasing. Love is not a feeling, but a concrete Good , specifically a "summing up" and fulfilling of the law.

Divorce can be cruel, even hurtful, for children and the adults involved. Actually in Japan, the reason for divorce for one out of every two couples, can be traced to unfaithfulness in marriage. Divorce today can be just as destructive and hurtful as in Jesus' time. Those who discover that their partner is unfaithful should first make every effort to forgive, reconcile, and restore their relationship. There are always more reasons to restore a relationship, than there are excuses to leave it.

Those who are loved by God will love others in return and will not contemplate hurting another person. They will enter into a loving relationship and live above the demands and temptations of the twenty first century, in which we live. From the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was communicating the depth of his message by using a series of contrasts between the outward demand of the law, and the inner attitude of the heart desired by God.

As Christians, we have an inner depth of character which is the product of the divine nature of God. Let us continue to love each other, authentically, in the love of the Lord, and in accordance with His teachings from the sermon on the mount.

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War and Peace

2008-08-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Scripture: Ephesians 5:11-20

1. The Old life, and the New
For the Japanese nation, August is the month of repentance. The Japanese military once invaded China, Korea, Phillipines, and a number of other Asian countries. That Military aggression and Government policy, eventually led to a full-scale war in the pacific, with other nations. Imperial Japan surrendered officially on the 15th of August, 1945. Now we, as Christians, should remember the day as the day of God's judgement and condemnation.

God punished the Japanese people for their arrogance at the time. The war changed our green and beautiful country into a burned field, and former leaders of the government were sentenced as war criminals. It was similar to the way that God punished Israel, and their land, by means of the Assyrian, and then, the Babylonian invasions.

The Japanese have sworn not to choose war as a means to resolve international conflicts, and they established a constitution, which rejects any possibility of ever keeping an armed force. Since then, sixty years have passed. Today we shall contemplate the meaning of real peace in commemoration of the signing of the constitution. The scripture reading, taken from our church calendar, is chapter 5 of Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians.

It is said that the letter was written when Paul was imprisoned in Rome. The church at Ephesus was very tiny, and struggling under the crushing rule of Gentiles. The contents of the letter were intended to encourage believers there. From chapter 4 he gives them advice about how to live in, and cooperate with, the non-christian world. He begins, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:5-6).

God is Father, not only of the Jews, but also of Greeks and Romans and others. Some considered themselves to be divine. They were in conflict, breaking the peace by seeking their own advantage egoistically. So Paul told them, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24).

And he continued to teach, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). He says they became children of light by meeting Christ. Paul thinks their living is ruled by evil. But they should live as light or salt of the earth by staying in such a world, because, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, *2 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: 'Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you'" (Ephesians 5:11-14).

We will now try to reflect upon war and peace, by referring to the above passage. Regarding peace, Jesus said: "Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52). So, if Christians as children of light become the majority, should the world become an authentically peaceful place? History tells us this will not be so.

The early church denied wars by respecting Jesus' teaching. Nonetheless, once being accorded the status of a unique official religion of the Roman Empire, it was drawn in to existing political power and wars as a means to resolve conflicts with external powers. Even worse, it began to excommunicate those who protested against such changes of principle. Because the Empire could not maintain its hegemony without support of the armed forces. Thus compromise with the earthly world sprouted, which gave birth to hypocritical expression of a "sacred war."

Combatants against the gentiles, which were considered to be necessary in order to protect the Christians living in the Roman Empire, were justified as wars for God's sake. But we know there are in no way "sacred wars." In reality all wars occur from self-centered lucrative purposes, which cause conflicts and disagreements between those who don't share the same interests.

During times of war, military leaders seek to kill more of the enemy, and solders take liberties by looting, setting fires to infrastructure, and raping helpless women. Is it possible to accept such conduct as secondary incidents? No, definitively not ! So much so, whatever the motives and the reasons, wars cannot be Justified.

Paul said, " find out what pleases the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10). God must not be pleased by any kind of war. But even if a Christian population becomes a major force, the world cannot expect peace. History and the present world, both record the reality. As we now see the US, the majority of which are Christians, still continue to wage wars.

In contrast, Japan, where the Christian population is extremely small, has not sent any combat forces abroad for sixty years. The bifurcating point was made at the time of the Japanese defeat. The victorious US could not put an end to policies which depended on military force, whereas defeated Japan remains in a state of pacification. I think that fact is very significant.

2. Prophetic Wisdom

Today's invocation verse is Isaiah 2:4, "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."

At the time when Isaiah received his calling, about 740 B.C., Assyria was on the way of getting hegemony over the ancient world. After occupying Syria, the emerging empire defeated Northern Israel, and was threatening the kingdom of Judah with a crushing military force. The people of Judah sought backup from the Egyptians: "But the Egyptians are men and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, he who helps will stumble, he who is helped will fall; both will perish together" ( Isaiah 31:3).

He thought it was useless to count on mere humans for help, "stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" (Isaiah 2:22). Nonetheless, the people of Judah would not listen to Isaiah's words, and the nation remained in a chaotic state. Isaiah was privy to God's will behind the circumstances and the power conflicts of that time.

He recognized that the world was not dominated by any strong countries like Assyria or Egypt, but by God alone, the supreme ruling power. And, Isaiah prophesies that on the last day of the world, all people of all nations will know, and they would come to Israel to seek God's peace. Today's invocation verse comes just after the passage above.

The notion of the last day, or eschatological thinking, comes from the desperation of the present situation. Isaiah sought the ultimate solution through God, because he was despairing of secular rulers, and their capacity to lead. Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4 is engraved on the UN headquarters building in New York. Countries who experienced the misery of world war II, chose the words, with the hope and determination that such a human catastrophe would never occur again.

Nonetheless, the act of engraving the words on the building will not guarantee a pacifist world. It is only when we humans recognize our boundaries and powerlessness, that real peace might be established. Isaiah predicted that the Lord would some day abandon Jerusalem because destruction of the nation and repentance of people must precede the establishment of real peace.

Japan endured such an experience in 1945, when they too, "beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks." Thanks to this very experience, Japan came close to the realization of Isaiah 's prophecy. As Paul wrote, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" ( Ephesians 4：5-6).

All nations should be united in worship of one God. But, in the real world there are wars and killings, even between Christians. Why? Because as long as we live in the earthly world we humans cannot live in peace. Because, there is always disagreements between different countries, and the practice of racism between the people. Christians too, belong to this secular world.

Karl Barth, theologian who wrote: "the Church Dogmatics" (Ger. Kirchliche Dogmatik),*2*3, contemplated the foolishness of war, and he declared clearly his stance against war. But despite that, he could not completely emancipate himself from the real world. He reportedly said, "if ever a nation and his people are felled in crucial circumstances which threaten their independence and existence, a war could be justified."

Barth, a man of such strong faith and theologically profound knowledge remained inside and part of the secular world. Though Jesus encourages us by saying, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9), it goes beyond human comprehension to follow faithfully the teaching. So much so, we come to believe in the fact that a peaceful world, without wars, will only be a reality on the last day, as Isaiah prophesied.

3. The Constitution and God's will

The preface of the Japanese present constitution, which was drawn from repentance in defeat, has this passage: "We, the Japanese people, desire peace for all time and are deeply conscious of the high ideals controlling human relationship and we have determined to preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world. "*3

However, "human relationship" is not controlled by "the high ideals" in reality. "The peace-loving peoples" don't possess "the justice and faith." It is impossible "to preserve our security and existence" by trusting human nature which is not able to stop combativeness against each other. Actually, many Japanese are insisting on the necessity of amendments for the clauses, and their understanding of the historical facts are more correct, than that of total advocates for it to remain.

But when we read again the passage in replacing "we" by "Lord" and "our" by " humans" the concept should be different. Its essence becomes very close to the passage of Isaiah's prophecy. It is not strange because the original draft was said to be written by Christian idealists, who were administrative members of the American General's Headquarters in Japan during the occupation.

It means the spirit of the constitution is founded on faith in Bible. I think our present constitution is marvelous, because its ideal is founded on the prophecy of Isaiah, " They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." Indeed it is the very gift of God. Recently more and more people evaluate and estimate highly the concept. The preface to the declaration of an international symposium upon " Article 9 " *4 was held in the May. They concluded that the article might become a symbol of world wide peace-seeking movements.

Furthermore several countries are beginning to reject probabilities of military intervention, which should ease the budget constrictions for keeping Armies. The money, land, and property originally designated to military forces can be used for social welfare or environmental protection. It is reported that all participants to the symposium discussed the issue actively and enthusiastically.

As long as we live in this world, we are obliged to live earthly lives, and we can't delete completely the probability of wars breaking out. But God can. So Paul, tells the Ephesians, " for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Epehsians 5:14).

Though we are not capable of realizing world peace, we can at least pray the words Jesus taught us to say: "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). So now let us now give thanks to God for our constitution, which is in concert with God's will.
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References:
*1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacific_War
*2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Barth
*3 http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Japan/English/english-Constitution.html#PREFACE
*4 Chapter II article 9 - http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/c01.html#s2

The Inner Conflict

2008-08-16T15:03:00.001-07:00

Scripture: Romans 7:15-25

1. The Case of Paul

Recently, a number of similar homicidal cases occurred in Japan. For example, in March, eight people were killed at a railway station. The murderer, a 25 year old man, reportedly said, "I wanted to die but I couldn't. So I thought I would be executed if I killed somebody." Then in June, seventeen people became victims of a similar incident at another railway station. The killer was of the same age of the previous case. And in July, at a cooperative building,there was another outbreak of violence. The aggressor who wounded and killed visitors to the building said, "I did it because I was frustrated with the poor conditions and miserable situation of my job."

These terrible events have two elements in common: targets were chosen at random and all were motivated by frustrated people with psychiatric disorders.* And some specialists analysing the reasons behind this phenomena say it is because of the present system of employment in Japan. Its a system which will not secure or guarantee the employees future level of living.

Being split between the social classes causes more and more difficulties for the younger generation. Unemployment without social security is increasing due to more relaxed administrative controls on hiring regulations. Generally in Japan, societies and companies prefer to recruit young people with newly acquired certificates and recent school educational achievements.

So, if those seeking employment fail to get an adequate full-time position, working conditions for them would only be temporary or casual. Such casual or temporary employment does not often attract social insurance, and increases in the rates of pay are not guaranteed. So much so, even though they work hard, their living conditions become worse as their age advances. They become frustrated with such circumstances, but they cannot find a way out of this dilemma. Extremely frustrated, some are driven to take some form of action, such as criminal aggression against those who they perceive to be representative of the society in which they suffer.

Indeed, there are pains and sufferings in all of our lives, some of which we can't explain, find the cause, or the solutions. Death, illness, poverty or falling victim to violent aggression the streets, for example. When we encounter such situations, which go beyond the limit of our capacity to cope, we feel lost. What should we do when facing such disastrous incidents, how can we control these inner conflicts? * Today, we will seek probable answers by reading Paul's letter, addressed to the Romans, 7:15-25. Paul wrote this letter while he was enduring his own particular kind of inner conflict, as if he too had reached the boundary of his understanding.

He says: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.... I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing" (Romans 7:15 -19). Christians often experience a divided self: They know and will good, but are unable to do it. Then we almost hear his crying voice, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24). The eloquent testimony of two simultaneous realities in the Christian life: the wretchedness of sin and evil and the ecstasy of grace through Jesus Christ our lord.

What put him into such a distressed state, and how could he free himself from it? Let's take a glance at his personal background. Paul's personal testimony: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today" (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was a Pharisee and famous scholar of the Law. Paul also said, "I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14).

Paul's extreme and zealous adherence to Judaism led him to play an important role as an oppressor of early Christians, who seemed to neglect the observances of the law. Because they worshiped a man who died on the cross, a person considered to be damned by God in accordance with the Jewish teaching. He went so far as to use violent methods against them: "Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison" (Acts 8:3).

Paul had a crucial experience on the road to Damascus which led to his conversion, "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked." I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting'" (Acts 9:3-5).

Details are written in Acts chapter 9, but we don't know exactly what happened. We can only believe that Paul saw resurrected Jesus. It was that very event, when he met the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus, that changed Paul from a former persecutor, to an evangelist of Christianity.

Paul, by straining in his human capacity to be upholding of the law, found himself powerless. He says in his letter to the Romans, "For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members" (Romans 7:22-23).

But Paul declares that the spirit's victory over sin and death is assured. "because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man" (Romans 8:2-3). What humanity cannot do because of the impotence of human nature and the law, God has done, by sending his own son.

2. Martin Luther's case

Martin Luther, theologian and church reformer, had a similar experience to Paul. ** After years of studies in schools he decided to become a monk. Luther dedicated himself to monastic life, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimage, and frequent confession. Luther tried to please God through this dedication, which was common thinking among monks of the period. But Luther found that such a way of devotion only increased his awareness of his own sinfulness. He became extremely conscious of his sinful existence, which caused him to see God as a Judge, filled with anger. Then a light, or a revelation, came to him. It is often called "Luther's Tower Experience," because when the light broke upon him he was studying Romans 1:17 in the heated room of the tower of the Black Cloister in Wittenberg .

Through this marvelous experience he came to believe that humans could be saved by the passive righteousness that God freely gives to those who believe in God. The sinner is justified (declared righteous) by God through faith in the work and death of Jesus, not by our work or keeping of the Law.

This recognition accorded him some tranquility. As long as we seek righteousness through observance of the law, or good behaviour, God becomes a God of anger and judgement. But once we call on God's name, and forget our self-righteousness, God becomes that of mercy, rather than judgement. After having read the Gospel under the heaven-filled light, Luther become a reformer.

Luther tells us that God is hidden from our sight, Deus absconditus. ** When we seek Him through selfishness, we find a God of anger, and we lose hope. Then we become aware of calling upon His name, and we meet the God of love, who sacrificed His own unique son for our salvation. Only when we meet that God will we have peace in accordance with the Gospels.

Experiences of Paul and Luther teach us that humans cannot always see their own limitations. Without knowing the human boundary one becomes arrogant and considers themselves to be capable of dealing with everything. But, in all crises, the human boundary is tested. For someone it might be being jobless, illness, or death of loved ones. Or some of us may experience conflict and splits within the family. Facing such harsh situations we become stressful and call upon God's name. Thus, in those circumstances we come to meet God, who gives us peace of mind.

