Hope in a dark world

Dear WTUC Family,

I hope that you had a wonderful week. In the United States, this is the week that Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday before going into the Christmas season. For us following the liturgical calendar, we just concluded the year with Christ the King Sunday this past week and will be entering Advent, a brand new church year, this Sunday.

Our first Advent Sunday will be focused on the theme of hope. A lot of people talk about how dark the world seems as we hear more about the wars raging in places far off and the continued effects of people contributing to a destabilizing planet, including a lack of care for our environment and the waste that we humans produce. And yet, we also need to remember that we are a more interconnected world, and as science progressed over these many years, we have become more aware to these things. When we look at the time Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah, the world at that time was just as unstable - with much concern regarding warfare and famine. The message of hope that was proclaimed then is just as relevant for today. The hope of the coming Christ is one that speaks into our world that easily seems to drive us into despair. It is because of the promise of the Messiah that we have hope. It is because of the arrival of the Messiah that we have hope. It is because of the resurrection of the Messiah that we have hope. And so, sisters and brothers, let us approach this Advent season with anticipation, both in excitement for the celebration of the coming Savior as well as the wait for the return of our resurrected Savior.

Rev. Dr. Jim Sack will be joining us with an Advent message this Sunday. We will be gathering online at 11:00 a.m. via Zoom. The Sacks have recently retired and moved to the mountains of Japan, but thankfully, with the technology that we have, we are able to hear the Word of God proclaimed from our long-time members this Sunday. Please come join us, and you can learn more about the service here.

I wanted to also bring to your attention about a service coming up at Tokyo Union Church on Sunday, December 7 at 5:00 p.m. TUC will be holding a Blue Christmas Service in the form of Taize, which is done to help those who find the holidays to be a difficult time, whether due to painful reminders or memories or through a current difficult circumstance. Even in these struggles, hope still awaits. You can join TUC in person at Omotesando, or you can also choose to join online at tokyounion.org.

I hope that you have a blessed week, and please take care of your health as the flu seems to be really getting around. May the Lord fill you with much hope this weekend.

Blessings,
Jonathan