We are the Fishers of People for the Lord to Build the Kingdom on Earth!

January 25 was the feast day of the Conversion of St. Paul of Tarsus.  This year (2015), which is Year B in the Liturgical Calendar, this feast day coincided with the 3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. For this reason,  the feast of the Conversion of Paul was superseded.

Following January 25, on January 26, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Timothy and St. Titus, who were important assistants to Paul.

It is no coincidence that feast days of Paul’s conversion, Timothy and Titus, fall on the week to contemplate on what it means to follow Jesus as his “fishers of people”, which is a key theme from the 3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time of this year (Year B).  In this article, I would like to reflect on how our mission identity as Lord’s fishers of people are related to the conversion of Paul, Timothy, and Titus.

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When Jesus was about 30 year-old, he came out of obscurity and met his cousin, John the Baptist, by the Jordan River to be baptized. His baptism marked the commissioning of Jesus to embark on his ministry, which is his mission, given by the Father, who loved him and blessed his mission, saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”(Mark 1:11). He was also anointed by the Holy Spirit as he came out of the river water (Mark 1:10), prior to the Father’s blessing.  This reminds that the full presence of the three Godheads of Trinity as Jesus began his mission.

Jesus’ baptism was followed by his 40-day retreat in the desert, as taken by the Spirit to ensure his is strong enough to complete his mission, as he successfully fended off series of temptations from Satan (Mark 1:12-13).

These events –  Jesus’ baptism and fasting retreat in the desert (Mark 1:9-13) – give meaning to the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Confirmation, two important formation Sacraments to us.

Jesus was ready and strong enough to start his mission. But, he waited until the imprisonment of John the Baptist (Mark 1:14-15), who was preparing the way of the coming of Jesus for his salvific mission (Mark 1:1-8).

What marks the beginning of Jesus mission is that he recruited his Apostles by the Sea of Galilee, where the Jordan River’s water that baptized Jesus and others, flows in and out.

According to Mark,  in making the very first batch of the Apostles, Jesus promised to make Peter and his brother, Andrew, two fishermen of Galilee, “fishers of people” (Mark 1:18), as they followed him.  This marks the beginning of Jesus’ 3-year public ministry for our salvation.  This is also how Jesus himself began “fishing” as “fisher of people”.

As Peter, then called Simon, and his brother, Andrew, were caught in Jesus’ “fishing net” by giving up their own fishing nets, Jesus continued on catching more to build his “fishing enterprise”, to save those whom he and his disciple caught, as the Gospels describe.  Furthermore, the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s Epistles describe, Paul, who used to catch people to kill, while the disciples of Jesus were catching to save, after Jesus’ Ascension, also became another fisher of people to save, joining the original fishers of men for Jesus. This is called the conversion of Paul – changing himself from a fisher to kill into a fisher to save. Then, Paul ended up becoming a “fisher” , who caught most, as his “ fishing “ journey went far beyond  where other “fishers of men” were working. Along Paul’s great “fishing expedition”, he also made others his companion “fishermen”.  The two of them were Timothy and Titus.

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An important take-home message from the 3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel reading – Mark 1:14-20 – is that we are called to serve the Lord as his” fishermen”. In fact, not to catch fish from the water but to catch fellow humans with the net of Jesus’ teaching – the Word of God. 

Following the Christmastide, which ended with the Sunday after Epiphany, the Sunday to commemorate the Baptism of the Lord, the scriptures from first two Sundays in the Ordinary Time (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19; John 1:35-42 – First reading and Gospel reading for the 2^nd Sunday; Jonah 3:1-5,10; Mark 1:14-20 – First reading and Gospel reading for the 3^rd Sunday)  are about our callings and our need to respond to the callings.

The Baptism of the Lord, in fact reminds of us the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, which is his way of responding to his own calling by the Father.  This also calls our attention to the meaning of our own baptism, signaling that we, too, are called and need to respond to our respective. By virtue of sacramental baptism, we are also called to embark on ministry, as Jesus began with his own baptism.  That is why on these two Sundays, following the Baptism of the Lord, the scriptures focused on calling – challenging us to reflect our own callings.

Now, to build on the theme of calling, the scriptures from the 3^rd Sunday teach us that our callings entail our mission, and it is to be “fishers of people” (Mark 1:17).

