MEDITATION TIPS 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time,
July 6, 2025

“I am sending you out like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3)

　The “wolves” of modern society are information. Not only is misinformation rampant, but what we intended to communicate correctly is misunderstood, and things we didn’t say are spread as if we did. In the face of such wolf-like information, we are truly like lambs. It's no exaggeration to say that the internet society has brought about a small amount of usefulness and irreparable harm. Social media, in particular, is a massive apparatus that directs our hearts toward what is wrong.

　While we can instantly obtain necessary knowledge for daily life in this information society, the indispensable “wisdom” for living life cannot be gained without direct encounters with people. This is because the wisdom for living life breathes within each individual as a unique way of being. “All true life is encounter.” (Martin Buber) I believe it is very difficult to encounter Christ online. The internet provides us with information about Christ, but encounters with Christ occur in encounters with real people. “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Tolstoy) Therefore, each person who carries a cross possesses a depth of life, and it is through encounters with such people that we encounter Christ. This is because the depth of suffering leads to the depth of prayer.

　In the philosophy of Zhuangzi in China, there is the concept of “the usefulness of the useless.” This idea, that true value lies in things that seem useless at first glance, is truly needed in our modern age. The rainy season has ended, and summer has truly begun. With consecutive days of intense heat, the weather forecast daily advises us to “refrain from non-essential and non-urgent outings.” However, in human relationships, this “non-essential and non-urgent” is crucial. The wisdom for living life is hidden not in purpose-driven discussions at meetings, but in the casual, non-essential, and non-urgent conversations and greetings of everyday life.

　Jiddu Krishnamurti, an Indian religious thinker and philosopher, said a curious thing: “Things are not solved by effort.” This might be a statement hard to accept for those who believe that “things are solved by effort.” On the other hand, we also hear stories of people who, no matter how hard they try, never see results, or whose efforts backfire the more they try. In such situations, one may feel unable to bear doing nothing, or feel compelled to act, yet remain fixated on finding a solution, unable to commit to the effort. Solutions, surprisingly, often come to us suddenly when we do nothing. “Doing nothing” is when we forget the consciousness of effort and striving, or during non-essential and non-urgent conversations and greetings. At such times, our minds are relaxed, and opportunities arise in a state of relaxation. The entire Bible expresses this as God’s work being beyond human comprehension.

　In the face of such wolf-like information, let us maintain peace in our hearts and say with Paul, “From now on, let no one trouble me.” (Galatians 6:17)

 　　　　　(Contributed by Father Yutaka Akabae)