In contrast, instead of surrendering ourselves to God, if we express our pain or anger toward other people, we risk committing a criminal offence. We must present ourselves, just as we are, filled with suffering or anger, and find our refuge in the ever loving God. Like Paul and Luther, we need to surrender and trust in God.

3. Wretchedness of Sin, Ecstasy of God's Grace

I chose 2 Corinthians 7:10 as today's invocation verse: "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

The church at Corinth was given birth through Paul's preaching ministry, and the number of believers increased. However as the time passed, church members commenced to drift away from Paul's original teachings. Though Paul revisited the church and tried to rectify the problems, nothing changed. Some believers went so far as to blame Paul. Paul, inflicted with pain and depression, went back to Ephesus and wrote a letter addressed to the Corinthians, which is now called his 'letter of tears' or the painful letter. In the letter Paul accuses those who have insulted him. Within the contents there are passages which suggest that those ungrateful people should be expelled from the church. The Corinthians, having read the letter, apologised and changed their attitude, and ways of thinking. So Paul was filled with joy because of the unexpected result .

The verse above was written under such circumstances. He says the sorrow which inflicted them was Godly sorrow, because it leads them to repentance and reconciliation. There are two natures in sorrow, one is in concert with God's will, and the other is not. The latter pushes us toward death. The sorrow experienced by the Corinthians was simply, "Godly sorrow."

That doesn't mean there are two different types of sorrow, but there are two different ways to enbrace it. We undergo painful experiences in our life, one after another. If we think that they occur in accordance with God's will, doors will open, because trials provided by God should lead into a new life. If we consider them to be mere unhappy incidents, those sufferings and pains may even destroy us. If we take the latter attitude we risk committing a violent or criminal act. As for the aggressors about whom I talked before, If they had known Paul's words they might have changed their behaviour, and not gone on to commit a crime.

Paul and Luther also could identify God's anger as long as they sought Him through their own efforts. But once they resigned their self-confidence, surrendered, and looked for God's mercy, they met the God of Grace. The same experience can be shared by ordinary humans like us, its not reserved only for those extraordinary, historical figures.

Indeed, I find similar testimonies written in many brochures issued by Christian organizations, people who found the God of mercy through their painful trials. There are innumerable Christians who have passed through the same process to meet the God of love. People who have been blessed by God can testify to His wonderful saving power. Thanks to God's mercy we are dead to sin, but we are alive in Grace. So we must continue to witness and spread the good news of the Gospel all over the world.
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The Inner Conflict: * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Jaspers
Martin Luther: **http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther#Early_life_and_the_development_of_his_ideas
http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/luther.htm

Divisions in the Church

2008-08-08T23:58:00.001-07:00

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

1. Apollos and Paul, Models
Even though the Church represents the body of Christ, conflicts and disagreements still occur. This often results in the dispersion of people originally called by God to worship at a particular church. The word church came from "ekklēsia " in Greek, which means being called and assembled. As the etymology indicates, it should be the place where people, called by Jesus, come together and listen to God's word. Then, ideally, each one goes forth to spread the good news of the Gospels.

Conflicts and disagreements still occur within the church. The reasons for conflict, disagreement, and ultimate separation is not usually because of theological misunderstandings or from teachings, rather the causes flow from human relationships, something which is more commonly associated with the secular world.

Why do such disputes and quarrels occur among believers in the Church? How should we deal with such incidents? Today we will seek some answers by turning to Paul's letter to the Corinthians, which reveals the problems and causes of similar cases within the early church. "For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?" (1 Corinthians 3:4).

The church of Corinth was founded in about 51 C.E., from the fruits of Paul's preaching ministry. Paul stayed there for one and a half years to establish the church, and before going to Ephesus, he then entrusted the church to his colleague, Apollos. Apollos was a man from Alexandria in Egypt, who was very talented in rhetoric and erudite in the Jewish Bible, so his speeches attracted many listeners. People, being drawn to Apollos, began to consider him as the leader of the church.

On the other hand there were believers who thought such a tendency was a false one, and strongly opposed the followers of Apollos. It is said that Apollos not only possessed good speaking skills, but he was also very handsome. In contrast some believers thought that Paul's speeches were not fluent, and they were often difficult to understand. "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing" (2 Corinthians 10:10).

The church members at Corinth compared the two by their appearance, and their ways of preaching, then expressed their preference to Apollos or Paul. It seems that another group existed also, which followed Peter's (Cephas) teaching, "Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours" (1 Corinthians 3:22). The Corinthians were using so-called worldly wisdom to evaluate their leaders and teachers. Under such circumstances the conflicts within the Corinthian church became serious, and in a matter of time it came to the attention of Paul.

Every time I read chapter 3 of 1 Corinthian, I breath a sigh of sadness, by recognizing that even after receiving baptism humans do not change their behaviors. Disturbance within the Christian church is not only confined to history. Similar problems occur even in today's church. For example, on an occasion of the retirement of an old Pastor. Some church members become unhappy, because they cannot adjust to the teachings of newly nominated leader. So, they commence to grouch by saying, "The good old days..." In contrast those who appreciate the new Pastor, criticise the disgruntled members who favour the old methods. Thus, members split into two different groups within the church.

When I was learning in the Baptist Theological School, one of my teachers said: "when you become a Pastor you will have difficulties with believers for five years. The members of your church will feel uneasy, because they have been ministered to by your predecessor in a completely different way. Only when believers who have received baptism from you become the majority of the church, will you begin feel comfortable within your church.

That is a very severe and practical comment, but in truth, its the reality. Indeed, it may be true, but it should not remain so. Paul indicates that it is normal for conflicts and disagreements between believers, because they are only humans. And he writes, "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:3).

You, having received the baptism of Christ, are no longer just flesh but also of Spirit. At the moment when you were baptized, your civil status was moved into God's kingdom, even though you are living in this earthly world. So, why do you live a life similar to other secular people? Why then, did Jesus put Himself on the Cross? That is the way in which Paul questions and accuses Corinthians.

2. The True Wisdom of God
Paul suggests the ideal spiritual person, is someone marked and guided by the spirit. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Non-Christians cannot understand God, and they cannot grasp the concept that God's spirit lives in believers.

Previously Paul wrote regarding the wisdom of God, " . . . but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God' (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). The one without the Spirit is unable to accept the Cross, and the Salvation it offers, because in accordance with their secular knowledge, the cross is illogical and foolish.

In order to understand the Cross and salvation, we need the power of the Spirit. The believers of the Corinthian church became christians by receiving that Spirit. Nonetheless, whilst possessing the Spirit, many of them appeared to remain in a state of infancy. " Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready" (1 Corinthians 3:1-2).

Believers who can eat solid foods means those who have grown, and matured in the faith and are in tune with God's desires. But, many of those who attended the Corinthian Church, were unhealthy and inmature in their knowledge and faith. They did not understand that the church is a meeting place for the body of Christ. Paul, Apollos, or any other preacher in attendance are simply servants of Christ. Therefore, due to their misunderstanding, conflicts among the followers of certain preachers or advocates of different factions occurred.

"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow" (1 Corinthians 3:5-6).

It is God who really establishes the Church, not Paul nor Apollos. Paul wanted them to understand that the church cannot develop under the influence of human likes and dislikes. We are not called by God to express our admiration for certain preachers or leaders. Therefore, Paul appeals to the Corinthian believers to grow and mature in the faith, and learn the true wisdom of God.

3. The Ministry of Reconciliation
Today's invocation verse is from: 2 Corinthians 5:19, ". . . that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." Paul exhorts his audience to accept this reconciliation brought about by Christ's acceptance of the fullness of human reality, including the penalty of sin.

In our Baptist Theological School, we are now preparing the curriculum for the second semester, which begins in October. It features a series of open lectures based on the role of believers in the church. Fifteen lecturers take part according to their own speciality, by reading the common text, "Religion and the Christian Faith"(1956). The book, was written by Hendrik Kraemer (1888 -1965), a Dutch Reformed Theologian, linguist, and a student of Christian mission.

Kraemer came to Japan 47 years ago, and at the moment of his departure from Japan, he gave a message to the Japanese Christians: "Your life is splitting into two parts, religious and secular. But the faithful life can be authentic by staying within the ordinary daily life." He invoked the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:10-23, about the freedom and rights of an Apostle, and in closing he said, "We need an attitude of seeing, in accordance with the way in which others see." Furthermore, Kraemer said, "I can't understand why Japanese christians, in spite of their extremely small percentage (1% of the whole population), cannot remain in harmony. They are always disputing and quarreling with each other."

Hendrik Kraemer also observed that churches are not influential or powerful enough to take action against the world, because they do not make the effort to carry-out their God-given mission, due to internal disputes and quarrels. Even though the book was written fifty years ago the contents remain fresh and relevant. Just as the problems of the early Corinthian church remains a convincing study of what is happening here today.

Jesus Prayed, "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one" (John 17:11). Jesus' message is for us to remain as one in the world, and be witnesses to His love in our daily life by spreading His teachings. Paul also wrote in his letter to the church at Corinth, " . . . whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God" (1 Corinthians 3:22-23).

The church must be established through agreement and collaboration between Pastors and believers. The role of believers is to communicate the Gospels to the external world, and the Pastor's task is to educate and support them spiritually, as Paul says, " . . . to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:12). Once the Pastor becomes the core of the church, members have a tendency to forget Christ's presence. That is what happened in the Corinthian church. Hence Paul wrote, "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians 1:13).

The pivotal existance of the Church is Christ. ". . . all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God" (1 Corinthians 3:22-23), which I pray is the ideals of this church. Paul says that both life and death are ours. While non-believers are victims of life, swept along by its current, wondering if there is any meaning or purpose to it. Paul called the Corinthian church, "the church of God" and its members "sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy" (1 Corinthians 1:1-2), even though they were split and divided within, with repetitive quarrels and disputes.

We too are called by Christ, and invited to listen to God's words, then to spread them into each given place. It is not the time for conflict and disagreements. Diverse people are called to the Church. But all are the same, equal as one, under the guidance and wisdom of our Lord. We should consolidate the church through the ministry of reconciliation, and set off to evangelise the world. We are assembled here today in a sense, free from the world, but to serve the world, by staying in the world, and witnessing for Jesus.
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References:

*http://digilib.bu.edu/mission/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26:kraemer-hendrik-1888-1965&catid=18:j2l

http://www.roxborogh.com/Biographies/biokraemer.htm

Righteousness and Reconciliation

2008-08-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

Scripture : Matthew 5:21-26

# On the 4th Sunday of every month, Pastor Mizuguchi gives a lecture of reflections upon, "The Sermon on the Mount." This session today, is the fourth of the series.

1. The Prohibition of Violence

Jesus' long discourse known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is so named because He taught His disciples and the crowds that followed Him from a mountainside at the beginning of His public ministry (Matthew 5:1). Continuing to focus upon the Sermon on the Mount, we are reading today from Matthew 5:21-26. Here, Jesus, interprets the prohibition of murder in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:13) to apply to the destruction of people with violent and publicly abusive anger. In relation to Judgement, Jesus likens anger to murder.

The Old Testament book of Leviticus sets out a code for law-court Judges: "If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of someone's animal must make restitution—life for life" (Leviticus 24:17-8). This is not an endorsement of personal vengeance. In effect, it is saying that punishment should fit the crime, but it should not go beyond that. This is the law of proportional punishment, a formula often found in human communities throughout history. Speaking about the law of God, Jesus previously said, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven " (Matthew 5:20). Jesus was saying that his listeners needed a different kind of righteousness, for example, love and obedience.

Meanwhile, as long as we do not physically take the life of another person, we can pretend to abide by the law. But, Jesus, in the following verses is linking anger and murder, suggesting a comparable punishment and judgement: "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell'" (Matthew 5:21-22).

"To be angry with his brother" means to feel hatred, hostility or bitterness toward others. To say to his brother, 'Raca' (meaning empty one or fool in Aramaic), is openly signifying hostile feelings. Such strong feelings and harsh expressions only lead to more anger, which often leads to violence. James says, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about a righteous life that God desires" (James 1:19-20).

The natural human instinct to be aggressive might cause one to become violent, which often leads to extreme and unacceptable physical behaviour. Jesus, interprets the prohibition of murder in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:13) to apply to the destruction of people with violent and publicly abusive anger, and dismissing them to hell. killing is a terrible sin, but anger is also an offence, because it violates God's command to love.

2. Liable to Judgement

The majority of us can easily comply with God's command, "You shall not murder" ( Exodus 20:13). But, if being angry with someone will attract a similar judgement to that of murder, we all stand condemned. Some may wonder why Jesus made this comparison between murder, anger, and judgement. The simple answer is that anger toward brothers, with an attitude that insists on the righteousness of oneself, only breeds contempt, which ultimately leads to physical violence.

One example is that of Cain and Abel in the Old Testament book of Genesis, "Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour" (Genesis 4:2-5).

The Bible does not reveal the reason why God favoured Abel. Indeed the world is filled with absurdities which humans are unable to explain logically. The fact that Abel received God's favour, and Cain did not, is hard to understand. So much so, Cain became angry and hated Abel. Seeing Cain's reaction God says, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it" (Genesis 4:6-7).

Despite God's words, and through anger, Cain killed Abel. Cain's aggressive feelings toward his brother resulted in a clear case of murder. I can give you another example from the famous play, Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare. Shakespeare used the same psychological procedure in the scene of Tibalt's murder. Romeo endured Tibalt's insulting behaviour, because Romeo and Juliet were recently married by the Franciscan Friar Lawrence, and Tibalt was a cousin of Juliet.

But Mercutio, one of Romeo's friends, without the knowledge of their marriage, accused Romeo as a coward and fought a duel with Tibalt on Romeo's behalf. When Marcutio was killed in the duel, Romeo unveiled his anger and stabbed his sword into Tibalt's chest to revenge his friend. This incident exposes the tragedy, in which Romeo and Juliet, being led by destiny, come to their respective deaths. This is just another case where feelings of anger provoked a murder.