What does Jesus mean, calling us to serve as “fishers of people”?

In contemplating what it means to be “fishers of people”, it is helpful to think of what it takes to fish and what it takes to follow Christ and minister to others.

Being “fishers of people” refers to making disciples, as Jesus himself made Andrew, Peter, James, and John to follow him as fishers of men, to start his mission together, by the Sea of Galilee.

Upon recruiting his fellow fishers of people, “converting” ordinary fishermen of Galilee, who used to catch fish, into a new batch of different kind of fishermen – fishers of people, Jesus taught them “fishing” – how they work as “fishers of people”, through his own example, for the next 3 years, until his Ascension. For example, Jesus showed how he can “catch” a very difficult “fish” – how he can “fish” a difficult person  - , when he converted the Samaritan woman by the Jacob’s Well (John 4:1-40).

After teaching what it takes to follow him as fisher of men for about 3 years, as written in the Gospels, just before  his Ascension to return to heaven, Jesus left these words to the disciples, stating the mission as the fishers of people, beyond Jesus’ physical presence on earth:

 "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:16-19).

Based on the above Mark’s writing, Matthew also tells as below:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

Therefore, serving the Lord as “fishers of people” means that we go all over the world to share the joy of the Gospel with people and do whatever that is necessary to take care of those who receive and accept the Gospel.  This follow-up includes baptizing, catechizing, and facilitating charismatization. Those who serve the Lord as priestly fishers of people, need to pastor the people we catch to build and maintain the Church.

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What follows the Gospels in the New Testament is the Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke.  In the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples worked as fishers of men after Jesus’ Ascension to build the Church – namely, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, as it is in heaven.

This leads to understand how the Conversion of Paul fits in the thematic context of the “fishers of people”, because the Conversion of Paul is described in Acts 9. In the rest of Acts and Paul’s Epistles, we can find in more detail about how Paul, upon his conversion, served as a fisher of people for the Lord.

Along with his work as a Lord’s fisherman to catch people for him, Paul made Timothy and Titus as his disciples – fellow fishermen, to catch more people to build more churches.

As written in Acts 16, during his second mission trip, Paul met Timothy in Lystra. As Andrew, Peter, James, and John, followed Jesus and became his fishers of people in Galilee, Timothy also became a Lord’s fisherman, as he was caught by another Lord’s fisherman, Paul.

Though the Acts of the Apostles does not mention how Paul met Titus, Paul himself mentions him as his companion to Jerusalem, fourteen years after his conversion and meeting with Peter  (Galatians 2:1-5). Paul took Titus to Jerusalem in response to respond to a problematic teaching on circumcision by the Pharisees.

Though Timothy and Titus were not the only accompanying assistants to Paul’s “fishing” journeys, as these include Barnabas,  Mark, Luke, and Aquila and Pricilla, Timothy and Titus were the only ones that Paul wrote his personal pastoral letters to, as in the New Testament cannon. Therefore, even though they were not with Paul at the same time, we acknowledge these two “fishers of people”, who traveled with Paul, together on January 26, following the feast day of Paul’s conversion.

To Paul, obviously, these two “fishers of men”, Timothy and Titus, were important enough not only to personally write pastoral letters to instruct their “fishing” and “taking care of their catches”, but also to make them bishops of new churches, built through his mission (“fishing” journeys.  With Paul’s blessings, Timothy became the first bishop of the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1), and Titus became the first bishop of the church in Crete (Titus 1).

Reading Paul’s pastoral letters to Timothy (2 letters) and Titus tells us how we, too, as Lord’s “fishers of people” should take care of our “catches”, while the Gospels tells how Jesus taught the “fishing” to the Apostles and the Acts of the Apostles describes how the Apostles actually practiced the “fishing” that Jesus taught them in the Gospels and how their “fishing enterprise” – ministry and the Church – had grown during the first century.

