Advent is coming. At this time of year, even in Japan, where Christians make up only 1% of the population, the streets are decorated with illuminations and people feel excited. And at this time of year, I remember a story.
I was baptized as a Catholic in 1996 and started to study websites around the same time. The following year, I made a website for my parish. At that time, few parishes had websites. Perhaps because of this, many people came to our Christmas mass after seeing our website that year. My fellow site-makers and I were happy, saying, “It’s great that we were able to celebrate Christmas with so many people,” but I was called in by a woman on the church committee and scolded. “We don’t want so many people to come,” she said. “We don’t have enough chairs; we don’t have enough parking spaces.” And finally, she said, “How can we protect our faith if we keep saying ‘please come, please come’ and all kinds of people come?”
Hmmmm. I think she wanted to say, “If all kinds of people come, we won’t be able to protect our faith, so we don’t want so many people to come.”
As a beginner to Christianity, a big question mark appeared in my head. Jesus Christ says to preach the gospel to everyone…What kind of faith protects itself by excluding many different people? Can faith not be protected unless others are excluded?
Protecting something is a beautiful reason for an action. Protecting family, protecting peace, protecting the country—perhaps we exclude many people and things for such beautiful reasons. I was reminded of Fritz Eichenberg’s print “Christ of the Breadlines,” and I was stunned. Perhaps Jesus Christ is among the things and people that we think are ‘natural to exclude.’
Jesus Christ came to this world as a baby that everyone could easily accept. However, when he grew up and no longer fit their intentions, people rejected and crucified him. Such thoughts may have been hidden deep in the hearts of humans since ancient times.
When you think, “I can’t accept them,” or “They should be excluded,” Christ might there. I think ‘they’ includes not only things or people, but also your own heart and thoughts. Jesus may be waiting for you in the places where you think, “This is the most hated part of me or the bad part of me, so it deserves to be rejected, and I don’t need to accept it.”
Now, almost 30 years after I was baptized, I feel that faith grows not by rejection but by acceptance.
What are the things, people and thoughts that you find difficult to accept and that you think deserve to be rejected? During this Advent season, be aware that Jesus Christ might be waiting there.