Usopp and One Piece

Recently I was reading an article about how anime has become more and more pervasive in the West and thought that I could shoot off some of my thoughts on some subjects around this from time to time. I was born in 1984 and anime was a small part of my early life, much larger during my teens, and though I don’t watch much of it at all right now, I have lived in Japan for the past 16 years, so I am never quite out of the loop on things.

One anime that I got into, namely through the recommendation of a trusted friend is One Piece. To tell the truth, much before watching the anime, I read the anime and still have (as of now) all 112 volumes. Its a story about Luffy who gathers a crew to set out and find the treasure the “One Piece” and so become the “Pirate King”. The show is much deeper than that, but generally most deep novels have simple and easy to understand objectives that help give grounding for the more thoughtful aspects of characters and episodes (the Lord of the Rings is just about throwing a ring in a volcano…but it is because of this base that we are able to explore the good and evil that is in all people’s hearts).

Before I ever go into any storylines that are very illustrative of Biblical values (and there are many), I think I should introduce my favorite character…Usopp. He is the fourth member recruited and works as the sniper/gunsman for the crew…though he also has other jobs such as creating the emblem, building weapons and doing minor ship repairs before Franky came along. He shown to be a coward, but in a sense, this presentation of his fear ends up showing the complete opposite. Perhaps Usopp is the bravest member of the crew. That is because his disposition and his strength tend to him being more negative regarding himself. He is not rash, not gungho, not super strong and in now way assertive. Yet he is faced with danger for his village and later for his life numerous times. And in all of these cases, he half runs away, only to come back and face what he knows he has to do. If he were naturally strong and brave, then perhaps he would go about these dangers without second thought and face them head on. But that is not his personality. Yet despite his deep fears that are always with him, he continue to push them aside and eventually choose what is right rather than what his fears dictate to him.

I think that shows how we should be very slow to judge the hearts of others. We see someone who doesnt raise their hand up as fast, doesnt volunteer right away, doesnt look as assertive or intentional as others…and we pin it down to some intrinsic fault against them. But what we do not know is that the ladder that this person must climb to get to the same ground as another, is much higher. While the expression of bravery given by two people may look the same on the surface, internally, person A may have worked 100x harder than person B. Again, I understand how we are not equipped to judge the hearts of others as only Jesus can. We can still point to truth, but we do so humbly, knowing that we can neither know nor see all that there is.

Usopp and his struggles and victories remind me of a C.S. Lewis quote…“Human beings judge one another by their external actions. God judges them by their moral choices. When a neurotic who has a pathological horror of cats forces himself to pick up a cat for some good reason, it is quite possible that in God’s eyes he has shown more courage than a healthy man may have shown in winning the V.C. When a man who has been perverted from his youth and taught that cruelty is the right thing, does some tiny little kindness, or refrains from some cruelty he might have committed, and thereby, perhaps, risks being sneered at by his companions, he may, in God’s eyes, be doing more than you and I would do if we gave up life itself for a friend.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

Back at it (Holy Spirit)

So after not writing on the blog for sometime, this October I should be a bit more faithful with my writing. While there are a number of topics that I could, and later will touch on…why not talk about the Deftones and the Holy Spirit (an unlikely combination!)

So, for those who do not know, the Deftones are a band from the early/mid 90’s that contain so many different kinds of elements that it might be better not to label them. They aren’t country. And broadly speaking, they are rock. But that is enough of a description. A few weeks ago (I’m writing in Autumn of 2025) they put out their latest album “private music” and on the album is a song called “Madonna’s Milk”. I’ve listened to enough music to sort of anticipate the vague but negative words against religion and such…but I was pleasantly surprised! The words, as a Christian, I could probably wholeheartedly sing as praise (to an extent). The references used, though vague, were also seemingly based on the Bible. Tongues of fire against the night? A new wine?

Needless to say, besides great music, I also could this time also feel the lyrics stronger…now, do I think the Deftones or the lyric writer are Christian? I have no idea. My guess is that the Holy Spirit, the filling and fire that comes from such a filling is used in a more vague notion. Less God Himself moving a person and more a religious spirit-something giving a kind of special energy. That is my guess (but who knows!). Regardless, I was sort of happy to be able to sing along with the Deftones about the Holy Spirit.

