Beautiful in His time / 時にかなって美しく

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There had been twice in my life when I was so nervous in front of someone out of respect that I broke out into sweat. In the last week of June, the third incident arose. In Vienna, where it felt the arrival of summer, my sweat glands opened up, as I met pastor Goichiro Takahara and his wife for the first time.

My mission this time was to be the Takaharas' "bag/suitcase carrier." The married couple were on an evangelistic trip, visiting Japanese people in 10 cities in 8 European countries, and had just done evangelistic meetings in Vienna and were heading by train for the Czech capital. (To move from one place to another in overseas with heavy bags and suitcases is exhausting and I wanted to ease a bit of their burdens.)

There was a reason why I was nervous in front of the pastor.

A few months after we were sent out to Austria, my wife was diagnosed with cancer and we had to fight the disease for about a year and a half. It was a difficult time not only for my wife, but also for our little children, and although I tried to discipline myself (mentally and physically) to take good care of them, my body was honest - various ailments began to appear in my body.

A way to unwind my mind during such a period (still ongoing) was to put on jogging shoes and head for the country roads. I played worship songs on my cellphone, listened to the audio Bible, and learn from not only sermons from our sending church, but also pastor Takahara's Bible messages (his personal YouTube channel has over 45,000 subscribers). When I returned from jogging, I felt as if some of my anxiety and stress had flowed away along with my sweat. Through his Bible messages, I received comfort, encouragement, and courage from the Lord God, and was sustained by the truth and love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And surreal was that I found myself sitting in front of the pastor in the train. On the way to Prague, I tried not to show my nervousness, but my armpits were covered in sweat and I wasn’t sure at times what I was talking (laugher).

Upon arrival at the Prague train station, we were greeted by two women representing the Czech Japanese Christ Church. https://ty4design.wixstudio.io/czech-japan-church/blank-3 Mr. and Mrs. Takahara arrived at their hotel just before 9:00 p.m. As soon as I thought the day's program was over, a meeting for the next day's evangelistic event began. The couple hadn’t even had dinner yet. Nonetheless pastor Takahara asked, "Who are going to come tomorrow?" He continued, while writing the notes, "ok, thank you. From now I'll make  tomorrow’s Bible message!” that would draw non-believers closer to Jesus and help open their hearts for Him. Goichiro Takahara is an incredibly experienced speaker with overwhelming amount of information and knowledge, who gives more than 340 sermons/lectures a year. Surprise hit me, however, to discover that there is such meticulous preparation, prayer and dependance on and submission to the Lord behind all that he does in public. 

The next day was the first meeting of the Czech Japanese Christ Church. Hearing about the history of Jesus’ disciples who had worked diligently for the souls of the Japanese people in the capital of this Eastern European country in the past, and thinking that their prayers had led to the birth of this new church, I could not help but praise God's faithfulness. Then the Lord called two female believers living in the Czech Republic, and the sisters in Christ who accepted God's challenge listened to His voice and prayed, making preparations step by step for the launch of this Japanese church. And at this timing, pastor Takahara was led to the church.

The evangelistic meeting was not only filled with laughter but it was also moving. It was a beautiful opportunity for believers to praise the greatness of the Lord and for non-believers to reflect on Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. A Christ’s church was born in Prague, and the Lord's warm gaze was upon it. That's how I felt.

I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Takahara, who, despite their busy schedule, came to share the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ to our people living in Europe, and to the many people who supported the couple behind the scenes on their European evangelistic tour, and above all, we wholeheartedly worship the Lord Jesus, who, for His glory, made everything happen beautifully in His time. 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