So from the Old Testament writings of Leviticus we read, " Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. . . ." (Leviticus 19:17-18).

3. Reconciliation

Jesus seeks the essence of the law by retracing the feelings of the humans heart. And it is only God who can see the profound complexity of the humans mind. Therefore Jesus requires us to return the 'right to judge', back to God. And He said, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).

In the above verses, it is not a question of who is right or wrong. The focus is on the existence of conflict which split the two brothers. Even if he considers himself to be right, he must reconcile with his brother before offering the gift. Until he does so, his conscience should prevent him from going to the Temple.

Jesus says, "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" (Matthew 5:25-26).

A few days ago I heard on the TV news a story about a murder which occurred in a restaurant. The incident happened when a drunken client complained about the owner-chef's cooking. He became aggressive with the owner, not only verbally, but also physical, by kicking the chairs, for example. When he left the restaurant, a regular client followed and challenged him. The quarrel escalated into the exchange of blows. The client who was hostile to the restauranteur, struck his head on the ground, and died a few hours later.

This is yet another death provoked by anger. In each instance, pausing for the act of reconciliation could have prevented the untimely deaths of those mentioned in the the various stories.

4. Following Jesus

I chose Ephesians 2 :14-16 as today's invocation verses: "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility." The writer is Paul, addressing the church at Ephesus, and all believers, about the necessity of being one-in-Christ.

Jesus compels us to promote reconciliation, even if we think we are right. But it is extremely difficult for us to behave this way. Too often we insist on our righteousness, and refuse to resign the build-up of attitude and hatred. Only Jesus breaks down the walls of prejudice, reconciles all believers to God, and unifies us in one body. Because of Jesus' death, we are all one. Our hostility has been put to death (Ephesians 2:16).

Although the need to follow Jesus is great, the cost can also be huge. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran Pastor, wrote: "Nachfolge (The Cost of Discipleship)"**, translated into Japanese and compiled in the book entitled, "Following Christ". In that work, through his interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, he sought to find ways of living which would allow others to follow Christ.

When Hitler took power in Germany, many German churches commenced to praise him as the liberator-restorer of Germany. But, Bonhoeffer recognized Hitler's demoniac nature. He founded the Confessing Church with other members in order to resist Nazism. He wrote books and papers to show the German people how to combat evil by following Jesus.

Bonhoeffer was arrested and executed by the Gestapo, and his written works were burned. But, despite all of those incidents, his words were inherited by his advocates, and continue to be read all over the world. By following Jesus we can be emancipated and freed from the evil of the earthly world, and then become servants to the world in His name.

The background to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, was the hatred between two families, Montagy and Capilet. Although the two families came to recognise the reasons behind the tragedy, and become receptive to reconciliation - it was too late for the young couple.

Jesus' words brings forth the truth: "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24). Our attitudes toward others often reflect our relationship with God.

Christ gave the Sermon on the Mount, and then went on to shed His blood on the Cross of Calvary. Therefore we also, in bearing the Cross, listen to His words, and follow Him. So now, let us abandon any thoughts of self-righteousness or expressions of ill-feeling or negativity towards anyone. Instead, follow in Jesus' footsteps, and listen to His words from the Sermon on the Mount, as he teaches his followers and believers everywhere, about righteousness, anger and reconciliation.

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reference
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhöffer
** The Cost of Discipleship (1948 in English). Touchstone edition with introduction by Bishop George Bell and memoir by G. Leibholz, 1995 paperback: ISBN 0-684-81500-1. Critical edition published under its original title Discipleship: John D. Godsey (editor); Geffrey B. Kelly (editor). Fortress Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8006-8324-2 (from wikipedia)

The Meaning of Sharing Communion

2008-07-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

Scripture - 1 Corinthians 11: 23-29

1. Distorted form of Communion in Corinth

After the successful series of lectures from John's letters, we now revert back to the normal program in accordance with the church calendar. Today's given verses are from, 1 Corinthians 11: 23-29.

Through the writings of his letter, addressed to the Corinthians, Paul tried to rectify the way with which they observed their worship service. Concerning Holy Communion, there are different views and opinions about the establishment and observance of this commemoration in the early church.

One is the passage from Luke 22:19-20, which describes the Last Supper shared between Jesus and the Apostles: "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." Jesus asked the disciples to eat the broken bread "in remembrance of me." He wanted them to remember His sacrifice, the basis for forgiveness of sins, and also His friendship that they could continue to enjoy through the work of the Holy Spirit.

And Paul draws from the same source of that record, "For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.'" In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

As you can see the phrases in the letter are almost similar to those of Luke. In Old testament times, God agreed to forgive people's sins if they brought animals for the priests to sacrifice. The agreement between God and man was sealed with the blood of animals (Exodus 24:8). But animal blood did not remove sin, because only God can forgive sin. Jesus instituted a "new covenant, " or agreement between humans and God. Jesus would die in the place of sinners. Unlike the blood of animals, His blood, would truly remove the sins of all who placed their faith in Him. At the last supper, the disciples became the model of Holy Communion, a new covenant-making event, which called upon his disciples to fully observe the new covenant sacrifice provided by Jesus through His own death.

Many Christians think the origin of Communion is through sharing of food among many people, a sort of fellowship meal, which we sometimes have after the service. Perhaps this is based on the episode that Jesus feeds numerous people with very small amounts of food (Mark 6:30-44). Actually, Communion seems to be observing a combination of the two in the early church. Believers came to the church with their own food and ate them together after the worship service. But Paul's letter reveals that the Corinthians practiced this observance in an outrageous manner at that time.

In that era, Corinth was a major cosmopolitan city, a seaport and large trade centre. It was filled with idolatry and immorality. Paul established this church on his second missionary journey. People who belonged to different social statuses were all mixed together. So, financially, their living conditions were very diverse. The worship service, including Communion, might be observed in the evening because there were many members who worked during the day. Communion could also have been shared after the worship service in the homes of rich people, because many dedicated places, such as church buildings, were non-existant.

However the rich Corinthians assembled early in the evening, eating bread and drinking wine brought by themselves, before the poor people arrived. Poor and hungry believers were often left without food or wine, which prevented them from observing the commemoration of the Lord's supper. When Paul heard about the situation he writes with anger, "When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk" (1 Corinthians 11:20-21).

He chastises those who dare to eat the food, and drink the wine remorselessly, without inviting the poor believers. He condemns such conduct which did not deserve to bear the name of Communion. In Greek language the church is, "ekklēsia", which means more exactly, "assemble" or call together. The church is the place where believers call upon God's name. They are called there to get together and share bread and wine dedicated to God. The act of sharing bread means sharing Christ's body, and the drinking of wine is sharing Christ's blood, all of which unites the people in faith. Nonetheless, in the church at Corinth, the rich simply organised parties for their own selfish purposes, and excluded the poor from the table.

2. Conflicts concerning Holy Communion

The selected passage from the letter reveals disagreements between several factions in the Corinthian church, which caused undesirable conflicts concerning Communion. For example, the rich prevented the poor from sharing meals. They could have misunderstood the fundamental role of the church and the significance of Communion. So Paul says, "Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

Communion, being an act of faith, commemorating Christ's death on the cross for our sins, is completely different from sharing a simple meal. Paul emphasizes that if we eat and drink without giving thanks to God, we are not practising Jesus' teaching. Even today, disagreements have occurred within the United Church of Christ in Japan, concerning those who are considered qualified to receive Communion. Some member-churches, from previous times, allowed any attendant of the service to share Communion, even non-baptized people.

The attitude of others is that Communion should be received exclusively by baptized Christians. In the latter part of the scripture verse from which we read today, Paul gives the expression, "A man ought to examine himself." The committee concluded through repeated discussion that the expression signifies, 'a man ought to examine himself, whether he is baptized or not. So, the consequence was that, Pastors who have allowed non-baptized people to share the Communion were expelled from the United Church.

Indeed, by considering the context, their way of interpretation is not convincing. Paul's letter was written under circumstances in the Corinthian church where Communion was not shared correctly between believers. It was monopolized by the rich. So much so, Paul asked those rich people to be conscious of their attitude which betrays the faith, moreover, condemning them of the practise.

And we of the Japan Baptist Convention churches, have similar disagreements about Communion. But, now there are more and more churches accepting non-baptized people for Communion. In reality, no one is worthy to take the Lord's supper. We are all sinners saved by grace. This is why we should prepare ourselves for communion through healthy introspection, Confession of sin, and resolution of differences with others.

Now, I extend today's reflection concerning Communion, to focus on the question: "whether the church should take any decisions, by rejecting opinions advocated by opposing members."

3. Church Building Projects

I chose 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 as today's invocation verses: "Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

As the church is an assembly of humans there should be different opinions and ways of thinking. It is normal because each believer has their own cultural base, social state, or religious background. However, differences should not be sources of conflicts, at least within the church. That should be the nature of the church. Whereas in the secular world the majority normally makes decisions. The greater the numbers of supporters cannot necessarily represent righteousness and faith.

Besides, if we decide everything only by respecting the democratic rules, the minority will not feel at ease. The church must be a place where the minority should also feel comfortable, because Jesus died for their sake too. Paul said to Christians in Corinth, "Everything is permissible but not everything is constructive." He must mean that they should take a direction which leads the church into spiritual unity, not in an upsetting and destructive way.

What we should seek through prayer is to realize God's will, not our own ideals. If long discussion does not lead to a unanimous agreement, we should consider it to be a God's will, and have the courage to postpone the ultimate decision until further notice.

With the construction of church buildings in Japan, conflicts and harsh disagreements often occur. Naturally such projects needs substantial funds, which might demand considerable contributions from all members of the church. Depending upon the income and wealth of the members, that could be a burden for some.

In many cases, those who originally opposed the construction of a new church building, leave the fellowship upon its completion. Once the minority become unhappy within God's place of worship, it is no longer Christ's church. We must continue discussions until all members willingly support the project. If we cannot arrive at a mutual agreement, the project should be changed or amended. This Shinozaki church was built 35 years ago. The building needs refurbishing, with various upgrades of materials, and additions, which will ultimately help to reinforce and protect the building against earthquakes.

Therefore we organized this year, a church reconstruction committee, and the first meeting was held last week. On that occasion we all agreed that the priority is to avoid any risks which might destabilize the spiritual unity of the church. If certain matters begin to provoke disagreements, we would prefer to adjourn the project.

In the secular world we will find disputes which breed hatred, the work place, schools, and even in the home. It is because we, simple humans, have a tendency to reject others who will not agree with our opinions and ways of thinking. But Jesus says, "Not so with you." (Matthew 20:26)

While the Christian church has been under oppression from of Jewish authorities, it became itself the oppressor of Jewish people when it obtained the status of an exclusive official religion in the Roman empire. And even today we have not changed. In USA there are churches which refuse the worship service conjoining whites and blacks. In Japanese churches we find prejudicial thinking with regard to foreign believers. But Jesus says, "Not so with you." And we, by listening to His words continuously, should be changed, and empowered to make this church grow and mature with such a hope.

From 1876 to 1877, Professor William Smith Clark,* spent eight months in Japan, at the Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University), as the founding vice-president. He taught his students not only academic subjects in science, but also lectured on the Bible as an "ethics" course, introducing Christian principles. His famous quote "Boys, be ambitious" is well known, but unfortunately, only in an abridged form. The original one is, "Boys, be ambitious in Christ." So now you understood what Dr. Clark really wanted to say. Our ambition is to serve the world by spreading the Good News of the Gospels. Once the church spirit is consolidated by standing firm with the same ambition, conflicts and disagreements will cease. It is that very ambition that we must seek.
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reference:
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Smith_Clark

Faith conquers the world

2008-07-20T14:05:00.001-07:00

Scripture: 1 John 5:1-21

1. To love God, is to love all humans.
We continue today with the 6th session of the lecture series from John's epistles. Normally we choose passages from the Bible for the Sunday service in accordance with the Church calendar. However, as an exception, we programmed this session. It is because of an incident which happened in our former preaching place, Maihama. A schism occurred, and we had no other choice than to preside over its closure. I thought we needed to contemplate what exactly is the nature of the issue from a theological point of view.

A similar case had taken place in the early church, of which John wrote in his epistles. So I wanted to reflect upon John's letters, to discover how and why conflicts and discords arise among church members, who had faithfully shared in the experience of baptism and the Lord's communion.

John's letters show that those who followed unconventional thinking, later called Gnostics, disturbed the church, then left. According to archives they rejected the divinity of Jesus as Christ by saying "Christ's body was not human, but either a phantasm or of real but celestial substance, and that therefore his sufferings were only apparent." The doctrine is called Docetism. And against that attitude John wrote: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well" (1John5:1).

Naturally humans love their parents, who gave birth to them, and their brothers and sisters who were born from the same parents. A very normal feeling for humans. And a similar feeling is found among church members who believe they are called and saved into the family of God. John explains the nature of that feeling of affection by referring to God's command: "This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:2-3).

Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). And again He reinforces the meaning, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Those who love God should also love their brothers and sisters in the faith, because it is commanded by Jesus.

And John writing in his epistle, 1 John 5:2-3, says it is not difficult to observe these commands. But is that really so? Even faithful people like John could not conceal his disappointment towards the former church members: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (1 John 2:19).

Indeed, Jesus compels us to love our enemies. But its difficult to love and forgive those who blame us. Then why does John say, in a sense, it is not hard to love anybody? Because the love of God, 'agape', comes from faith. Whereas our human nature cannot lead us to love our enemies, but real faith does. John tells us, " . . . for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4-5).

For the epistle writer, the world or cosmos is the realm of darkness and death which opposes God, and salvation is the state of being emancipated, before entering into the kingdom of light and life. John expresses the passage of states in active words as " to conquer the world."

2. Faith overcomes the world
Today's invocation verse is John 16:33: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

The world at that time hated and condemned Jesus to death on the Cross. They merely killed Jesus - that they could do. But, God brought Him back to life. Jesus was resurrected and lives within our hearts, and allows us to share in His victory, by helping us to overcome the world.

But what does it mean to overcome the world? Please remember last Sunday, when we reflected upon the preaching of Dr. King. Dr King was a Pastor in Atlanta and was imprisoned due to his anti-black-segregation activities. The society of whites discriminated, oppressed and enslaved blacks. Nevertheless, black community maintained their courage based on their faith in Christ, and declared their human right for freedom.