And that brings me to my next and only superficially related point. Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? That is a very long answer, but this past Sunday I preached on John 16:7-15 and learned some things myself as I prepared the message (as we should always be learning and understanding things to the next degree clearer). But to keep things brief, one thing that I gained more clarity about was the relation to Christ’s work on earth then and the Holy Spirit’s work one earth now. In short, it is a continuation. That Christ returns to the Father does not mean that His work will cease…rather the Helper, the Holy Spirit comes and continues to do the same things that Christ had been doing. People were convicted of sin by Christ, and so will be by the Holy Spirit. People were called by Christ and so will be called by the Holy Spirit. Christ confronted the powers of the world and the Holy Spirit will continue to do the same. And finally, just as Christ coming is revelation, so the Holy Spirit continues to reveal the glory of Christ. All this is to say that the active work of God in this world has not become less since Christ’s ascension. Because He still is at work in this world at this moment, both in those who believe and through other means…just through the work of the Holy Spirit.

So, just as Christ gave us “new wine for new wineskins (referenced in the Deftones~), so the Holy Spirit also give us this new wine. We are to be not intoxicated with “wine” per se (in other words, not over consuming and over relying on alcohol), but rather with the Spirit. Just as Jesus confronted the powers of this world (against the night?) and defeated them by the cross, so are we filled with the Spirit to stand against the powers of darkness, but not with weapons of steel and bloodshed, but with “good”.

Very hodgepodge post, but, I needed to write, so write I did…

Living in historical places

I’ve lived in Japan now for over 16 years, half of it being in the Kanto (Saitama) region, and now the other half being in the Kansai(Hyogo) region. While living in Saitama, Japanese history often seemed to be a bit more removed from my actual day to day life. I lived in Souka草加 (famous for the origin of Senbei, Japanese rice crackers) and Koshigaya越谷, famous now for a large mall…and I’ve been around to some places of historical importance (Ashikaga, Nikko, Kamakura) though not with historical study in mind (those places were just a part of daily life).

Now I live in Kansai…I live in Kobe, have meetings in Takatsuki (Osaka), sometimes have to go to Kyoto and Nara for other meetings, have visited Omi, been near Sakai…and suddenly all the history (from around 1500) has become so much easier to comprehend. Having been to these concrete places gives me a mental map of areas, scenery, distances that makes reading history much easier. There is over a 500 year gap between then and now, but even so, there is something very permanent about land and location that gives me a loose connection to the past. I can now understand what people mean when they come back from Israel or Turkey and read the Bible again, finding it easier to picture and comprehend.

Anyhow, was reading a book with a chapter on the city of Sakai and found myself reading much faster since I didn’t have to get lost in vague, unfamiliar names…the names had become concrete and close to my experience. Perhaps this is also a lesson for communication and conveying ideas in general. Concrete, familiar terms and pictures are more easily digestible to us. An “apple” is more understandable than “food”. This is a lesson I need to remember for my own communication…

How we connect with God (and how we might block these channels).

At my church I have been giving a series of talks on the basic Christian life, and through studying and preparing for the second talk, spiritual habits, I came to some important discoveries that I think are both helpful for my own personal life as well as when I have a chance to teach.

There are numerous spiritual practices that we can do as Christians. Sometimes these are called “means of grace”. In short, these are often the channels through which God works to speak to us and grow us in our a. proximity of relationship with Him. b. our clarity of understanding of Him c. Our likeness to Him…for which these then greatly effect our daily life. Some example of these channels/means are 1.personal scripture reading 2. prayer 3. attending church services 4. listening to a sermon 5. fellowship with other Christians 6. acts of service 7. praising God…actually, many more “means” could be listed, but for now, these are some foundational ones.