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Conversion of our own hearts is necessary for us to be better “fishers of people”.  It is a necessary condition for us to strive to be better “fishers of people” for the Lord. We take a lesson on this from Jonah and Paul.  It is no coincidence that Jonah was mentioned on the 3^rd Sunday, which also coincided with and superseded the feast day of Paul’s conversion, this year (2015, Year B). After all, we would not know Timothy and Titus as notable bishops, unless there was Paul’s conversion.  In other words, there would not be the feast day of St. Timothy and St. Titus (January 26), unless there is the feast day of the conversion of St. Paul (January 25). And,  the conversion of St. Paul made him a “fisher of people” for the Lord, and making Timothy and Titus as his catch and his fellow “fishers of people” for the Lord.

As in the First Reading for the 3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Jonah would not have been a good “fisher of people” in Nineveh of Assyria, unless he himself had gone through his own conversion.  Jonah's heart was not with God, when God called him to go “fishing” to Nineveh.  In his defiance to God’s call, Jonah ran away. But, the “fishing net” of God came upon him as a big fish, which swallowed him into its guts, until Jonah repented and converted his heart to obey God.  When he came out of the big fish, Jonah was ready to go “fishing” in Nineveh to save people there, as called by God.

As the Acts of the Apostles, its chapter 9 on, tells, Paul would not have been such a great “fisher of people” for the Lord, unless he had gone through his conversion.  The effects of Paul’s conversion was not just opening his eyes, after being blind from a lightening, but also and more importantly, opening his heart wide open.  The openness of Paul’s heart is a good example of a circumcision of heart (Deuteronomy 10:16), which he himself emphasized in his “fishing”, as he cast his “net” widely to the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, in the Greco-Roman world (Romans 2:25-29). This way, an old Jewish obsession with circumcision did not become an obstacle of “fishing” to catch the Gentiles for Paul and his assistant “fishermen”, such as Timothy and Titus.

Just as there are good fishermen and bad fishermen, not all “fishers for men” are the same.

For example, Paul, then called Saul, used to be a terrible “fisher of people”, because he was aggressively catching Christians to kill them. He was much feared. He was also in the authority to kill the catches his associates “fishers of people” brought (Acts 8:1). But, through his conversion, Paul was no longer such a bad “fisherman” any more.

When Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of people" (Mark 1:17), he meant that we are to become good fishermen, who catch people with the net of God’s word to put them into the life-giving container, which is the Kingdom of Heaven. The purpose of “fishing” as Jesus calls us to is not to kill our catches, as Paul and his men used to do, but to save our catches into the Kingdom.

On his way to Damascus, to bring Christians caught by his net to be executed in Jerusalem, Paul was struck by a lightening (Acts 9:3; 22:6) and became blind for three days. During that time, he heard Jesus calling him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”(Acts 9:4; 22:7). Furthermore, he heard Jesus saying, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do”(Acts 9:5-6;22:10). To this command of Jesus, Paul said, “Yes, Lord” (Acts 9:10).

This was Paul’s conversion. His conversion was prompted by his encounter with Christ, upon being struck by a lightening. This was like how the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola began, as it began when he was struggling with a near-fatal war injury, upon being hit by a French army’s cannon ball. What was a cannon ball to Ignatius was what was a lightening to Paul.

As the Acts of the Apostle chronicles, Paul, after he became a fisher of men for the Lord, not only continue to catch more and more people but also built churches and trained his assistants, such as Timothy and Titus to pastor the churches he and his assistants built. These churches are where “fishers of people”  keep their catches to be fed not only by the Word of God but also by the Body of Christ. This is also where the catches are placed to be saved.  Paul needed to build more churches as he and his assistants caught more and more people in their nets for the Lord.

As God called Andrew and his brother, Peter, to go “fishing “ to catch people , – as God changed Paul from being a fisher of people to kill for those who killed Jesus to a fisher of people for the Lord to save people, and as Paul trained his assistants, such as Timothy and Titus, to be better “ fishers of people” and to take care of vessels that their catches were kept, we, too, are called to go “fishing” to catch people and put them into the ever-expanding place, called the Church, which is a prototype of the Kingdom, as in the ecclesiological view of St. Thomas Aquinas .

Today, we are also called to go “fishing”, following the way Jesus “fished”, as Peter, Andrew, James, and John, did, as Paul did upon his conversion. It is to build the Church through evangelization and to build the healthy soul of our catches through our works of mercy (spiritual and corporal), including catechizing them. This way, we facilitate the charismatization for them so that, they, too, may grow to be our fellow ‘fishers of people” to further build the Church, which is to become the Kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven.  For this reason, Jesus said:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

Now, I hear a priest, who is a lead "fisherman", saying, “Mass is ended. Go fishing! And, bring your catch here to feed and save!!”   Amen! & Thanks be to God! 