To such enemies Dr. King appealed: "We put our power to endure against your force of oppressing us. Do continue to abuse us with what you want. Then we continue to love you. We won't observe your unfair laws, so send us to prison. Nevertheless we continue to love you. Do send masked aggressors into our house to beat us to death. Still we continue to love you. But, remember, we erode you with our power to endure. Some day we shall win our freedom. It is not only for our sake but for yours too. Because, in the process of seeking to win, we will win your conscience too. Thus our victory should be twofold." *

Dr. King was free from the earthly wisdom which makes us hate our enemies. He overcame the world. Whereas some whites assassinated Dr. King in 1968, the US government established Dr. King's birthday, 15th January, as a national public holiday. Even though his body was eliminated by white men with bullets, he still won the world.

3. Stand steadily on the faith of the Cross and the Resurrecton
Even we could conquer the world by believing in Jesus, because He gives us the force to do so. We receive that force through the cross of Christ. John emphasises, "This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood" (1 John 5:6). "Water" is the water of baptism. Jesus received the Spirit through baptism by John the Baptist, then he commenced His ministry.

In contrast Gnostics insisted that the holy Spirit left Jesus so that the man who had suffered on the cross was not Christ, but Jesus of Nazareth. To refute the theory, John gives importance to the element of blood as much as to spirit and water, in order to stress that God's Son irrefutably bled to death: "This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement" (1 John 5:6-8).

Then he continues, "Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:10-12).

Those who did not have faith in salvation through the Cross, left the church, exposing their attitudes, which John interprets to be a refusal of God's invitation, as if God were a betrayer. Besides he says: "If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that" (1 John 5:16).

"There is a sin that leads to death," (1 John 5:16), is a passage which should challenge those who reject the fact, " . . . that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

So, does John wish his opponents to pass on to perdition? Even such a faithful man seems to remain in the human realm. Indeed, attaching ourselves to Jesus is the unique way to real life. But, rejection of the line which connects us to Jesus, could lead to perdition.

Up until today we continued to read from John's letters for 6 sessions, and I am very glad we were able to achieve that. Our core of faith is the gratefulness for the fact that God's Son died for our sake. This series of lectures allowed us to confirm again this point of fact. We started the series under the circumstances of closure of our preaching place, Maihama, because at that very moment we were very upset. We have now arrived at the result, which is to recognize that we continue to stand firm in our belief in the Cross and the Resurrection.

The incident of Maihanma caused us problems. Nonetheless, that showed us the grace of God, as John's letters revealed. To some extent, thanks to the schism in the earl church of which he wrote, we today are able to read the outcome. I think we could suggest that we have experienced a great providential sign from God.

Before finishing the speech I want refer to Joseph's story in the Genesis. Joseph, his father Jacob's youngest and most beloved son, was envied by his brothers. So much so, they sold Joseph as a slave when they went to Egypt. Nevertheless, Joseph, through several trials, became a leader in Egypt. Then he saw his brothers who came again to Egypt, a very fertile country, when a famine quickly devastated the neighbouring regions.

To those brothers Joseph says: "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance" (Genesis 45:4-7).

God's power changes human evil into good. It was human evil too that provoked a schism in early church of which John wrote in his epistles. The financial difficulties in the Maihama preaching place resulted in the separation of members, a seemingly unhappy event at the time, which led us to read and contemplate John's letters. Those readings combined with the successive Sunday meetings, allowed us to confirm the fundamentals of our faith. So now, let us give thanks to God's Grace.
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references:
*http://www.mlkonline.net/enemies.html
http://www.mlkonline.net/

Homage to Love

2008-07-13T13:59:00.001-07:00

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21

1. Surrounded by false prophets

During these Sunday Services we have been reading from the epistles of John. Today is the 5th session. In John's church some believers who followed false teachings provoked conflicts then left the church. They became known as Gnostics and it seems their new break-away churches became very influential. But John says, "They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them" (1 John 4:5).

"the world listens to them," suggests that gnostic churches acquired more believers. Even today we find a tendency similar to that period. People prefer preachers who give comfortable speeches which please the listeners' feelings. The audience don't want to listen to facts which might inconvenience them. So if false prophets claim the power to exempt their listeners from physical pain and suffering, they will easily follow such teachings.

Once I remarked that a song, "You are born to be loved," became very popular among young Christians. The words are, "Your are born to be loved. Your life is filled with love." Frankly, just by saying the words makes it a very comfortable lyric to the ear. But it does not have the power to move the emotions of our heart. Because there is no notion of the Cross, nor redemption. Sweet messages cannot lead us to repentance and confession of belief.

John commenced his letter this way, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

As Jesus' teachings were spread into the Hellenistic world, false interpretations multiplied, one of which became known as Gnosticism. Gnostics altered contents of the Gospels in accordance with Greek philosophy, whose base was reason and logic. So they rejected what they could not explain and understand by reasoning. In consequence, they denied the Incarnation of God's Son born as Jesus of Nazareth, and His death on the Cross. Thus they denied also our redemption through Jesus' sacrifice. They accepted Jesus as a human moralist, a prophet, but refused to witness to His divinity.

Therefore John teaches, "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God" (1 John 4:2).

False prophets would not recognize the Spirit of God. They could not give credence to God's mysterious power, because it went beyond their human faculty. But real faith is to believe in the supreme existence which surpasses all human intellectual capacity. This is the message from the Apostle John, who said: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

So John thought one should consider those who denied the divinity of Christ, to be false prophets. False thinking by fake prophets and teachers sprang from human desires. People who seek self-gratification rather than the happiness of others. In contrast, God's love gives priority for the sake of others, instead of one's self. John encourages us to accept the real love of our brothers and sisters, and try to distinguish between the authentic teachings of Christ, and those of the false prophets.

John then begins his 'homage to love.' "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:7-11).

This passage is as important as Paul's homage to love, which is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 . Through these verses we can measure or verify the righteousness of our own faith, by seeing whether we love our neighbors sincerely or not.

2. What is love ?

Greek vocabulary has three words meaning, love. They are, Eros, Philia and Agape. A Japanese Catholic Priest, Father Testurho Honda, explains their differences: "Energy which supports human relationships comes from love as "Eros, Philia and Agape". However our notion of love is disturbed very often by mixing all three. So I will try to differentiate them. Eros means spontaneous and natural love, for example love of man toward his wife, or other beloved ones. Philia occurs from sympathy, fondness, friendship, a sort of camaraderie. Agape is a type of love by appreciating and respecting others' existence, regardless of who and how they are. Eros might be enfeebled and Philia may be disrupted as time goes by, whereas Agape won't disappear as long as we esteem the existence of all human beings as we esteem our own being. Facing those who are suffering we won't ask ourselves whether we can have empathy for them and love them as we love our family or friends. That is the attitude we must chose, to respect and esteem their existence itself. Then a relationship of co-lateral respect commences."

Eros and Philia are part of human nature and their base is an emotional feeling, like or dislike by simplification. Such love is impermanent, which mostly comes to an end sometime in the future. Human love is to love for our own sake. Therefore, when external circumstances or features of a beloved-one change, our love may soon disappear. And the result often causes affliction. Young lovers are always afraid of disloyalty towards each other, and wives often complain that their husbands do not love them. Many of us have experienced a betrayal of love by friends.

Those, who are made redundant from their work with whole-of-life trusted companies, become depressed and some even commit suicide. Almost all of our sufferings are caused by the failure of human relationships. So much so, we need to learn more about, Agape love, or Christian love. But Agape or Christian love is not embedded into our nature. That is the very love given to us through the Cross of Jesus, as John says, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9). We are granted Jesus' love through God.

John continues to write, "We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit" (1 John 4:13). "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen'" (1 John 4:19-20). Real faith should be accompanied by a responsive act, which causes us to love. Faith without reaction, expressed by the lyric, "stay as you are, it's enough to be loved," cannot really be an authentic faith.

3. Love, even for enemies

Today's invocation verses are Matthew, 5:43-35: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the un-righteous ."

Many people have given speeches by quoting those words from Jesus, and Dr. Martin Luther King* was one of them. Dr King was a co-pastor, with his father, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta until his death. I would like to reflect upon "love" by referring to certain extracts from the book which compiles his several speeches: "Strength to Love," published in 1963.

During those times racism was rampant, and the enemies of Dr. King even threw bombs inside his church. The congregation was often terrorised and some members were even lynched - including children. Dr. King experienced imprisonment, because of his anti-segregation activities. The speech he gave was verbally delivered under such circumstances.

Dr. King said, "Jesus compelled us to love our enemies. But how can we come to love our enemies?" It’s impossible to love those who seek to destroy our houses or attack our children. We cannot be fond of our enemies, but we can try to love them. Indeed, we must seek to do so. Because, hatred does not provide any positive vision for the future. Hatred is an evil, which harms both the enemy and ourselves. Moreover, hatred aggravates situations and breeds other conflicts. On the contrary, love contains a redemptive power. It is love that will save our world, and our civilization. Love even for our enemies, often changes them into friends.

Dr. King even addressed his opponents, "We put our power to endure against your force of oppressing us. Do continue to abuse us with what you want. Then we continue to love you. We won't observe your unfair laws, so send us to prison. Nevertheless we continue to love you. Do send masked aggressors into our house to beat us to death. Still we continue to love you. But, remember, we erode you with our power to endure. Some day we shall win our freedom. It is not only for our sake but for yours too. Because, in the process of seeking to win, we will win your conscience too. Thus our victory should be twofold."

Dr. King believed in God's power to shape history. Therefore he entrusted the judgement to God instead of revenging his enemies by human means. In the past many whites, segregated and imprisoned the blacks. Even houses of blacks were burned or bombarded. Nonetheless, Dr. King would not hate the whites because Jesus chose death on the Cross for the sake of such aggressive people.

Dr. King's love surpassed human love. His love was already God's love, agape. We must adopt 'agape' into our daily relationships, in order to become God's children. Dr. King appealed, "You are Christians. So we should live by believing that history is guided by God." This speech challenged and changed Americans. Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. Since then the US government declared Dr. King's birthday, 15th January, a national public holiday.

Paul said, "We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" (1 Corinthians 8:1). In Greek, knowledge is gnosis, and love is Agape. Faith which is based on the Cross, and the Resurrection of Christ, opens the pathway to agape love for all humans. And I hope and pray we can continue to raise our church by believing in that.
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Reference:
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
http://www.mlkonline.net/ (speeches, quotes, audio,video sources)

Remain in Christ

2008-07-06T15:53:00.001-07:00

Scripture: 1 John 2:3-18

1. Remain in Christ

We continue the series of lectures from the Epistles of John in the Sunday service today. Schisms impacted the early church of which John writes. Some believers, who followed false teachings, provoked conflicts then left the church. They became known as Gnostics who denied the Incarnation of Christ. They also rejected the salvation of humans, redeemed through the Cross of Christ. Therefore John condemned them decisively: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (1 John2:19).

And to the believers who remained, he appealed, "As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him" (1 John2:27.) "Remain in him," means to remain in Christ. But what does it signify precisely? John explains in the following verse, "And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming" (1 John 2:28).

When we finish our earthly life we will encounter the last judgement. The criterion of the verdict, is whether we lived by following Jesus' teachings faithfully, or not. The essentials of Jesus' teachings is to live by loving each other: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:12-13).

Jesus implied that to love one another, goes so far as to die for one's friends. And John, interprets that teaching in his letter : "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers" (1 John3:16).

Are you ready to die for your brothers and sisters? That is an extremely difficult question to answer ! Naturally we think we cannot die for each others' sake. Nevertheless, John compels them to do so, because they have become God's children.

The creation story of Adam and Eve recorded in Genesis, symbolizes well the nature of human love. God, the creator of man, also created woman, as his unique partner. When the man saw her for the first time he cherished her so much that he said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." Adam loved Eve as his better half. Nonetheless, when he was accused by God because of his sin of eating the forbidden fruit, he responded: "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

He put the responsibility of his guilt back upon the woman of whom he once said: "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh". The Bible teaches us through these verses from Genesis, how human love is vulnerable and unreliable. Human love is give-and-take. We love as long as love offers us advantages, when the same love begins to cause certain inconveniences, we break up.

John declared, that those who were loved and changed by God can go beyond such human instabilities and learn to love others more authentically. He continues: "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9).

But, "No one who is born of God will continue to sin" does not mean Christians do not sin: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" (1 John 1:8-10).

Christians also commit sin. Then why did John gave those seemingly contradictory statements ? To be God's children does not assure that we remain blameless during our earthly experience. James remarked in his letter: "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be" (James 3:9-10).

We are sinners. So much so, it is impossible to pretend to be God's children. In spite of that, we are called to be God's children, and we are compelled to lead a life which is deserving of the title. Because God's seed, given by the Spirit, remains in us, through which we combat our own sins. All humans commit sins. But there is a crucial difference between Christians and non christians. Christians recognize their sinful existence and repent, whereas non christians will not confess their sins. Thus, they continue to commit sin repeatedly, without regret or remorse.

At the very moment of repentance, Christians experience purification. John says,"Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure" (1 John 3:3). As he taught, we will be purified and changed by remaining in Christ, the Son of God.

2. Be purified by remaining in Christ

Today's invocation verse is 2 Corinthians 3:3, "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."

Even though the church at Corinth was founded as a fruit of Paul's preaching, there were always conflicts inside. Zealous believers looked down on those whose faith does not seem strong enough, and the rich distinguished themselves from the poor. Moreover, differences of interpretation from teachings caused disagreements among factions. Some thought Paul, the founder, was the real leader, and others considered Apollos, the successor of Paul, to be the best. The state inside the church apparently did not deserve to be a community of God's children. Nevertheless, Paul continues to call the church, 'God's church,' and the believers, 'saints.' "To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia" (2 Corinthians 1:1).

Our Shinozaki church is similar to the church of Corinth. But, regardless of our state, it is 'God's church.' Why do we speak with such certainty? Please reflect together upon this question. The Ten Commandments, given as the old law was written on stone tablets. But we humans, could never fulfill that law. Therefore the new law was given, written on spiritual tablets inside our own heart. So Paul said, "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6).

