Matthew 6:14-21
March 2, 2025 Osaka Church
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Modern civilization has liberated us from various “bothers” in daily life. Most of these could only be done by interacting with other people. People have completely disappeared from ticket booths and ticket gates at stations. Soon people will also disappear from the cash registers at supermarkets and convenience stores. Speaking of which, when I was a child, my mother would often ask me to go next door and borrow some “miso” when she started preparing dinner. I would reluctantly stand up and say, “What a bother.” It’s not that we were poor and couldn’t afford miso; it’s because there were no convenience stores.
Freed from such various “bothers,” we live a “comfortable life with convenience.” However, the fact that we feel that having to interact with other people is “a bother” lies in the hidden feeling that it is most comfortable and best to live without interacting with others. When you interact with people, it is almost certain that troubles will arise. These troubles will eventually develop into misunderstandings and arguments, and hatred will be born. It is very painful and difficult to hate someone. Even if it does not go as far as hatred, even the feeling of dislike can be quite “troubling.”
The fourth century Holy father, St. Basil the Great, told his disciples: “God created man so that we might be connected to one another, so that we might depend on one another to help one another… The greatest danger of a hermit’s life is that of self-satisfaction. Since there is no one to evaluate his actions, he mistakenly assumes that he has perfectly fulfilled God’s commands. Secondly, since there is no interpersonal test to test the state of his soul, he does not realize his own shortcomings, and he is deprived of the opportunity to practice the commandment of love… To whom will he show humility? Where will he show mercy? How will he be generous? Think about it. The Lord wrapped a towel around his waist and washed his disciples’ feet to give us an example of humility. But if you choose to practice alone, whose feet will you wash? Who will you serve?” Today’s Gospel teaches us the importance of “forgiving one another,” saying, “For if you forgive other people when they trespass against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” However, before we take on the task of forgiveness as an important task of love, we must first ask ourselves: “Am I shutting myself up in a ‘reclusive life’ inside my smartphone?” “Am I withdrawing from all that is ‘troublesome’ in this solitude and escaping into my own heaven?” “Am I trying to live with as little contact with others as possible, so as not to have to deal with the hassle of forgiving and being forgiven?” The destination of the spiritual and physical journey of Lent is Easter. Easter is called Pascha. It is “Passover.” It is a celebration of the Passover to the Kingdom of God. This Passover is a journey from “I” to “we” as we walk along the path that Christ opened with His Cross and Resurrection. The starting point of the journey is sadness. It is the bitter sadness for the “I” who has fallen away from the way of being “we” that God gave us, saying, “It is not good for man to be alone,” to fearfully guarding our own “peace.” And prompted by that sadness, we must change direction from “I” to “we.” We are not good at being “we.” We are afraid of being “we.” But we must not turn back from this change of direction, saying, “It’s too much trouble.” If we are afraid of conflict and close ourselves off from relationships with others, even if that is a “peaceful” relationship that does not cause any trouble in our hearts, we must quickly realize how much it saddens God, who created us in the image of His Triune love.
When we set out on that path, we will first encounter Christ, God who came to this earth as “forgiveness.” In that “forgiveness” and love, we ourselves will then be transformed into those who “forgive,” and we will finally come to know Christ as the “Resurrected.” Orthodox Christians greet each other at Easter with “Christ is Risen!” “Indeed He is Risen!” This is how we confirm to each other that we have been transformed into “we.” At the end of the journey, fifty days later, on the glorious night of Pasha, let us joyfully call out to one another, “Christ is Risen!”