Abortion Moral Logic and Infanticide Moral Logic

January 22 is when we pray for protection of unborn children, in response to Roe v. Wade anniversary day.

Unfortunately, some people do not recognize these growing most vulnerable human lives as real human children.  These folks call them “tissues”. 

They justify killing these lives, because these are just “tissues”. Thus, taking them out of their mothers’ wombs is like taking tissues samples for biopsy or removing tumors surgically.

This is not right. 

But, the proponents for abortion argue that removing these “tissues” in women’s wombs is for the benefits of women, especially when their pregnancy can be detrimental to these women’s health. 

It seems to make sense – only if you subscribe to dualism and embrace only “either-or” mentality. 

Say, if you happened to argue affirmatively for abortion on your moral ground, which is to justify abortion for the sake of women’s health and saving women’s lives, when pregnancy poses a threat. 

Then, what about a situation, where a mother suffer from postpartum depression, and raising a baby is deemed as stressful and aggravate this pregnancy-induced terrible psychological condition. Would you justify infanticide for the sake of this mother’s mental health?  Let’s say, for the sake of this argument that giving away the baby for an adoption is not an option in this case. 

Do you see a logic of justifying infanticide the same as a logic of justifying abortion?

The Blood of At. Agnes of Rome, Protect Us from Temptations of Satan and Antichrist

January 21 is the memorial feast of St. Agnes of Rome.

She lived and died for Christ, as her name, “Agnes”, indicates.  In Latin, Agnes is “agnus” means a  lamb. In Greek, Agnes,  is  “hagne”, meaning  holy and pure.  In Spanish, Agnes is Ines, which also indicates chastity.  In fact, Agnes was virgin. Thus, her name, Agnes, suggests an unblemished lamb, like “agnus Dei”, the Lamb of God, namely, Jesus as Paschal Sacrifice for our salvation.

Agnes was pressured to marry to a man of impure heart. She had no heart for this man. She refused to give herself to a marriage to this man for the sake of her faith in Christ and her chastity. In response, the man grew angry at her and conspired Roman officials to kill her.

Basically, because of her faith, Agnes was condemn to death by a wicked man, whom she refused to marry.  But, at that time in Roman Empire, it was unlawful to execute a virgin. So, she was taken to a brothel to rob her virginity by rape. However, a man who tried to rape Agnes was struck by divine forces and became blind.  So, she was bundled to a wood to be burned. But, the wood did not burn. Finally, she was killed by a sword. 

When a sword pierced her body, blood spilled out of her to the floor. In a way, this evokes an image in John 19:34, blood and water gushing out of Jesus’ body on the Cross, as a soldier pierced his side.  In fact, the blood coming out of Jesus on the Cross led to the soldier’s possible conversion, as indicated in the following verses (John 19:37-37).  Definitely, the blood of agnus Dei, Jesus, the unblemished lamb of God, has the power to convert us. Again, the conversion power of the blood of Christ was reminded with the image that St. Faustina saw when Jesus appeared to her for Divine Mercy (Diary 47, 187).

Though the blood came out of Agnes does not have the same effect of the blood of Jesus, her blood must have been believed to have it special effect, as many believers flocked to the floor where Agnes’ blood was spilled over and dipped edge of their cloaks, perhaps– as if to soak with the blood of Christ. Like the blood of paschal lamb on Passover (Exodus 12:22), they must have thought that soaking their clothes to Agnes’ blood would protect them – not from persecution but rather temptations so that they would not give up their faith in Christ for the sake of their own lives.

The way Agnes, a 12-year-old virgin, lived and died for Christ, kept her faith in Christ, even it cost her own life, is very inspiring to the faithful today. Though her earthly life was cut short, it is fully meaningful, because she did not live and die in vain.  The way her life was concluded gives deeper meaning to her life.