The new covenant of the Spirit was written in the heart of those who came in contact with God's love. Such people cannot remain as they were before. As long as our love is earthly, we risk betraying our beloved-ones by seeking gain. In contrast, God's love leads us to sacrifice our life for others, even those who might betray us. Because Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. Once we know the facts we cannot continue the same self-centered life.

As an example, I'll tell you a story about Gajowniczek, whose life was changed by a man named Kolbe, through his act of God's love. Maximilian Kolbe was born in January 1894, and he was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church. Between 1930 and 1936 he took a series of missions to Japan. After the missions, he went back to his homeland, where he was arrested by the German Gestapo in 1941, due to his anti-Nazi activities. He was imprisoned in the Pawiak prison, then transferred to Auschwitz I .

Though Auschwitz is readily known as a concentration camp for Jewish people, originally it was established to detain Polish people who refused to collaborate with the Nazi regime. Naturally, detainees tried to escape from prison at any given opportunity. A case occurred in July 1941. A man from Kolbe's barracks vanished, an incident which prompted the deputy camp commander to pick 10 men from the same barracks to be starved to death, in order to deter further escape attempts. One of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, lamenting his family, and Kolbe volunteered to take his place. After 17 days of dehydration and starvation Kolbe died.*

Saved by Kolbe, Gajowniczek survived his imprisonment and was freed from the camps three years later. Gajowniczek revealed his story, and publicly testified what Kolbe had done to save his life. That very act of Kolbe was a real axample of practicing Jesus' teaching: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).

Jesus died for our sake, an unselfish act which makes us recognize just how deeply God loves us. Therefore, we are compelled to love each other like He loves us. Gajowniczek lived to tell his story, after witnessing Kolbe's holy sacrifice. At a certain moment in time we also knew God's love through Jesus' self-sacrifice, and became humble to call Him, 'my Lord, my God.' Jesus loves us so much!! Through His love our old life dies, and a new life is born within our hearts. Recognition of that transition should encourage us to act with love.

Of course, the majority of us ordianry humans, cannot sacrifice our own lives to save our brothers or sisters, but we can choose a life similar to Gajowniczek, by witnessing to the divine love of Christ. Besides, we can always do whatever we are capable of doing: "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:17-18).

We are called to witness God's love, not only on Sunday, but every day of the week, like 'the salt of the earth and the light of the world'. We come to church to meet our Lord, then we go back to spread 'salt and the light' in the secular world.

Last week, Pastor Mizuguchi remarked in his sermon address that the Ten Commandments were not written in a negative imperative, but in the indicative future. Those who are allowed to enter into God's kingdom will not kill, commit adultery, steal, nor exploit, because such acts would be impossible. That was the very essence of the law. It should be the same for us too, because we have entered into the Christian Community through Jesus. We cannot harm anybody any longer, as Paul said: "Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10).

All who meet Jesus will be changed into a new state of existence, new beings, who cannot hurt their neighbors. We are always on the pathway to that state, but as long as God's seed is within us, and we stay in Jesus' love, we will continue to be purified and changed.

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Reference:
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe

Jesus, the fulfiller of the law

2008-06-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Scripture: Matthew 5:17-20

# On the fourth Sunday or every month Pastor Mizuguchi gives a series of lectures on The Sermon on the Mount, from the Gospel according to Matthew. Today's lecture is part three of the series.

1. Jesus came to fulfill the law

Today I will talk about real the significance of the law. It is believed the Sermon on the Mount was told through separate teachings, at different times, not all at once. So all the contents might be later edited as one continuous speech. Matthew probably did not compile those teachings at random, because each one is connected to another following a logical order. Today's lecture is taken from chapter 5 :17-20, which presents further teachings continuing on from the previous part two.

We have already reflected upon this passage, "you are the salt of the earth, the light of the world," and learned the allegory that disciples were the salt, which made their life meaningful. They were the light which enlightened the world. Then at the end of that teaching Jesus said: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

He said, "His followers, Christians, should do good deeds." But what are good deeds exactly? We might find the answer in the following verses, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17).

"The Law and the Prophets," is synonymous with the Old Testament. More precisely, the Jewish scriptures are divided into three parts: Torah, Prophets, and Writings. The Torah is the law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books, of the Hebrew scriptures (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).

For Jewish people of the time, righteousness meant to live in strict obeyance of the law. So those who heard Jesus' words, "do and show your good deeds," might feel compelled to lead such a life. Law teachers and Pharisees were considered to be extremely faithful because of their advanced studies and knowledge about the law. They spent day and night reading the Jewish Bible to seek ways of observing the laws as faithfully as possible. They also urged others to practice the law by reading the law books of the Bible. So much so, ordinary people believed it was a prerequisite upon entering the kingdom of God.

But Jesus said, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). Righteousness is a virtue. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees are experts. Hence it would be easy for the audience to think it impossible to be more virtuous than the experts, and consequently, discouraging their hopes of entering the kingdom of God.

If fulfillment of the law requires such a strict adherence, nobody could be blameless with respect to the law. Why did Jesus teach and encourage the disciples a discipline which goes beyond the human capacity to achieve? Perhaps the answers to this question will be revealed as we seek Jesus' intention as he addresses the people through the Sermon on the Mount.

2. Precisely what is the law ?

According to Matthew, Jesus' stance with regard to the law, is apparently incoherent. On one hand, He compelled people to observe the law: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). Or, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 5:20).

On the other hand He neglected the law concerning the Sabbath by curing the disabled, or through the advocation that His disciples picked heads of wheat on the sabbath. He even said that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. From from where did such a flexible attitude develop?

Originally the law ( Jewish Torah), was a covenant between God and His people. After the Israelites had gone out of the land in Egypt, and upon reaching Mount Sinai, the Lord said to Moses: "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites'" (Exodus 19:5-6).

God, as the creator and ruler of the world, proposed to the people a contract which presents His will. The people agreed to it. Thus the covenant was validated. The law is clauses written in the covenant and the role of the law is to organize and prosper the Jewish people as God's nation.

Despite the existence of the law, the Israelites were defeated by Babylon in 587 B.C., as the result of their unfaithfulness. The Israelite community was scattered. In consequence, the role of the law, the fundamentals of the people's unity, altered. It became the core of the people's faith, along with their religious identity.

The covenant between God and the people became directives which determined people's lifestyles, for example, observation of the Sabbath, circumcision, and nutritive interdicts, etc. In this way their concerns focused on each others personal daily conduct as regards to the law.

Diverted from the original concept of a covenant, methods of the application of the law made law teachers dogmatic. They compelled ordinary people to observe clauses of the law as strictly as the priests did, and urged every one to respect religious purity. Besides, they claimed a similar authority for the Rabbis' oral teachings of the written law. In consequence, trivial negligence, like not cleaning one's hands before taking meal, or picking heads of wheat on the Sabbath, became targets of harsh physical treatment.

Jesus accused such an attitude vis-à vis the law, which became void of essence. He even attacked the Law teachers and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1). "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full" (Matthew 6:5).

Jesus teaches that love for our neighbors is what God wants from us. To love, is not to hate anybody. It is the very interpretation of the Old Testament, which breathed into law, the breath of life .

3. Observation of the law as interaction to Jesus' teaching

I chose Jeremiah 31:33-34 as today's invocation verses: "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Jerusalem fell to the babylonians, ending the kingdom of Judah in 587 B.C. Jerusalem, called the City of God, was demolished. David's family, said to be the eternal ruler, lost his successors, and the Temple, the dwelling place of God, was torn down. Thus God's words, "you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation", given as the Old covenant was invalidated.

But then the prophet Jeremiah heard the voice of God who promised a new covenant, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:33). The new covenant must be fundamentally different from the old one. Because renewal of the old covenant is a worthless act due to the defective nature of humans: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (Jeremiah 17:9). Jeremiah suggests a comparison, "the Ethiopian can not change his skin or the leopard its spots, neither can humans do good who are accustomed to doing evil" (Jer. 13:23).

By nature, humans are unable to fulfill contracts. Even if God renews the existing covenant they would break it every time. So much so, that salvation is unattainable without God's Grace. In contrast, under the new covenant, God won't talk to humans, and they won't have need to listen to God. Because God's will is placed inside humans' mind itself. Thus there would be no obedience of humans to God.
Obedience exist in a relation of different wills whereas there will be no different wills if God's will is placed inside a humans' mind. Humans identify their will with God's, in consequence they want exactly what God wants. God declared to the Israelites: "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
But human conduct resulted in calamity. So they became incapable of obtaining the state of salvation through their own efforts. Thus God took the decision to give a new covenant, through Jeremiah to the Israelites. Having heard Jeremiah's prophecy they became more unified. Jeremiah's life and spiritual influence was a rich symbol of the demise and restoration of Judah and its chief city, Jerusalem.

However, for a few centuries, the promise of the new covenant was absically forgotten. It was Jesus who reminded the Jewish people: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20). Thus the new covenant was signed with Jesus' blood.

The core of Jewish law is the Ten Commandments. Though its contents are basically a list of statements, written not in the negative imperative, but of indicative future, "You shall not murder , You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal," and so on (Exodus 20).

Those who are loved by God don't harm their neighbors. Originally that is the essence of the law. And Jesus introduced us into God's kingdom through His own death. He made us members of the community of the new covenant. Therefore we follow Jesus through our best efforts. In that way our sinful existence will be purified and changed, which helps us to fulfill the law, and the law of love.

I conclude today's lecture with Paul's words: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law'" (Romans 13:8-10). So, Let's follow in Jesus' footsteps, and love our neighbors!

Understanding a Schism

2008-06-22T23:25:00.001-07:00

Scripture: 1 John 2 :18-27

1. How to deal with those who departed the church

Again this Sunday, we are continuing to read from the epistle of 1 John. The theme of the letters focuses on a split in the church. In John's church, those who believed in false teachings, perplexed others, destroyed the fellowship, and then left the community. Other members of the church remained in a chaotic state. Many of the people who shared in the worship services suddenly disappeared. Unanimity in the church was broken, causing further conflict and separation. A similar incident occurred also in our church, and others in this area. So we are reflecting upon this phenomena, to see how to deal with such a situation. Today's reading is from 1 John, chapter 2.

John explains what is happening at that time in accordance with his eschatological point of view: " Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour" (1 John 2:18). The coming of fake Messiahs or false prophets, which would precede the last day of Judgement, has been repeatedly told in the Bible, for example, in Matthew 24 :23-24, etc. So, John says, the antichrists have come as it was predicted. He affirmed that those who departed from the church were the very antichrists, " It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son" (1 John 2:22).

Those who left the church advocated gnostic thinking. They rejected the idea that God's Son became a human and died for our salvation. They thought instead that Jesus received the Holy Spirit by being baptized, and it was then taken back into Heaven at the time of Jesus' death. They denied the messianic identity of Jesus as God's Son, a stance which rebuffs the Incarnation too.

Such a way of thinking prevents feelings of gratitude towards God, who sent His only Son to the earthly world as a human. They also distorted the meaning of Jesus' Passion. So they were not thankful for human redemption through the death of Jesus'. Believers who accepted gnostic teachings did not believe that Jesus was the very Christ. They did not share the same core faith with those of the other church members. So John wrote: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (1 John 2:19).

2. Don't exclude those who left the community

Former followers, who once listened to Jesus' teachings, witnessed the faith, received baptism and shared the Lord's communion together, departed the church. Why do such splits and devisions take place inside the church where Jesus should be the chief? We often wonder who was wrong, they or we. Schisms can cause large scale conflict and confusion among believers. The incident in the early church reminds us of a similar problem which occurred here last march, within our very own church, a discord among members of the Maihama preaching center.

The preaching center was founded 20 years ago, in 1988, as a branch of this church. The American Pastor Smith took charge of the center during the first decade, then he was succeeded by Pastor Rau for the following 10 years. As the mother church, we tried to do our best to support its activities. The split happened when Pastor Rau decided to resign. He left Maihama and formed a new church, in consequence, many of the members followed him.

Reasons for the resignation and ultimate split was, in part, financial and practical. Instead of a designated place, a member' personal residence was being used as a preaching place. Then, as time went by, circumstances changed, and the residence became unavailable. It is true that there were a lot of obstacles to the provision of a place to preach. Problems arose with the choice of buildings and the proposed use of the Pastors' residence. But we did not understand why it resulted in their separation from our church.

Actually I might suggest an explanation, a different point of view perhaps, regarding the Pastor's role in the church. Some think the Pastor is the leader of the church because he has trained and speaks with authority as a disciple of Jesus. Therefore, church members would normally follow the Pastor's guidance and wisdom.

In contrast, others think the chief of the church is always Jesus. So when a severe disagreement occurs within the church that seems impossible to reconcile, the Pastor should give to Jesus the responsibility, and leave. The members remaining offer prayer and wait in preparation for the arrival of a new Pastor chosen by God. The former way of thinking is to consider the church as a farming pasture, and if it becomes barren, the Pastor sets off with his flock to find more fertile ground. The difference of opinion might also depend on one's cultural and educational background.

Perhaps the early church members who stayed thought, in spite of the different patterns of thinking, all of the fellowship would remain together and observe Sunday services. But John rules out that possibility. He said, "their going showed that none of them belonged to us" Though that stand may seem very cold, he was determined, "No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—even eternal life" (1 John 2:23-25).

We attach ourselves to God through Jesus. So much so, those who reject the divinity of Jesus, the Son of God, could not be true believers. I believe that the chief of the church is Jesus Christ, therefore I think the attitude which considers the Pastor to be the leader is defective. Nevertheless, I don't blame or criticize those who have chosen to separate from this church.

John did not tell his flock to exclude those who left his church, even though he thought their attitude was wrong. He compels the resident believers to entrust God with the people who have departed, and to remain in Him, " As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him" (1 John 2:27).

3. "Children of God, continue in Him !"

In the Gospel of Matthew there is the parable of the weeds among the wheat, from which I chose a passage for today's invocation, chapter 13 verses 29-30: "No; because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." These verses offer meaningful suggestions about our behavior regarding belief which is different from ours.

