エフェソの信徒への手紙1:7-10 Ephesians 1:7-10,

こうして、時が満ちるに及んで、救いの業が完成され、あらゆるものが、頭であるキリストのもとに一つにまとめられます。天にあるものも地にあるものもキリストのもとに一つにまとめられるのです。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　（エフェソ1:10）

これは、多くの人々にとって謎めいた言葉に聞こえることでしょう。「あらゆるものが、頭であるキリストのもとに一つにまとめられます」とは、いったいどういうことでしょうか？まず、その前に記されている「時が満ちるに及んで、救いの業が完成され」について考えてみましょう。この場合「時が満ちる」とは、終わりの日が来ることを示しています。そして、「救いの業が完成され」とは、キリストが再び来られて最後の審判を行うことによって、神様の救いのわざが完成されることを表しています。つまり、これは使徒信条で告白されているように、終わりの日にキリストが再びこの世に来られて、「生きている者と死んでいる者とを審かれ」、その審きによってキリストを信じて従った人々の「からだの復活」と「永遠のいのち」が完成することを表しているのです。

そうすると、「あらゆるものが、頭であるキリストのもとに一つにまとめられます」とは、キリストが最後の審判を行われることによって、すべてのものがキリストのご支配に服従するようになるということです。キリストは十字架で死んだ後、復活して天に昇られました。そして、今も天において全宇宙を治めておられます。しかし、この世界には未だに神様に逆らう勢力が残っており、時には大きな力を及ぼすこともあります。私たちが世界の不条理ということを感じるのは、そのような神様に逆らう勢力が世界に残っていることにもよるのでしょう。しかし、キリストが最後の審判を行われるときには、神様に逆らう勢力は完全に滅ぼされます。テサロニケの信徒への手紙二の1章6節と7節で、パウロは次のように記しています。「神は正しいことを行われます。あなたがたを苦しめている者には、苦しみをもって報い、また、苦しみを受けているあなたがたには、わたしたちと共に休息をもって報いてくださるのです。主イエスが力強い天使たちを率いて天から来られるとき、神はこの報いを実現なさいます。」

このように、最後の審判ということが聖書で教えられ、使徒信条にも告白されています。ですから、「あらゆるものが、頭であるキリストのもとに一つにまとめられます」とは、あらゆるものが救われますというおめでたい言葉ではありません。キリストを信じてキリストに従った者には「からだの復活」と「永遠のいのち」という報いが与えられ、キリストに逆らった者には永遠の滅びという報いが与えられることによって、「頭であるキリストのもとに一つにまとめられる」ということなのです。　　（11月17日の説教より）

It has been about a year and a half since COVID-19 became equivalent to Category 5 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law, and the Japanese government’s restrictions on behaviour were lifted. According to a Kyodo News report, “In the year from May 2023 to April 2024, when COVID-19 was classified as a Category 5 infectious disease under the Infectious Diseases Control Law, the total number of deaths was 32,576, according to population statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This is a significant number of around 15 times the number of seasonal flu deaths, and the majority of these deaths were among the elderly.” In Japan, many people may have the impression that the so-called “corona disaster” is over. However, looking at statistics like this, we can see that it is actually not over yet.

In his book “Overcoming Absurdity: A Philosophy of Hope,” published about two and a half years ago, Dr. OGAWA Hitoshi, a professor and philosopher at Yamaguchi University, wrote the following about the pandemic of COVID-19.

One day, suddenly, due to an unidentified virus, we were denied our daily lives and isolated like microorganisms being managed in a laboratory.

In a single night, the position of the virus and humans was reversed. The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus that began in 2020 with such an absurd beginning is still causing a commotion in human daily life that can be called franticness (Translated by MIYOSHI Akira).

According to a Japanese dictionary, the Japanese word “fujōri” (absurdity) generally means “the lack of a logical sequence in things, or the lack of conformity to reason. However, the word “fujōri” also has a philosophical meaning. It has a very serious meaning: that it is “absurd” to be unable to find meaning or hope in life, and that it is even more “absurd” that humans are trying to overcome the absurdity when they are unable to do so. This is the issue of the absurdity that the French literary figure Albert Camus questioned people about through his works.

