A letter from Thomas Goetz in Japan
July 2011
The Gifts of Christ
(A chapel message delivered to the students of Hokusei Gakuen University, 4/8/2011)
Ephesians 4:11–16:
The gifts Christ gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
Greetings and welcome to a new year at Hokusei Gakuen University. I wish to congratulate all of our new students for the wonderful decision made to come here and for our returning students, how happy we are to see you again. When I look back at my college years at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, I can only give thanks to my professors who taught me and pushed me to new levels of academic excellence. Sometimes I wondered if I was up to the task, but in the end, as I walked away with my diploma in hand, I knew that the four years I spent were well worth it. The friends I made there are still friends in the present, thanks in part to Facebook and other social networking sites. But I am not here to talk about the Internet. Instead, I wish I could be more cheerful. Sadly, the world in which we live is very different today than it was a mere month ago.
It seems so long ago. I was attending a conference, listening to fascinating presentations, making new friends and looking forward to visiting my mother the next week. I felt that I had plenty of time to prepare for classes and upload all of my teaching materials to our Internet server. But I returned to Sapporo from the conference on March 11, the day of the worst earthquake and subsequent tsunami in recorded history. I was on Skype just after the quake, and my brother in California called me. I thought how odd it was of him to be up so late. He asked how I was and how Japan was. I said that we did have an earthquake, but at least in Sapporo, things seemed okay. Then I asked him why. He told me to turn on a television. I could not since I do not have one in my office. Then, he told me what he was seeing, and my heart sank and sank. Later, when I got home, I watched the television with sadness and disbelief for many hours, well into the night.
Let's take a step back in time.
On January 17, 1995, at 5:43 in the morning, what happened? The Great Hanshin Earthquake. I was there with my family, as were hundreds of thousands more, in Nishinomiya. The quake hit, we woke up, reacted, and waited in our car until the sun came up. Once my wife and I decided that our home was safe, we were determined to stay and help all those who needed help as best we could. Some nights we had 12 people sleeping in our home. Many were people we had never met, but circumstances brought us together, and we could learn and support each other, making the best of a dire situation.
In today's reading, we hear Paul speaking similarly. Rather than talking about how to survive a natural disaster, Paul is giving the Christians in Ephesus some insights as to the strengths that we share as a people. Just like the people in Ephesus, we discovered that all of us had special talents and gifts to share for everyone's benefit. Paul talked about people being "apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." When seen from a distance, we might wonder if some of these occupations are viable in today's world. I mean, how many people make their living by being an apostle or a prophet? But if that is what we see, we are missing the point. The fascinating thing about reading Paul's letters is that we only get one side of the conversation. We have little knowledge about was happening in Ephesus that prompted Paul to write the letter, with this part placed where it is. It can be said that the people in Ephesus were in error about how to be a church. That Paul would spell out in plain language that of the many jobs that can be done by Christians, not all Christians need to do all of the jobs mentioned. Those who are best at what they do should do their jobs with a close sense of unity in faith with others who serve Christ but in different ways.
Recognizing the gifts that others have that make life better for all takes a mature frame of mind. In a crisis situation, as I experienced in the Kansai and so many others are experiencing right now in Tohoku, we are more open and accepting than in more normal times. In a time like that, we discover that no matter how old we are, we can adjust and grow, weep and heal, speak with truth and show love.
Hokusei Gakuen University is a unique place where the staff and faculty take pride in challenging the young minds of our students to see things from a newer or different point of view, an essential step in developing a mature frame of mind. I shall be the first to say that for some students, this is too much, but for so many more others, it is a tonic, or in other words, an invigorating and refreshing experience.
Make friends, join a circle or a club. Sign up for a few classes that are not directly related to your major. Minor in a foreign language. Travel on one of our many trips. Speak up when you see a fellow student dropping trash on the ground openly. We all share the gift of life that God has given us. And similar to Paul's teaching to the Christians in Ephesus, for them to find their own gifts and therefore their interconnectedness with Christ and the young church, I challenge you to discover your gifts while as a student so that you shall free yourselves within the context of our liberal arts college and in that process find out what are the gifts that God has given you.
Let us pray:
God, grant us the serenity
to accept the things we cannot change;
courage to change the things we can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as Christ did, this sinful world
as it is, not as we would have it;
Trusting that Christ will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
—Reinhold Niebuhr
Amen.
Thomas Goetz
Professor of English, School of Social Welfare, Hokusei Gakuen University
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 148
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