Jesus told the parable as an allegory of God's kingdom. The story is of a person who sowed a field. Though he has sown wheat seeds an enemy mixed weed seeds among them. So the weeds came through with the wheat sprouts. The servants tried to pull the weeds but the master says, "Let both grow together until the harvest."

In Jesus' time many Jewish people wanted to "pull out weeds", meaning, to segregate those who were considered to be eroding the traditional faith from communities. The Pharisees blamed people who did not observe strictly the law. The second century Essene sect tried to distinguish themselves from others whom they considered to be impure. Both of those movements are characterized by an attitude which insist on purity and righteousness. They thought they were "wheat" and others were "weeds" which should be pulled out. Jesus told this parable in order to correct such arrogant thinking.

The disciples approached Jesus, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels" (Matthew 13:36-39).

"The Son of Man sowed the good seed" means, thanks to Jesus' teachings many came to believe. But the "good seeds are mixed with the evil ones." This expression points to the fact that there were some false teachers who insisted on their own righteousness. Such people tried to exclude those who would not share their thinking.

We do not know why there is evil within the church. But, in reality, evil exists. Saint Augustine* (354 - 430), Christian philosopher and theologian, meditated upon "the evil" inside the church. He said: "We as humans cannot see who are the good, and who are evil. Because in each Christian both types of seeds lurk. Therefore, it is better to take care of raising and growing good seeds inside of each, rather than to seek and blame the bad in others."

He also taught that evil factors in the church should not be merely rejected and thrown away. Christians should take responsibility for them. We help and support those whose faith is not strong enough, or whose thinking seems false. We must consider the evil as necessary elements in order to strengthen our own faith. St. Augustine says, "God is so almighty that He uses the evil for good purposes" So much so, we must trust all decisions to God. Once we begin to act as a judge in pretending to be faultless, we might make the same mistake of pulling out good seeds, or even worse, become evil seeds ourselves. I think the fellowship will be strong when believers admit their own vulnerability, and make the effort to establish a church of real believers. Then perhaps, the evil seeds might be pulled from the Christian community.

John says, "continue in Him as you were taught" (1 John 2:27). It means to live by following in the foot-steps of Jesus. We love each other, because Jesus loves us. We renounce self-centered lifestyles, because Jesus died for us. John tells us to merely follow Jesus' way of living, instead of discussing who are unfaithful, who is right and who is wrong.

The verses of 1 John 3:16-18 describes the perfect model of a Christians' life. I share these words from this verse with you in conclusion of today's lecture: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
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Reference:
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine

Live by the law in love

2008-06-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Scripture: 1 John 2:1-17

1. Those who love humans won't hate their neighbors

We continue today, the readings from John's epistles. These letters were addressed to the early church where false teachings were disturbing the fellowship of believers. Some rejected the Incarnation of Jesus by saying that God as spirit could not have a human body. They also denied the Passion of God's Son, and our redemption through Jesus, because they thought such a belief was absurd. Their attitude damaged the joyful feelings of those who felt grateful for Jesus' birth, and the atonement. Although those false believers departed the church, the members who stayed remained in a chaotic state.

So John wrote in his letter, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9). To admit our sins is the first step toward salvation and the beginning of the way forward for Christians, he says. Today, we will develop further those previous thoughts by reading the following part of the letter, chapter 2, and meditating on just what a Christians lifestyle should be.

The answer should be a brief "life of reciprocal love" as John taught, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2). Even though he says not to commit sins he should know well enough our human vulnerability and weakness.

Baptism with water is a human act, so it cannot make us sinless. But Jesus Christ in Heaven atones for our sinful existence, John says. Of course, it does not mean we are allowed to commit sins, but we strive to live a faithful and pure life by listening to Jesus' words. Jesus also has provided teaching about knowing our weakness, "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did '" (1 John 2:3-6).

"To walk as Jesus did" signifies that we continue to listen to His teachings, and make the effort to change our ways of living. Love for God is not proved by the utterance of emotional prayers, or mystical experiences, but by obedience to God in our daily life. Then, what is exactly the essence of Jesus' teachings ? To love each other, John concludes. Those who love Christ will not hate anyone because having faith in Him has the power to change our own life.

However some members of the early church, by insisting on their righteousness, disturbed and perplexed others before they left. So John admits the fact that they could not love each other authentically, "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him" (1 John 2:9-11).

2. Don't love the world and its belongings

Secular desires began to creep into the early Church. Lust, craving and boasting, commenced to erode the spiritual and faithful life. So much so, John appeals: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (1John 2:15-17).

Three kinds of aspirations summarize fundamental desires of human beings. The majority of us look for current satisfactions and desires. If these are incompatible with others, it will cause conflicts and wars, which may never end. Being covetous for others' foods, wealth, loved ones, political authorities, or hierarchic status is to vandalize our neighbors' rights. Such a self-centered lifestyle is the basis for several types of crises. As an example, excessive use of crops for lucrative fabrication of bio-fuels provoked alimentary inflation which caused famine in some under-developed countries. Japanese living environments also became much less secure and cozy due to that self-centered approach.

Perhaps you say, but, "we as Christians are free from such self-minded conduct." You might be. But the worst thing in the church is not those conspicuous desires, but more of the underlying ones. The desire to be appreciated, respected, and honored by others, in other words, social ambition. That desire has another facet, fear of being disdained, feeling inferior or being discriminated against within social relationships. When we take that stance, earthly estimations concern us more than God's will. Thus shame vis-à-vis neighbors becomes more important than consciousness in faith, an attitude rightly called humanly-centered minds.

False believers in John's church considered themselves sinless and once their attitude was shunned by others, they left. They were giving priority to earthly values and appreciations regardless of Jesus' real teachings. Such humanly-centered minds disrupted the fellowship in the church, and caused a schism.

3. To live by the law of love

I chose the Gospel of John 13:34-35 as today's invocation verses: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Though it was a Jewish custom that servants washed and cleaned the feet of guests before taking a meal, there were no servants at the table of the Last Supper. The disciples wondered how to deal with the situation, because they did not want to wash the feet of others. They thought it was a servant's job.

Then Jesus Himself, began to wash the disciples' feet. They were strangely baffled and confused by that. To the dismay of the disciples, Jesus said: "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet" (John 13:14). Jesus taught them, through His own actions, that those who wash the feet of others would be the most highly praised in the kingdom of God.

He said, "love one another as I have loved you" with real action, to show the disciples that to love is to serve. Judas Iscariot was among those disciples, the one who had already decided to betray Jesus. Jesus might have washed Judas' feet too, and even prayed for his repentance. That is the love of God: to love even those who intend to be offensive.

We should come to know that true love through Jesus. Even if we advocate eagerly a fellowship of love, the authentic love will not be found through a relationship with God. We come to love each other, thanks to God's love for us. We can forgive others, because God granted us forgiveness. God' love comes first before all in all. So much so, we must accept gratefully that supreme love, in which the Bible teaches.

In fact, a similar phenomena was proved by psychological studies. It is said that children who have been loved by their parents, ultimately become adults capable of being able to love others easily. But those who have not been loved during their childhood, have certain difficulties in loving others. Those who had been forgiven, should be able to forgive, and the reverse situation is also true.

John the Gospel writer says: "I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony" (John 3:11). If we can't experience the feelings of love profoundly enough, our personality would be at risk of being unbalanced. Love is the most important factor for human existence. And such love, is the love of God, perhaps similar to the love of parents for their children.

Parents take care of babies in daily life, because babies cannot survive without the care of others. Thanks to a parents' cherishing protection, we grow into adults. And we need always that same kind of love. That love, just when we need it, is like the Spirit which feeds our spiritual life.

In reality, earthly love is an egocentric one, to love in order to be loved in return. Or we may love others because of their virtues and talents. If others will not love us reciprocally, or their features seem less attractive to us, we tend to no longer love them. I think that this tendency might explain, in part, reasons for the ever increasing divorce rates in this modern world.

This tendency reveals a weakness of earthly love, a love of give and take. That kind of love will not allow us to lead a genuine life. Because every time we lose our human love, we feel our life is closed off, and lost. In contrast, the love Jesus taught us is fundamentally different from that human love. Jesus' love is the love which leads us to wash others' feet. And as long as we follow Jesus, we will be changed into an existence which accepts what Jesus did. But, by staying in Jesus' love, we are promised to become magnanimous.

To stay in Jesus' love means simply to stay in the church, and to come and listen to Jesus' words. To attend the Sunday service, to read the Bible, to reflect on our behavior over the passed week, all of which is to stay in Jesus' love. That activity should lead us to know how God is always patient with our unethical conduct and nature, and how generously He loves us. At that very moment we recognize Jesus' love through God's Grace, which allows us dishonorable ones, to come again to the church. Through this action, we will mature into disciples of Jesus, who will be able to wash the feet of others, some day. That is the promise given at the conclusion of today's lecture.

Walk in the light

2008-06-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Scripture: 1 John 1-10

1. To believers suffering a schism

Since last Christmas we have been reading passages from the Gospel according to John. The book was addressed to believers who were suffering persecution by Jewish authorities. John, the presumed author*, tried to encourage them through Jesus' words: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). John is saying in effect, "be courageous, do not surrender because He, who has overcome the world, is always on your side".

John's church survived those ordeals and believers increased in number, forming several groups around Ephesus. But a new crises occurred. Among the church members several began to interpret falsely the Apostles' original teachings, which ultimately unsettled the belief of others. The three Epistles of John ** were written under such circumstances.

We need now to read the letters as encouragement for ourselves too, because we have experienced similar difficulties of a schism in our church. Besides, the recent closure of our place of preaching seems to be caused in part by a split or division in the thinking of some members. So, from today, and continuing for a few weeks, I will give lectures on these letters.

The good news commenced to spread from Jerusalem to the Hellenistic and Roman world. Meanwhile, a tendency was occurring in the Church, in which doubts, and even denials were being raised about the Incarnation. Traditionally, Greek philosophers taught that the essentials of the human is the spirit, and the body is merely its dwelling place, or even its prison, like that which was taught by third century Manichaeism.

Therefore Hellenistic believers began to think it was foolish that God had a human body. Those persons interpreted the Incarnation as a metaphor, and Jesus birth as a human was fictitious or imaginary. Then they rebuffed the Passion by saying that God's son could not possibly die bleeding. They rejected the Resurrection too, a stance which denies all of the teachings given to the Church by the Apostles.

Indeed, if we are to follow human common sense it is almost ridiculous to believe that God became a human then died to save all humans. Yet, faith is accepting the fact which is beyond human reasoning.

Those who had accepted false teachings seems to have left the church, as the letter implies: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (1 John 2:19).

However, remaining believers were left confused, and the letters is addressed to such people, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin . . . " (1 John 2:1). The authorship of the letters is uncertain, but the similarities between them and the Gospel of John are striking. The vocabulary of the letters and of John's gospel are very much alike. The author calls himself, "The elder . . . " (3 John 1), so many scholars identify him with John the Presbyter**

2. Don't walk in the darkness

The author writes, " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life" ( 1 John 1:1).

This phrase is a reflection of John's Gospel, chapter 1 verse 14, " In him was life, and that life was the light of men." Both of them, the Apostle, and the Epistle writer, declared that God's son, Jesus, had a human body, they saw Him, heard His voice, and even touched Him. He is Christ, the Savior.

John, the Epistle writer, continues,"The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us" (1 John 1:2).

They witnessed Jesus' death on the Cross, the Resurrection three days after, and the events which was to bring reconciliation between God and us. Thus we are allowed to enter into a real relationship with God, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).

Thanks to Jesus' blood we are redeemed, and we have found again the alliance with God. And those who restored their relationship with God can enter into the real fellowship with others, because all children of God are sisters and brothers.

John the epistle writer says, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). God is light. He enlightens the darkness of our soul, and our sin. As humans, all of us have dark and ugly sides within, hidden in the depths of our being, away from the view of others.

But the dark parts of our lives are brought into the light, by God. If only we would admit to our sinful nature and repent, we would be purified: "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:6-7).

The above verses allude to those who have corrupted the fellowship within, and left the church, even though they once confessed that God was the light. Humans are so weak and vulnerable. We do commit such errors.

Sin is the act of a transgression against God's will, which distorts our relationship with God. In consequence, it disrupts human relationships, because sin pushes us to behave in a egoistical manner, which ultimately causes conflicts. John is facing the fact that the fellowship in the church is being disturbed and destroyed by such conduct. So much so, he teaches how to overcome the situation. God has granted us the way through Jesus' blood, the Atonement and the Passion.

Now it is for us to find what and how to do exactly. John says: " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness"（1 John 1:9). But, " If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives"（1 John 1:10).

Those who caused a schism in the church pretended to be righteous. By considering themselves sinless, was to say Jesus' death was meaningless. That attitude is to reject Gods' words recorded in the Gospels. And those who pretend to be sinless, are about judging others, and destroying the fellowship. Therefore, John the Epistle writer compels his church members to confess their sins in order to be purified by Jesus' blood, and to maintain the spiritual fellowship within the church.

3. Walk in the light

Now let us read together today's invocation verses from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

The passage is from the Sermon on the Mount, which was also the subject of Pastor Mizuguchi's latest lecture. Even though we had heard the Good News, Jesus said, if we keep its light from the sight of others, it remains useless. Knowing the content of the message, we ourselves, are already capable to enlighten others, not as the emitter of light, but by reflecting it towards the world. That is exactly our role to play, and our way of life.

John the Epistle writer expressed in other words those of Matthew, when he said, " Walk in the light."

The light does not enlighten itself, but brightens the environment. To become the light of the world is not to conduct ourselves with respectable behavior, and influence a surrounding society to make it better by such conduct. Neither is it to work eagerly for social welfare and human rights. But, it is to be understanding, sensitive and compassionate to the suffering of others. We should be able to do that.

We knew and suffered through our own miserable state of affairs, through our failures, sins and despair. Therefore, we can have empathy and share with others, as they suffer through their own painful experience. In that way, we could be a light in the world, by walking in the light. John said, "Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble" (1 John 2:10).

By walking in the light, we can build relationships of love with our neighbors, through the Cross of Jesus Christ. So, "don't go away from, but stay close to Jesus", that is the message to us from Matthew and John the Epistle writer, respectively with a mutual voice.

