oshogatsu

::: hands down, new year's day (oshogatsu) is the grandest holiday in japan...

...people out in mass, traveling to hometowns, shopping for presents, preparing fine foods for the First day...as dawn breaks, people stream into local shinto shrines or buddhist temples for prayer and perspective...

...on new year's eve, in many public venues, japanese families gather to count down the new year...scoring free tickets from claire's uncle and aunt, last night we invited kari and nozomi...




...to a countdown concert featuring a wide range of musical performances...the centerpiece of the evening was beethoven's symphony no.9 performed skillfully by the suita city symphony, of which claire's uncle (foreground cello) and aunt (viola) are members...

...amplified by a rich wall of choral voices...

...the symphony's festive performance of no.9 excited the crowd seconds before the new year...

...no midnight misery here...nozomi, kari, and claire (left to right) at 12:00:01...

...a first look at the ryus in 2006...happy new year everyone (akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!)...

...after the concert, claire's uncle and aunt treated us to our first feast of the new year (like our family back in the states, our family here wants to fatten us up!)...

...during our meal, my uncle raised searing questions regarding the necessity of religious belief and the exclusivity of jesus christ...these questions, strikingly honest vis-a-vis japanese conventions, were framed by shusaku endo's image of japan being a swamp that absorbs all religious thought...

...to our surprise and encouragement, claire's aunt briefly shared about her fervent faith as a high school student in south korea...it was apparent, however, that she felt torn between the faith she inherited from her parents and the fidelity she seeks to maintain...as we said goodbye for the evening, we sensed the need for more patience, prayer, and christ-centered presence with our uncle...

...waiting for the trains at 1.30am provided some much needed silence...

...some space to just smile and appreciate friendship...

...in light of our earlier conversation, some space to see the cross and consider its power here in this so-called swamp...

..."for i am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek...for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'the righteous shall live by faith'"....(romans 1.16-17 esv)

...or, as the message (eugene peterson) puts it...

"it's news i'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with the jews and then right on to everyone else!...God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what scripture has said all along: 'the person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives'" :::