Now, in teaching about Christian growth, there is a danger that maybe many of us feel…it can be easy to turn these practices into a legalistic list of “do this”, whereas the focus is not on the end (growth in Christ), but simply on fulfilling a new kind of law. Often times, it is this short sightedness that can turn good words into heavy burdens. Bible reading is good in that it opens us to God Himself and He often speaks to us through His Word. Because we read the Bible, that does not mean that God will speak to us in a clear way every single time…in fact, it might feel somewhat rare sometimes. But through regular reading we are keeping a channel open for God to speak to us. So, the goal isn’t simply to just “read the Bible”, but rather to keep a channel open for God to communicate to us and for us to know Him more. Or perhaps listening to a sermon on Sunday at your church. Many times, we will not be particularly struck by the words of the sermon, but sometimes we are. It is because we regularly go to church and receive the Word in the form of a sermon that we are sometimes shown and led down further the road of growth.

So, what is helpful for our growth in Christ is to keep these channels active, desiring for God to show us, lead us, fill us, help us to see, etc.. Through the normal activities of prayer, praise, scripture reading, we are able to remain connected with the living God. Of course, God can use any means to communicate with us and cause us to grow. God spoke through a donkey to Balaam. God can confront us through people who do not believe in God. Sometimes through other experiences or nature or whatever, God reaches us. Yet more often than not, it is through these channels mentioned before that God does often work. We do in fact need God to work through, but that does not mean we can do nothing. Thus we continue to practice these things.

But, there are times when our growth feels as if it has stalled. We are not growing in Christ. While reading something that Harvest church put out some years ago (the Reveal Study) something obvious but important struck me. When our lives are in a kind of sin, perhaps an immoral sexual relationship, some immoral bad habits, or perhaps we are just holding on to bitterness very strongly. Often it is the case that while we are holding strongly on to a particular sin, we unconsciously start to cut the channels that are means for us to connect with God. We hesitate to read the Bible because we know that there are words against us. So we avoid it. We cease reading. What we are doing here is simply trying to protect ourselves from God Himself. Or, we might continue to read, but we will read it at an arms length, never letting it shine on our hearts. Perhaps this is why some people will quit going to church, because they fear God’s interaction with them and their sin. Just as we avoid people who will make us uncomfortable, when our lives are clearly in the darkness, so we will avoid the Word, church, people who might speak truth to us, prayer (other than for supper) and heartfelt praise. The reason being is, we are here walking the opposite path.

So for growth, what we need is connection to the Living God. But when sin is in our lives, these tend to be the very things we avoid. But, it is good to remember these spiritual habits not as ends in of themselves (reading the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible, praying but simply keeping up a habit), but as ways that we connect more with Christ. And it is through these connections that God causes us to grow in proximity, knowledge and likeness to Christ.

R.E.M.’s greatest album (in my opinion).

Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M.`s third album has sometimes been deemed as a weaker effort, but the tone and atmosphere of the whole thing seems to go beyond the individual songs to create something that is akin to a painting or a picture. It’s rustic. Weathered. Sorrowful. Lonely. Longing. It is the wooden fences that have slowly rotted with age. It is the sun setting over empty fields. Rarely does music allow you to feel things in a tactile way. Of course music should evoke feelings in the heart…but they don’t transport us to places and times and environments the way this album does.

One form of homesickness

So today I met a lady who had lived near Albany, NY (Troy) for sometime and suddenly my memories of my grandparents and aunt, the summers and Christmases that were spent there….all came flooding back. My grandparents have been dead for sometime and I myself can’t even get back to the states right now (it’s been almost 10 years), but just meeting someone who knows a place that is important to you helps me to feel “known”.

Being known or understood is a great comfort. We don’t need words or explanations. Without even saying much, we can convey our feelings and they “land” with the other person…because they know what we know. When we leave our homes and travel far, then a lot of this common knowledge disappears and we feel like strangers. We have an identity that is put away in the closet since it isn’t relevant to the new geographic area. All the things, though trivial, that were important to us don’t translate well to the new place. Even if certain sensations could be described, without experience they can never truly be known and so much of us will also remain unknown. But then comes someone who has lived in your hometown or visited…and there is an instant connection, as if a part of your home has come overseas and visited you.