これまでの人生で、人を目の前に、尊敬の思いから汗が吹き出るほど緊張したことが２度ありました。そして6月の最終週、３度目の機会が訪れたのでした。

夏の訪れを感じるウィーン、初対面の高原剛一郎ご夫妻を目の前に汗腺が開きます。

今回の僕のミッションは高原ご夫妻の『かばん（スーツケース）持ち』、10都市8カ国を訪問するヨーロッパ宣教旅行中のご夫妻は、ウィーンでの集会を終え、電車でチェコの首都へ向かわれるところでした。（外国で、重いバッグやスーツケースを転がしながら移動することの大変さを身をもって知っているので、少しでも高原夫妻のお役に立てたらと思った次第でした。）

高原先生を目の前に緊張するのには理由がありました。

オーストリアに派遣されてから数ヶ月後、妻ががんの診断を受け、約1年半の非常に厳しい闘病生活を強いられました。妻だけでなく、幼い子どもたちにとっても辛い時期、看病する僕はしっかりしなければと自らを律するものの、体は正直です。さまざまな不調が身体に現れ始めました。

そんな期間、緊張状態をほぐす方法（現在も進行中）は、ジョギングシューズに履き替え、田舎道に向かうことでした。携帯で賛美の曲を流し、オーディオ・バイブルを聴き、そして栃木の母教会や高原先生の聖書メッセージを聴くこと（彼の個人YouTubeチャンネル、ごうちゃんねるは4万5000人以上の登録者がいます）。ジョギングから戻ると、汗と一緒に不安やストレスも少し流れ出た気がするのです。先生のメッセージを通して、主なる神さまから慰めや励ましや勇気を受け取り、主イエスの真実さと愛に支えられました。

そんな高原剛一郎氏が目の前に座っておられる。緊張を表に出さないよう努めますが、プラハに向かう車中、脇は汗でびっしょり、自分が何をしゃべっているかわからなくなることもありました（笑）。

プラハ駅に到着すると、チェコ日本語キリスト教会https://ty4design.wixstudio.io/czech-japan-church/blank-3 の代表の女性2人が出迎えてくださいました。高原ご夫妻が宿舎に到着したのは午後9時前、この日のプログラムは終了かと思うや否や、翌日の伝道集会のための打ち合わせが始まりました。まだ夕食も摂っておられない。しかし高原先生は、「明日はどのような人が来られる予定ですか？」と参加者について聞きながらメモを走らせ、未信者の方々が少しでも主イエスさまに心を開けるよう「メッセージをこれから作ります！」とおっしゃるのです。年間340講演以上をこなす圧倒的経験、情報量と知識量を持つ先生ですが、背後にこのような綿密な準備と祈り、主への全幅の信頼と服従があることを知り、驚きに打たれました。

翌日は、チェコ日本語キリスト教会の第一回目の集会。過去に、この東欧の国の首都で、日本人のたましいのために尽力された方々がおられた歴史を聞き、彼らの祈りが、この新しい教会の誕生につながっているのかと思うと、神さまの忠実さを賛美せずにはいられませんでした。そして、主がチェコ在住の姉妹2人を呼び出され、神のチャレンジを受取った女性たちは、御声に聞き従いながら、祈りながら日本語教会発足のため一つ一つ準備を重ねてこられたのです。そこに、このタイミングで高原先生が導かれた。

伝道集会は、笑いと感動に包まれ、信仰者は主の偉大さをほめたたえ、未信者はイエス・キリストに思いを巡らせる麗しい機会となりました。プラハの地で産声を上げたキリストの教会、主のあたたかい眼差しが注がれている。そう感じました。

ハードスケジュールの中、遠いヨーロッパに住む同胞に福音の素晴らしさを届けてくださった高原ご夫妻、彼らの欧州宣教旅行を陰で支えられた多くの方々に感謝を捧げ、そして何より、主ご自身の栄光のために、すべてを時にかなって美しく成してくださった主イエスキリストに心からの礼拝をお捧げします。

神のなさることは、すべて時にかなって美しい。神はまた、人の心に永遠への思いを与えられた。しかし、人は、神が行なわれるみわざを、初めから終わりまで見きわめることができない。《伝道者の書 3:11》