In his novel The Plague, which is based on the theme of infectious diseases, the main character, Dr. Rieux, says that the only way to fight an epidemic is to fulfil one’s role as a doctor with integrity. Dr. OGAWA Hitoshi quotes this, and says that he thinks many people have realised that the only way to fight the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus is to fulfil their role with the same integrity. After that, Dr. OGAWA asks the reader the following question.

Now that we have become somewhat accustomed to the pandemic, I think that this integrity that people have realised is not just about concentrating on what you have to do, but also includes the meaning of integrity towards society and the earth.

Even if it is not the direct cause, there is a cause for the absurdity. It is not unreasonable to say that the current pandemic is also the result of humans taking an unfaithful attitude towards society and the earth.

This is not in the sense of divine punishment or anything like that, but in a scientific sense. Many experts have pointed out the possibility that excessive capitalism has led to the reckless exploitation of nature, bringing unknown viruses closer to human settlements.

In that sense, this sense of integrity is something that is needed to prevent the next pandemic (Translated by MIYOSHI Akira).

Dr. OGAWA Hitoshi, has an unique background: after graduating from university, he worked for a major trading company, was a part-time worker, and then worked for Nagoya City Hall before becoming a philosopher. Perhaps because of this background, he discusses philosophy in relation to familiar reality. So, in response to this person’s realistic approach to raising issues, we Christians would like to consider how we can live with integrity in the midst of absurdity.

In verses 4 and 5, which precede today’s Bible passage, it is written that God had already predestined and chosen those who would believe in Christ before the creation of heaven and earth. And according to verse 6, this was so that those who believe in Christ might praise God’s glorious grace. And in verse 7 of today’s passage, we are told what that grace is like. It says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” The phrase “redemption through his blood” expresses the idea that Christ’s death on the cross paid for our sins. This reminds us of what the author of this letter, Paul, wrote in Romans 3:23-25 as follows.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

This passage shows the meaning of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion in a very concise way. First, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” means that because the ancestors of humans rebelled against God, all of humans have a nature that rebels against God, that is, sin, and is sentenced to eternal destruction, that is, death, by God’s judgment. And all “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” means that because Jesus Christ died on the cross in place of humans to atone for our sins, those who believe in Christ can be forgiven their sins by God free of charge and be counted as righteous. Furthermore, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith,” means that, just as in the Old Testament, God decreed that sins would be atoned for and people would be cleansed by sacrificing animals such as cattle and sheep, God gave Christ to humans as a propitiation, and by believing in this Christ, we are saved from sin and death. According to Matthew 26:27-28, Jesus Christ himself took the cup of wine at the Last Supper before being crucified and said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” If we go back even further, in the time of Moses in the Old Testament, the Israelites were suffering as slaves in Egypt, but by putting the blood of a lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their houses, they were able to show that they were people who had been redeemed by God, and so they were able to depart from Egypt without suffering any disaster.

In this way, the Bible shows us God’s abundant grace in that those who believe in the atonement of Christ’s sacrifice are forgiven of their sins and saved. Many people may say, “I don’t do anything that bad, so I don’t need forgiveness of sins.” However, just as a small cigarette fire can cause an entire forest to burn down, ignoring your own sins, even if they seem small, can lead to the destruction of your entire life. If we do not receive the forgiveness of our sins from God every day, even if our sins seem small, we will be caught up in the absurdity of this world and, without realising it, we will commit great sins and be destroyed.