Who we are affects what we build…

All to say that it is hard for us to build something that does not reflect who we are. I can hold so many learned ministry skills and accomplish and build much, but if my heart is full of pride or bitterness, whatever is built carries with it those sins (to an extent). That might not mean that what I build is there for “prideful” or whatever, only that the foundation becomes much weaker and unstable. Or perhaps the outside is big and grand, but looking inside is rot and putrid smells. Maybe we want to cut corners and just build something big without being pruned and moved through the crucible. But, to borrow some Star Wars wisdom…the quick and easy way is the path that leads to the dark side. Though the long and arduous path is no fun either. And while on the long path, the short path looks more any more attractive. Why not throw away principle and values if we can quickly move forward and up. But what are we really trying to build? What is the true goal? It must not be just “big” but “true” and “good”…which are so much more difficult. But time does test things and that which is good and true, sooner or later, shines through. Trust God and move step by step…

Very quick thoughts on Japanese theology…

Now, even as I write the title, I am aware of the danger of classifying something as “Japanese theology”, while I implicitly believe that there is no American theology or European theology…just theology. All theology is context bound, though that does not mean that all theology is incorrect or relative. But reading Kitamori’s “the Bible and Japan”, some comments he made regarding the unique contribution of Japanese culture to the understanding of the Bible and theology…I couldn’t help but recall many people with similar sentiments. That, all theology that has come to Japan is in part cultural imperialism and through self-theology, the Japanese church will become free.

There are many parts of this sentiment that I do agree with. There is a sense where the west becomes smug and seems to look down on other cultures. The attitude is that “if you want to learn real theology, you’ve got to come to us”, which is not congruent with a Biblical outlook (I should probably have some Bible reference here, but its late><). Also, much of the Japanese evangelical church has been somewhat bound by American and other missionaries, while 日本キリスト教団, (United church of Japan?) might be bound to Barth or Brunner or other western theologians…so, through self-theology, the church of Japan can better speak and live the Gospel of Christ.

At the same time, I sometimes feel that this “freedom from the west” is given too much emphasis so that the goal is not mainly ” to know Christ and preach Christ in Japan”, but rather to throw off shackles and ties to church in the west. When the emphasis is simply to create distance from other countries rather than to grow in proximity to Christ, theology becomes less about the pursuit of God and more about the pursuit of self. When God is the goal, then there may be incidental agreements between Japan and the west, which is no burden, since the goal is achieved. When one’s country is the goal, the agreement between other churches of the world is one only admitted begrudgingly and with quick asides to show the audience (whoever they are) that the friendship is not so strong. In a sense, disunity is lauded.

So that is one of my concerns that I see from time to time. Good night~

Meandering about Church Life in Japan

This probably could be labeled as a “part 1” since there are likely to be many more to come after. But in thinking through about what kind of church God finds pleasing, maybe I have a finger on one problem that the faces the church in Japan. Like all things, most strengths are also weakness and vice versa. So, while much of the older generation value community, this emphasis on “others” can in turn be a weakness. While we are called to love and care for others, that often can become a either a fear of other people’s opinions (for those who are less vocal) or a loathing of other people’s habits (for those who tend to be more vocal in the church). Even though a person’s first and most important gaze should be towards Christ Himself, Christ often becomes hidden by the voices, the opinions and the hustle and bustle that happens in the church. In one sense, some aspects of pietism (being alone before God) are almost looked down negatively (especially if they get in the way of some of those who driving the church forward). Now individualism is perhaps an even larger problem, especially in the generation born around 2005, and I think that will merit another blog post. But for now, I want to just hone down on this aspect of church life.

Now, through and through the Bible, both parts of the Christian life are held to be incredibly important. The greatest commandment is not “love thy neighbor”, but rather “love God”. And yet, we read numerous times in the letter of 1 John, those who hate their brother or sister cannot truly say that they are loving God. So, to put it two ways, while loving God is a priority, the second greatest commandment “is like the first”, it involves loving others and it also seems to be evidence that the first commandment is actually taking place. But then, if we should concentrate solely on the second and conclude that since we love our neighbor, we are therefore in fact loving God…or that by only concentrating on giving a cup of water we need not worry about looking towards Christ on a personal level, falls wide of the mark. The pattern seems to be that when we first look towards Jesus and love Him, this will nurture and eventually harvest a great love for others.

