Good Morning, everyone! Happy New Day, Week & big “Thank You” for attending today’s service. This is our 2nd service for the month of March, 2013. I hope all of you are enjoying good health & excellent spirits.
We held our Spring Memorial Service on Sunday, March 3. I believe all the Mitama spirits associated with our church were anxious to witness that service. It was filled with Kami’s awesome workings thanks to your prayers shared with all those precious Mitama spirits. The weather was cool & clear, ... perfect for this season. The service was solemn & conducted to the strains of solemn Koto music played by my wife Kanako. I believe the first timers who joined us had a favorable impression & a sound introduction to the Konko Faith from our service.
This Spring Memorial Service turned out to be both unusual & especially memorable. Seven of our regular members couldn't make it due to illnesses & injuries. But in their place we welcomed five new people who joined us in this service.
A little after midnight on the service day morning I offered a special prayer calling all the Mitama spirits who are dear to our church. During those prayers I tried to hear Kami's reply of what I should do to renew myself to support those ill & injured believers unable to join us in this service. I thought especially of the members whose Mitama spirits are some of the most strongly related to this church. Surely the members & their family-Mitama were eager to see each other here in this worship hall. After praying for a while an idea came into my mind that Kami wanted me to receive more and more divine virtue by calming the depths of my heart with the assurance that Kami would arrange everything smoothly and perfectly. At the same time my prayers became more inclusive. Besides the Mitama spirits related to this church, I prayed with Kami’s assurance of peace in my heart for all the Mitama spirits in this world more sincerely than I had felt before.
With that assurance in my heart, I took a nap for about an hour before getting ready for the regular morning prayer service. As I napped I had a dream. In the dream I visited Mr. Tim Ogawa at his house because he was sick. He seemed to be very uncomfortable in my dream. In fact, both he & his family could not attend our Spring Memorial Service because of illness. It seemed their illnesses & injuries I’d seen in my dream really were Kami's arrangements.
My parent minister Rev. Soichiro Otsubo often taught us about Kami’s deep & unforeseeable arrangements. He once said, “Kami’s arrangement cannot be taught. It has be understood personally by each & everyone. Airaku explains how to understand it. There are no other arrangements other than Kami’s arrangements. Through each arrangement Kami wishes to give us more divine power. When we cooperate, they let us more clearly understand faith & bestow awesome divine virtue & blessings.”
＜ ご都合のおかげ
神様のご都合ということが、教えるというわけにはいかない。これは、めいめいが分からなければならないことです。分からせて頂く道を合楽では、説いてくださるのです。
神様のご都合ということは、より私どもに力を与えて下さろう、信心をより分からせよう、お徳も下さろう、おかげも下さろうとする、神様のご都合以外にはないのであります。 ＞
Let us practice our faith in a way that demonstrates our respect of heaven & earth in each & everything that happens in our lives. Let us reflect Kami’s divine arrangements. Let us deepen our heart so it will lead us to exemplify the universal principle that all is Divine Love. May it unfailingly fill us so we faithfully reflect the infinite benevolence of the heaven & earth that surrounds us.
Thank you.