Wrong teachings and offensive behavior might be found on the earth. Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

But in reality, there were racial, social and sexual discriminations even within the Church. Indeed, we cannot have a personal feeling and affection for everyone. Nevertheless, we should be able to make efforts to be kind. And, real love is not a matter of feelings only, but of a will, a strong will. We know Jesus died for the sake of every human. So, whether we like or dislike them, other humans are also about to be saved by Jesus' love, and consequently we cannot continue to hate anybody.

It is true too that, sometimes our friendly approaches might be refused or rejected and in such cases Jesus gave us some guidance,"If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them" (Luke 9:5).

Do not try to maintain relationships with those who persists in false teachings or wrong beliefs. We make efforts as far as we can, and entrust to God with the results. Because it is God who decides results. Our task is only to keep an open mind, without shutting the door. We remain receptive.

Its not difficult to see whether our belief is faithful to the Bible or not. It only depends on, "whether we can accept those who are different from us or not." If we hate someone who follows a different way of thinking, we are already out of the light as John said, "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness" (1 John 2:9).

So please keep those lovely words of John deep within your mind and heart as we conclude today's lecture.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------references :

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John#Authorship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorship_of_the_Johannine_works

** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Presbyter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Evangelist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_John

***http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08435a.htm#IV

You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world

2008-06-03T00:42:00.000-07:00

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

# On the fourth Sunday of every month the assistant Pastor of the church, Nihei Mizuguchi, gives a series of lectures on The Sermon on the Mount, from the Gospel according to Matthew. Today's lecture is part two of the series.

1. You are the salt of the earth

At the beginning of our series of the Sermon on the Mount we reflected upon 'the Beatitudes', which taught that the poor in spirit will be blessed. We meet God through poverty or illness, becoming humble and free from a self-centered mind. Today, the second lecture of the series, we contemplate "Salt and Light". Salt was a very precious material in the ancient world.

For example, in the Imperial Roman period the solders were paid their wages with salt. The term "salt" is synonymous with foods such as, salads, sauce, sausage, etc. Salt is an important ingredient. It is used not only to season foods but also to conserve them. Besides, it is indispensable in keeping our body in good health. Humans can't live without salt.

Jesus used salt as a comparison with the importance of His disciples in their given role: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men" (Matttew 5:13).

So, "saltiness" means their disposition to be Jesus' followers. The message seems rather easy to understand, however we might learn other lessons and observations from the same verses in other Gospels, which could further interpret Jesus' words.

Actually, we have 4 canonical Gospels which recorded Jesus' teachings and ministries. Three of them, Mark, Matthew and Luke, are called the "Synoptic Gospels" because of their similarity of content. Presumably they are based on a common original source. And Mark's writings, being the oldest, should be the one most close to the original source.

Matthew and Luke may have drawn from Mark's gospel by adding supplementary information which each one obtained from the different sources. So if we find three similar episodes in common, we could, by comparing them, get a better insight into what Jesus really said.

"Salt and Light" is one of the common elements of these passages. So I will try to compare the verse from Matthew, 5:13, with those of Mark and Luke's writings.

Mark might consider the salt as an allusion to the last judgement. Please take a look at this passage from Mark: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out" ( Mark 9:43).

Then concerning the verse in which we are studying today, "Everyone will be salted with fire. "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other" (Mark 9:49-50).

Salt is mentioned also in the Old testament as a purging material, "Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings" (Levitics 2:13). Salt, it seems was used to preserve grain offerings from decay.

So considering the context of Mark's writing with the verses of Leviticus, we are led to suppose that Jesus' original tone was a very severe one.

As for Luke, he referred to the same parable in another scene, after Jesus set out the conditions required of His authentic followers. "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).

Then, considering the verse we are interested in today,"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear"（Luke 14:34-35).

In that context we could suggest, "the salt which lost its saltiness" indicates the disciples who can't give up everything to follow Jesus. In other words, those who seek their own satisfactions can't be useful for ministries. Luke may say, If they want to be faithful disciples they must be ready to live like Jesus. We find the severity something similar to Mark's stance.

Now we focus on Matthew's position. After reading from Mark and Luke's writings, we can see another point of view to Matthew's expressions. Matthew says "You are the salt of the earth" (5:13), not " you will become the salt of the earth".

It means disciples are already qualified as salt, having the same importance for humankind. In the preceding verses, Jesus gave eight conditions to be blessed, and He said the kingdom of heaven is for the poor in spirit. But "the poor in spirit" are also those who suffer in the earthly world. So, Matthew in effect addresses such suffering people, "you, Jesus' suffering followers, are sound and sane, and you are the very salt which preserves the world from decay."

Matthew softened the harshness of Mark's allusion to the last judgement, and Luke's expression of, "giving up everything". So, thanks to Matthew, the parable sounds less demanding for us. We can interpret the passage in Matthew as an encouragement to practice instructions given on the Sermon on the Mount.

Because, if we listen to Jesus' teaching without practicing His advice, we may be thrown out like salt that has lost its taste. Thus, Matthew's approach was to make Jesus' teachings more acceptable to us.

2. You are the light of the world

In the following verse, Matthew calls the disciples "the light of the world". Originally the word "the light" represented Jesus in accordance with allegories of "a lamp on a stand" and "a city on a hill". And the parable of " a lamp" is recorded in all three of the Synoptic Gospels.

Mark placed it in the passage concerning the arrival of the Savior and, in the original Greek text, the subject of the phrase is the light, Μήτι ἔρχεται ὁ λύχνος*. The Bible, Basic English Version, respects the structure ** "And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table?" ( Mark 4:21 ).

So "a lamp" should have designated initially only Christ, which John's scripture shows rather obviously, "The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world" (John 1:9). As you see the light is the subject of the phrase. In contrast, Matthew and Luke added other interpretations, with an expression "putting the light in the right place". That expression suggests the disciples also play a role of spreading the light.

I think Matthew wrote the Gospel not only to record and spread Jesus' ministries and teachings, but also to exhort believers, through Jesus' words, to diffuse that light all over the world. In deed, I have gained a strong impression that Christians could be the emitters of great light.

I remember when I came back from China in 1946, after the defeat of Japan in World War II. I had been enlisted, and sent to China almost at the end of the War. At that time, life in Japan was miserable and all the news was very depressing. For example burglaries committed by former soldiers, jobs with extremely low payments, or living our daily lives in an air-raid shelter, or even in a foxhole.

Despite all of this, Christians who had been under the risk of oppression during the war, began to preach on the corners of the city streets, like a hidden light which was put on a stand. Their courage and positive energy attracted and led me to a church. And I received Baptism soon after.

3. The message to us

Matthew made a summary of the instructions about the life of a Christian, as being given as the fulfillment of the Law. It begins with a prohibition of murder, adultery, divorce, and oath in vain, and revenge. These interdictions are not only about external behaviors, but also covers our insight. Then, Jesus' teachings go so far as to compel one to love our enemies, which is largely beyond our human thinking. We are exhorted to entrust all of our existence to God.

The light which should be diffused by disciples all over the world is God's glory. But Matthew's scripture reveals to us an undesirable reality of the church at that time, facing the risk of numerous false teachings, which were far from Jesus' original teaching. So much so, Matthew compels believers to choose a life which is about representing God's glory faithfully. The Gospel in the form of Matthew's testimony, appeals to a real faith through Jesus words and acts.

To conclude today's lecture I chose John 12:24-25 as the invocation verses, " I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

A kernel of wheat can produce many seeds by sprouting but the kernel itself disappears under the ground. If stored in a warehouse it remains there in vain, and it will eventually die. By dying on the Cross Jesus gave birth to innumerable lives. Each one of us is given such a life. So we should act for Jesus in offering ourselves in return. Salt, seasons and conserves foods, then, disappears, absorbs and melts away. Light enlightens the house, however light itself can't receive the spotlight.

Actually, we ask ourselves how we can choose such a life, a complete altruistic life. During the Church history, christians made successive mistakes and errors, even sinned. Nevertheless, through such defeats, a few exceptional people appeared, who led a life according to Jesus' teachings given on the Sermon on the Mount.

They remained profoundly faithful even living under harsh circumstances, in spreading God's love all over the world. St. Francis of Assisi or Mother theresa, for example. If the calling is given in a severe tone as used by Mark, we would feel frightened and try to escape.

Luke's stance is similar to Marks'. But almost all of us are weak humans. We cannot give up everything to follow Jesus. Even knowing that reality, Matthew recorded Jesus' words in this way, "You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world".

And that allows us to think about the following words "even though you are only a jar of clay. Because it contains treasure, you are the light of God." Thanks to that encouragement, we can continue to make the effort to spread God's love and light all over the world.
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* http://www.greekbible.com/index.php
**http://basicenglishbible.com/mark/4.htm

Ref: treasures in jars of clay, 2 Cor. Chap. 4

Instructions to the disciples - How to deal with heresies

2008-05-25T00:31:00.000-07:00

Scripture : 1 Timothy 6:11-21

1. Heretical problems in the church of Ephesus
Last week we continued to focus our address on Acts 2, and the day of Pentecost, an event in which the disciples received the Holy Spirit, and were boldly empowered to preach and spread the word of God. Their speeches moved the people, many of whom received baptism on the same day.

Thus the early Church was born and continued to grow in the form of communes, in which believers shared all their personal and spiritual assets. However, as the movement increased in size, the community could not be fully maintained, and so a hierarchical structure was formed. With the passing of the Apostles, certain believers of the second and third generations began to denounce the early religious teachings and substituted the doctrine with heresies.

Paul, at that time, was teaching and preaching to the gentiles in Corinth and Ephesus. He founded churches there, one after another, and entrusted them to his reliable co-workers. For example, Apollos in Corinth, Timothy in Ephesus, and Titus in Crete, and so on.

The first letter of Paul to Timothy, a young Pastor in Ephesus, maintains a theme of how to deal with heretical thinking. It advocates respectable behavior in the Church and beyond to enhance its mission and image in the larger world. The letter regards any deviation from its own counsel to be false teaching.

One of the influential heresies and false teachings in the early church, and there were many, was legalism, which taught that salvation is only received by strict observation of the law. Another was Gnosticism, a first and second century movement whose cry was, "Matter is evil!" The idea was borrowed from certain Greek philosophers. The opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge signifies a Gnostic theory, derived from the greek word γνώση = knowledge.

Perhaps the first century "Circumcisers" was a more influential movement than others. The Circumcisers can be summed up in the words of Acts 15:1: "But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the customs of Moses, you cannot be saved.'"

Other major heretical sects were to follow, such as Montanism (Late 2nd Century), Sebellianism (Early 3rd Century), Arianism (4th Century), and Pelagianism (5th Century). *

However, today we will reflect on Paul's letter of exhortation designed to combat the dissident teaching of insiders, and the suspicion of outsiders at Ephesus, located in southwestern Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. Biblical scholars have dated the letter in the 60s of the first century.

"As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk" (1 Timothy 1:3-6).

Timothy is charged to oppose the teachers at Ephesus who deviate from divine training. Neither the identity of these other teachers, or the exact content of their false teaching is known. And Paul also warns against false aceticism.

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth" (1 Timothy 4: 1-3).

The Apostle draws a contrast between the false teachers who promote celibacy and physical asceticism, and the recipient who actually gains nourishment from Godly training.

2. How to withstand heretical, false teaching
These records from the scriptures show us the traits of heretical thinking. One of them is to consider one's salvation as personal, which can be obtained through individual effort. Through good works, sacrifice, and abstinence, an attitude which leads its adherents to a stoical, long-suffering lifestyle.

Another, is the practice of asceticism, that is, to restrain oneself from human desires and pleasures in order to obtain salvation. Movements advocating asceticism have appeared in every generation. But, salvation is given by God's grace, we cannot see or touch it. Perhaps its a part of human nature to seek tangible proof of its existence, which sometimes puts us at risk of believing the false teachers.

And with the practice of legalism in the early church, Paul, in writing to the Galatians said: "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:21).

If a sheltered and protected life through the observation of false teachings were necessary to be saved, there would have been no reason for Jesus' death on the Cross. The attitude and belief of seeking salvation through the observance of the law, asceticism, or self discipline, annuls the meaning of the Cross.

The only worthwhile abstinence that should be practiced is one which is motivated by love for others, or for health reasons, not for personal salvation. An example is expressed in Paul's epistle to the Romans: "If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died" (Romans 14:15).

Christians should always be concerned about the salvation of others, because Christians have been saved through Jesus' love. And to love in accordance with biblical teaching, we need wisdom which is based and supported by faith.

Further, Paul speaks about false teaching and true riches:

"If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6: 3-5).

The vice list above is crafted with conventional philosophical slurs, and shows the negative influences of the conceited false teachers on others, in contrast to Timothy's profitable teachings.

"instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Timothy 3), is being actively motivated by the love of Christ, which might lead us to even wash each others' feet. No exploitation, such as abuse or ill treatment should occur when motivated by true love. No exploitation means not to seek material profit or financial gain for oneself. "But," continues Paul, "godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

As long as we know and feel satisfaction with the basics of living, our lifestyle can be independent from any surrounding material demands. It is the very peace within one's heart, a feeling possessed by real believers, that provides contentment. Yet Paul does not deny the usefulness of wealth itself, but he indicates that avarice causes many sins:

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Timothy 6:9-10). Jesus also taught, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).

Heresies have been with us from the church's very beginning. They have even been started by Church leaders, who were corrected by councils and other religious authorities. Heresy is an emotionally loaded term that is often misused. It is not the same thing as incredulity, schism, apostasy, or other sins against the faith.

In schism one separates from the church. In apostasy, one totally repudiates the Christian faith, and no longer claims to be a Christian. To commit heresy, one must refuse to be corrected. A person who is ready to be corrected or who is unaware that what they were saying is against church teaching is not a heretic. False teaching is probably a more appropriate description.

A person must be baptized to commit heresy. This means that movements that have split off from being influenced by Christianity, but do not practice baptism are not heresies, but separate religions. Paul told his young protégé, Timothy, "For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

3. Heresies will not prevail
May I share with you today's invocation verses, from Psalm 30:7-9.

"Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

We find abundance of wisdom in the words of the Psalmist. Today's verses reveals our human nature. We might dare to steal when we don't enough food, or become arrogant if we have too much. Having such a nature we must seek 'a right way' to live like the author of those verses.