Returning to the Epistle to the Ephesians, verses 8 and 9 read as follows.

which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

When it says, “he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will,” it means that God has given us “wisdom and insight” to know “the mystery of his will” through the grace of Christ on the cross. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 as follows.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

According to this passage, Christ crucified is “a stumbling block” to the Jews, who value the laws of the Old Testament, and is something that is cursed by God. It is also something that is “folly” and useless to the Greeks, who value worldly wisdom. However, the fact that Christ was crucified to save humans actually shows “the power of God and the wisdom of God.” And “those who are called,” i.e., those who have been called to believe in Christ, are those who have received “the power of God and the wisdom of God.” So, returning to the letter to the Ephesians, God had a plan to save humans through Christ, who was crucified, and as verse 8 says, he revealed this plan and made known all wisdom and insight. So, “the mystery of his will” is God’s plan to save humans through Christ, who was crucified.

However, “the mystery of his will” is not just that. Concerning it, verse 10 says that “as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” This will probably sound like a mystery to many people. What does it mean when it says, “to unite all things in him”? First, let’s consider what is written before that, “the fullness of time.” In this case, “the fullness of time” refers to the coming of the Last Day. And on the Last Day, when Christ comes again to judge the world at the Last Judgement, God’s work of salvation will be completed. In other words, this refers to Christ’s Second Coming, as confessed in the Apostles’ Creed, “to judge the living and the dead,” and to complete “the resurrection of the body” and “the life everlasting” of those who have believed in and followed Christ through that judgment.

In this way, “to unite all things in him,” means that, through Christ’s Last Judgment, everything will submit to his rule. After dying on the cross, Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Now Christ is ruling over the entire universe from heaven. However, there are still forces in this world that oppose God, and sometimes they can be very powerful. Perhaps the reason we feel the absurdity of the world is because of the existence of such forces that oppose God. However, when Christ comes to judge the world, the forces that oppose God will be completely destroyed. In 2 Thessalonians 1:6 and 7, Paul writes as follows.

It is just that God should balance the account by sending affliction to those who afflict you, and relief to you who are afflicted, and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels (REB).

In this way, the Bible teaches us about the Last Judgement, and it is also confessed in the Apostles’ Creed. Therefore, the phrase “to unite all things in him” does not mean that everyone will be saved. Rather, it means that those who have believed in Christ and followed him will be rewarded with “the resurrection of the body” and “the life everlasting,” while those who have opposed Christ will be rewarded with eternal destruction, and so God unite all things in Christ.

Today, I began my sermon by talking about the absurdity of the world in the form of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. There are many other absurdities in this world. When you think about the people of Noto Peninsula who suffer from both earthquakes and flooding, or the people who are killed by random killings in the big cities, or the people who are killed by bombing in the conflict areas of the Middle East, you can only call it absurd. Recently, in a reference to the “gacha” game of smartphone games, the fact that a child’s life is greatly influenced by their natural appearance, abilities and family environment has been referred to as “parent gacha,” in the sense that a child cannot choose their parents. This is also a word that expresses the absurdity of the contemporary age. In this world of this age, where we cannot help but be aware of these various absurdities, how should we live?

The philosopher, Dr. OGAWA Hitoshi, quoted at the beginning of today’s sermon, says that “the absurd is a sad thing that cannot be helped, but at the same time, it is also a comical situation because it cannot be helped.” He also says that “because it is comical, instead of getting angry, we should laugh it off. And we should laugh it off seriously. In that way, at least we can live with dignity. What if the world had a will and tried to annoy humans through war, disaster or fate? If we laugh it off, they will have no way out” (Translated by MIYOSHI Akira), he says, suggesting that we should laugh off the absurdity and overcome it.

However, I don’t think that we can live with integrity by laughing away absurdity. The teachings of the Bible are completely different. The Bible teaches us to live with hope in the midst of absurdity, believing that, no matter how many absurd matters there are in this world, in the end God unite all things in Christ. By believing in “the mystery of God’s will” – a plan that saves those who suffer from the absurdity of this world through Christ’s cross, gives them the strength to live through the forgiveness of sins, and ultimately destroys evil through Christ’s Last Judgement, and gives those who believe in and follow Christ “the resurrection of the body” and “the life everlasting” to complete their salvation. Let us live through this world, which seems to be full of absurdity, by believing in “the mystery of God’s will.”