In the church context, there seems to be a few zealous and vocal people who are often very opinionated and whose speech can be somewhat harsh and judgmental. These people tend to gravitate towards the center of church life and also seem to be the movers and shakers of a congregation. For one thing, they are not passive. They also have a strong sense of duty, responsibility and are driven. These are all good traits, but when these traits in and of themselves are held to be the ideal traits of the church, church life becomes tilted and somewhat twisted. These traits all need to go through the crucible of the cross and the Gospel of grace. We are called to die with Christ and then rise with Him. We die to ourselves and in a sense, all of these traits that we carry with us also must die in a sense. Not so that we become blank slates or empty people, but rather that these traits become reborn through Christ. So we are not just driven towards efficiency…but rather we have a heart for people to grow and people to know Christ. In church life, because the context is the church, both things can look much the same. Aren’t they all for Christ? Yes and know. Anything one does for the church can appear to be for Christ and of Christ, but that is due to the setting. A lot of times, people carry these traits, but they are unchanged (they are not redeemed) and it is here where we see a lot of damage done. What we come a cross is not the rule of Christ in the church, but the rule of a few active people who happen to be Christians.

How can we tell if traits have been transformed through Christ? I think all things will have the aroma of the Gospel. The attitudes and words that people speak, their demeanor, the way they approach their neighbor…they would be bearing the fruit of the spirit through their God given traits of drive and duty. Do the actions of others produce fruit in keeping with repentance? Do these actions push people simply to accomplishing a task, or towards Christ Himself? Do people walk away with a stronger conviction of God, or do they come away spiritually injured?

With the Japanese emphasis on community and the reality of strong people who have not been held accountable regarding the “cruciform life”, many churches become not so much churches of Christ, but churches of Mr. Sato or Mrs. Nakamura…etc.. People come to church, but there is very little thought of the thoughts of Christ towards them…rather almost wholly is their disposition shaped by the person sitting to their right. And that person’s face is not one that looks like that of an angel, as when Stephen died…but rather hard and distorted, full of anger and not of the spirit. Full of pride and not of humility.

But how do we navigate this? What is the solution? That will maybe be a later post, but the simple answer is really to look at Christ first.

Pikmin and management

Perhaps when writing a blog, a person can focus on a certain niche or subject and write a lot about that, which is probably helpful for the blogger as well as those who can read multiple articles on the same subject. The other way a blog can be done is with the focus on the person themselves. I think if the said blogger themselves is interesting or already famous, then really anything they do can be interesting. But I think that kind of person is very rare and I certainly am not that person. Thus, I feel a sort of need to steer everything back to theology or the Bible somehow. I’m not sure if that will happen this time or not since I want to talk about…Pikmin~

I knew about Pikmin for a long time but my past birthday I received Pikmin 4 and seriously played it for the first time. And what I learned is that the game, aside from beautiful ascetics and cute creatures, is mainly about multitasking and management. How can a person be as efficient as possible. And what that involves is sending the right pikmin to the right job. You don’t send the pikmin to break down a wall and just watch. You send a large number to the wall and in the meantime you collect other materials and send other pikmin to fight some other creature. It reminds me of working in a coffee shop. During the opening hours, there was always a rush of customers. And if you are brewing coffee or getting espresso out, you don’t stand and watch, you try and move cups or cut a bagel or put more beans into the grinder….

When everything goes smoothly this can be quite addicting. But also, expediency can destroy some good and beautiful things. As for pikmin, the places are beautiful, but one is never really allowed to just stop and admire the scenery. Nature becomes just a backdrop to the hustle and bustle. So there is a goodness to efficient management, but taken to an extreme, we lose sight of some more important things in life.

Tying things to the church, good management and being efficient is a good thing. But, the temptation might be to do more and more and more and more….and while we can say that we are “accomplishing great things”, unless one completely stops and does nothing, one can really never know God. We are made to work, but made for more than work. We are also to enjoy and cherish God and the people and good things that there are. Of course, the solution isn’t “bad management” which only causes frustration. I think good management in moderation. To delegate and work together, but to also resist the temptation to push more and more…to go faster and faster. I think because of the reality of God, we become free to actually stop. But also because of the reality of God, we do have goals to work forward to. I guess to work with these two thing in mind, which means a life of adjusting and readjusting. But the reality of God helps us to enjoy the most out of both parts of life. Both the going and the stopping.