Paul was writing in a similar vain to the Psalmist when he advised Timothy:

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

The command to be rich in good works is a call for the wealthy believers to be benefactors, but without the expectation of a earthly return. Now, Paul gives Timothy his final instructions: "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge" (1 Timothy 6:20).

It is an arrogant attitude by pretending to know God's wisdom, which only misleads believers. Avoid "godless chatter" with such heretics because it is meaningless. Heretical movements occur from within the Church, not outside. Heretical thinking is not that of legalism or today's freakish occultist sects. It is dissent, agnosticism or skepticism, all of which lies dormant within ourselves. Its an opinion or a belief contrary to Christian teaching and doctrine. We humans, sometimes harbor such thoughts.

Though fortunately, we have Christ's promise that false teaching will never damage the church, for He told Peter, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The Church is truly, in Paul's words, " . . . the pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).

To finish today's speech, I want to share with you a prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr, a Protestant theologian**: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

The serenity prayer acknowledges that if one seeks true peace and happiness in this life and beyond, it is important to consciously live and enjoy life, embrace one's struggles, accept the world as it is, and trust in God.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Some references to further reading:

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_heresy

**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/reinhold_niebuhr.html

Foundation of the Church

2008-05-20T00:42:00.000-07:00

Scripture: Acts 2:38-42

1. The day of Pentecost

Last Sunday we learned exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the spirit gave them ability (Acts 2:4). The previously reserved and timid disciples were now empowered by the holy spirit to speak boldly.

Peter addresses the crowd: "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him" (Acts 2:22-24).

Peter's concluding verse is recorded in Acts 2, verse 36: "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Peter's speech was strongly convincing because the contents reflected his own experience. He ran away from the scene of Jesus' arrest, and after the Crucifixion he hid himself with the other disciples in fear of being arrested: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, . . . (John 20:19).

Jesus entrusted this vulnerable Peter with the task of leading the flock. He was enabled to speak openly in spite of being accused, arrested, and experiencing his own spiritual death, loss of faith and revival. To some extent the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus were simulated by Peter. Therefore, Peter's speech was realistic in tone and filled with convincing power.

Indeed, the contents of the speech was quite astonishing. Because, according to Jewish thinking, those who were executed on the cross would normally be condemned by God. Nevertheless, Peter called the one who suffered such a fate, the Son of God. It must have sounded insane to the audience. But Peter challenged them without hesitation, and they were so profoundly moved, that they asked him and the other disciples: "Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). In response to Peter's appeal, many were baptized that very day. What we today witness through the reading of Acts 2, is the beginning foundations of the Christian church empowered by the Holy Spirit.

2. The Church is a community body

As Paul said: "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). People are touched by listening to Sunday worship messages. Many repent and become believers, even now, at this present time.

Though it is said that Japan is a sterile country for preaching, more than 10,000 Japanese are baptized every year. This little church was given many of them. God's words have power to move human hearts. And we, as Christians, support the local church and the body of believers. For we, like Peter, have also undergone similar experiences of defeat, suffering and redemption.

The enthusiastic embrace of faith which was born at Pentecost did not last for only one day. It was ongoing, and Luke tells us, They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). While the idyllic portrait of life in the first Christian communities was not always achieved, it still offers an ideal to which believers aspire. Holding fast to the teachings of the Apostles was only one phase of learning. Listening to preachers like Peter, also helped to grow the infant church.

Exhorted by God's words we enter into a community of Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus compelled us when He said, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you'" (John 15:12). To become a Christian is to establish a fellowship based on a bilateral love with other believers. Such a kind of relationship is expressed by the word Koinonia in Greek, which embraces also the act of sharing.

Fellowship does not mean to become simply close and enjoy togetherness, rather it means to share. In a hobby circle members share their activities for pleasure. For a company, they share for financial gain, and for a school, it should be sharing scholastic achievements and resources. Then what do we have to share in the Church? The answer is freely given in Acts 2:42, They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. The place for breaking of bread and praying is a definition for the Church.

Breaking bread is not merely taking a meal. Contributing and eating food together symbolizes the spiritual relationship at the table. And praying is in the form of common prayer, collective, and conciliating, not in the realm of individuality. The church becomes an authentic community of believers by sharing and praying together in one accord.

3. Beyond the difficulties of the secular world

Today's invocation verses, Acts 2 : 44-47, shows us the lifestyle practiced by the members of that prayer circle: All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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.

As Luke wrote, believers of the early church, devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. The Greek word "Koinonia" embraces the meaning of sharing, which entails both spiritual communion, and the sharing of possessions, materially and financially.

A religious group became a commune of daily life. But, with the passage of time, the nature of the Church was forced to change. After the disappearance of the disciples of the first generation, understanding the Apostle's teaching diverged in several ways, which gave birth to disagreement and even opposition among believers.

Therefore, they needed to compile a Creed *, the aim of which was to unify and consolidate the base of faith. Creed is derived from the Latin word, Credo, meaning to believe. The nature of any faith is determined by what we believe, and the confession of faith in our church is based on the Creed.

The fellowship also commenced to change in character. The episode of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 reveals a fact that there appeared members who became reluctant to share personal assets. Also a conflict was recorded in Acts chapter 6, between the Grecian Jews and the Hebraic Jews, concerning the distribution of food.

Furthermore some Jewish people refused to share the table with uncircumcised gentiles, who began to participate in the Church. Thus a split occurred between faith and daily life. As the Church developed and increased its members, the communal lifestyle could not be maintained. Even if humans are saved, they remain sinners, including church members. The church on the earth, is not yet the kingdom of God.

However, the leader of the Church is always Jesus Christ. We find the fundamentals of our religious life in the roots of the early Church, which established a community where each member worked according to one's own ability, and shared in the distribution of each necessity. In today's church the principe of sharing is materialized in the form of donations.

The activities of the early Church were not only listening to preachers and worshiping, but they also prayed for those who suffered from difficulties, or a weakening faith. So we seek to know what we can contribute to society and to pray for conciliation. Prayers, must be followed by action.

The believers of the first generation were getting together every day to worship, to share meals and to pray for each other, through which they became firmly united. Living in this modern society today, it seems we can only get together once or twice a week. Which makes us appreciate and respect those cherished occasions.

Real fellowship consists of reading the bible and praying together. Without those two basic principles, spiritual maturity will not be realized. Our faith looks not only to individual salvation, but rather to a collective one. Luke described how the early church developed, " . . . And day by day the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).

We too received new church members today, the very day or Pentecost. So let us express our gratefulness for such a happy event, as those founders of the early Church did on the day the Lord added to their number. Pentecost celebrates the decent of the Holy Spirit, a comforter promised by Jesus, and a continual gift from God, available to all who seek and call upon His name - even today!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------notes
* the Creed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed

Awaiting the Holy Spirit

2008-05-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

Scripture Acts 1:3-14

1. Recalling the Disciples

Since Easter, we have focused our attention on the resurrection, and how the resurrected Jesus came to meet the disciples. Concerning this event there are two different records. One is by Mark and Matthew, who place the scene in Galilee, and the other is by Luke who says it occurred in Jerusalem. John in a sense synthesized the two by saying that Jesus appeared to the disciples at first in Jerusalem, and then in Galilee. I think John's description might be the most trustworthy.

Without Jesus the disciples felt completely lost. During the previous three years they were always led by Jesus, and acted under His instructions. So, it seems they could not see their way clear without Him. Before such a flock of followers, Jesus the good shepherd appeared, an event which no doubt made them extremely joyful. Nonetheless, after the ascension, and in the passing of time, many of them became dubious. They began to doubt if the resurrected Jesus they met was not just simply a ghost.

Besides, they could not earn their living in Jerusalem because the majority of them had been Galilean fishermen. Therefore, they decided to go back to Galilee, and the life they previously lived. In that very place, Galilee, they again met Jesus, and they received their calling to be evangelists. For example, John records that when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs" (John 21:15).

If we were to read John's Gospel alone, we might overlook the event which is described by Matthew: "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). We would interpret John's record of Jesus' words after the resurrection, not at the beginning of His ministry, as the disciples second calling.

The reinstated disciples set off again for Jerusalem because it was predicted by the prophet Isaiah: "In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it" (Isaiah 2:2-3).

In chapter 1 of Acts, Luke records Jerusalem as the scene of the last appearance of Jesus, who gives this final instruction: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4-5). The disciples responded with a question: "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).

To restore the kingdom of Israel was always a substantial matter for them. The conversation at the last supper shows it's importance, "You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:28-30).

Jesus represents the kingdom of Israel as that of God, which would be founded in the last days of this world. Once God abolished the kingdom because of the people's sins. Their country was ruled by foreign dominating powers, whose leaders were held under captivation, and many were dispersed. But, through the words of the prophets, God gave the promise of restoration. Therefore, Jesus began his ministry by saying "The time has come, The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:14-15).

So the disciples asked if the time has come for Jesus to be enthroned, and whether the Jewish independence was about to be restored. Jesus' answer was completely unexpected: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:7-8).

They were deeply disappointed because they imagined, that in any future kingdom, they would become leaders of the Jewish people, who would come from all over the world to Jerusalem to celebrate the restoration. So much so, Jesus' words perplexed them. He ordered them to establish God's kingdom here on earth by setting out from Jerusalem. And besides, the kingdom would not be that of Israel! They stayed totally disoriented. Meanwhile, Jesus ascended into Heaven.

2. First of all, The Disciples Prayed.

The disciples paused, totally lost in looking up at the sky. Just at that moment a two men in white robes stood by them, "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

This message compelled them to prepare for the future return of Jesus, and feeling encouraged the disciples set off for Jerusalem. It was very important for them to understand the given circumstances and to recognize the nature of the tasks, even if they were not yet ready to minister to the Samaritans or the gentiles. So they began to pray, together, with other believers in Jerusalem.

In prayer they were awaiting the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the event promised by Jesus. Their praying took place in the house of a certain disciple, where the last supper had been served. There were not only the eleven disciples, but also Jesus' family and other followers. It appears that Jesus' family members did not necessarily believe that He was the Son of God until meeting Jesus after the Resurrection.

Peter, the disciple who had denied his relationship with Jesus at the tribunal, now played the pivotal role of the praying circle. Thomas, who was skeptical about the resurrection until he touched Jesus' wounds, was there too. All the members who consistently did not believe or doubted His divinity, or even betrayed Him, were there. To some extent, all were unreliable and weak sinners. The church is similar to that prayer circle. Jesus trusted his work to such vulnerable people.

The second action they took was to chose another apostle as a substitute for Judas Iscariot, who had suicided after betraying Jesus. Peter says, "Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22).

I would like to draw your attention to Peter's tone. He does not blame Judas' for his betrayal. Peter knew very well all of the disciples did more or less the same as Judas by rejecting Jesus. The disciples would have been filled with remorse, rather than in need of reproach. Remorse, because they were not spiritually sensitive in seeking to help Judas return to the flock. He was abandoned. Peter might even have felt partially responsible for Judas' suicide.

We consider that flock to be the origin of the Church. As for our church, we have only about 30 members, so small that we easily notice who are absent from the Sunday service. And, attending members feel sorry for their absence. Whoever are absent, we miss them.

Furthermore we are very regretful for those who left this church indefinitely. Yet, we are still waiting for the arrival of the Holy Spirit, which was promised by Jesus under such feelings of regret and separation.

3. Pentecost: The foundation of the Church as the Body of Christ

Acts 2:1-4 are today's invocation verses, which gives us an almost tangible version of the coming of the Holy Spirit. In accordance with Jesus' instructions the disciples were waiting and praying together. Ten days after the ascension, on the very day of Pentecost, something wonderful occurred. The Invocation verses describe what happened.

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2:1-40.

Luke's description of the arrival of the Holy Spirit was 'a sound like the blowing of a violent wind'. The expressions capture comparisons between wind and God breathing as the Spirit, both of which we cannot see, but we can feel. 'Fire' alludes to the realistic existence of God, and 'tongues' relates to languages, two factors which gave the disciples the ability of preaching to people of many nations. As Luke later wrote, "When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language" (Acts 2:6).

The incident of Pentecost tells us that the disciples who could not speak openly, all of a sudden became bold, authentic preachers. They, being filled with the Holy Spirit, began to spread the Good News fifty days after Jesus' crucifixion. But the contents of the good news was challenging to the Jewish conservative society, of whom many claimed were the very people responsible for Jesus' death.

The situations which surrounded the disciples had not changed. The powerful Jewish authorities consisted of High priests and Law teachers. The majority of the people considered the disciples to be a sort of freakish cultic group. To such an audience Peter commences to speak regardless of the risk of being arrested and killed. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit which enabled him to do so. Thus his speech profoundly moved many of them, and when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).

The power of the Holy Spirit expedited the message around the world, and helped people to seek and find salvation. The role of the Holy Spirit was to convince the audience that the messages was authentic, and truthful. It was done through the disciples prayer and the presence of the Holy Spirit. The believers of the first generation were empowered by the Holy spirit to preach and encourage people to believe and call upon the name of God.

The word, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit became contagious, changing the passive audience into believers, and they too would become followers and teachers. This process would commence a chain reaction. You are one ring of the chain, you have been changed by listening to the message, you became a believer and was Baptized in the name of the Lord. Now it is time for you to spread the good news.

One Pastor's ministry does not have enough capacity, whereas preaching by many who are filled with the Holy Spirit is very powerful. And the Holy Spirit must be given to whose who seek it through prayer. So please, pray that you will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and help to build the Church of this earthly world, which is our given task.

I ask you, who are not yet baptized, to receive the baptism. The act of Baptizing means to change the passive into the active. I ask you, who are already baptized, to become a church member. Because affiliation with the church allows us to participate in God's work together. And I ask church members to be solid in their faith, constantly believing that God works through the Church and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Indeed, it's human to fail, but please overcome failures, and be cornerstones of the church. The church is not the place where we commemorate a decedent Jesus, but a place to bow in prayer in order to receive the Holy Spirit through Him, who lives in our hearts. Only then, will we be empowered to spread the good news of the Gospel to whole world.