As Jesus said in Luke  9:24 and 17:33, we would lose life if we became attached to it. In a way, this echoes an important Buddhism teaching of non-attachment, alobha.  Agnes did not have the kind of attachment that Buddhism teaching sees as a defilement (klesha) , because of her faith. Her faith in Christ kept her from klesha of upadana (attachment). That is why she was able to follow her heart. That is why she was able to resist and refuse that man for the sake of her faith, even though it cost her life. And, I am sure she has no regret.  Though we do not know much detail about the psychological condition of Agnes toward her death, I do believe that she was content with the way she lived and died. And, that makes her life meaningful.  She never compromised her faith – her belief.

In these days, many pew-filling Catholics are shifting more toward compromising their faith, for the sake of practicalities, even though keeping the faith uncompromised does not necessarily cost their own lives. It just costs their own “convenience” with popular secular cultural trends of time.  This will lead to an increase of lukewarm faith Catholics.

That is why Jesus appeared to St. Faustina to remind us what his blood gushing out of his body really means. It is to save her from temptations and possibilities of making our faith compromised and lukewarm because of the way our secular world turns. Not to mention, it is to protect us from falling into the klesha of upadana (defilement of attachment) so that we can keep our alobha (non-attachment) to our earthly life. This makes our faith pure and strong, enabling us to live and die for our faith in Christ, if necessary, as in the case of St. Agnes and many other blood-shedding martyrs.

In essence, this is what the spirit of Samurai, known in Bushido, is about, as its essence if found in dying – not in vain but for the sake of a lord, whom samurai serves with absolute loyalty. In this regard, Agnes is a great Christian “samurai” hero, who experienced the very essence of Bushido as she died for her Lord, Christ.

Now, St. Agnes, as well as other martyrs challenge us to see how well we, too, can live and die for our faith in Christ – for Christ.

May the precious blood of St. Agnes, protect us from evil and his attack on us, including temptations. Amen.

The Baptism of the Lord - Concluding Advent-Christmastide Spectrum

We commemorate the Baptism of the Lord this Sunday. In the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, the Sunday for the Baptism of the Lord is the end of the Christmastide.  Yes, we the Catholics have an extended Christmastide, an extra week from the Epiphany Sunday.  

In a spectrum that begins with Advent and ends with Christmastide, begins with the first Sunday of Advent and ends with the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord, Christmas is the peak of this special season for deeper reflection.

During Advent, we were reminded how God’s salvific strategic plan unfolded first through Mary and then through her son, Jesus.  It was God’s arrangement to choose Mary to be conceived immaculately to begin His preparation to bring the Messiah to this world in a human form, as Jesus, fulfilling the Isaiah’s prophesy in Isaiah 7:14 and as said in John 1:14. And, God sent his messenger, Angel Gabriel, to Mary to announce Mary’s pregnancy with Jesus (Luke 1:26-38).  Then, Jesus was born into the condition of material poverty in a stable in the outskirts of Bethlehem, only recognized by the marginalized, shepherds.  It was Christmas.

From there, Christmastide began. Though the birth of the Messiah in a human form, was rejoiced, we were also reminded of the bloodshed that the birth of Jesus brought, with the memorial feast of the Holy Innocent.  King Herod committed massacre of innocent baby boys in his frantic hunt for baby Jesus, because this corrupt king of Judea found Jesus as his rival (Matthew 2:16-18). 

The day that followed Christmas was the memorial feast of St. Stephan, the very first martyr for Christ. Thus, the Christmastide began with a stark reminder that the joy of the birth of Christ and the coming of the Messiah also brought some bloodshed.

Of course, it is not all bloody thing to characterize the Christmastide, as we also celebrated the feast of the Holy Family to honor the love that the Holy Family exemplifies. We are inspired by the way Mary and Joseph loved their baby, Jesus, as it gives us joy and hope in raising a child even circumstances can be so difficult to have and raise a child. Given the poverty of Mary and Joseph, Mary could have tempted to abort baby Jesus…and Joseph could have gave baby Jesus for adoption by a wealthy couple. But, they kept and raised Jesus through their unconditional and uncompromising love.

So, the Magi from the East also visited the baby Jesus, paying him a royal homage, suggesting that the baby born to Mary and Joseph in poverty, has a kingly quality (Mathew 2:1-12). In fact, an acknowledgement of a special quality in this baby born to a poor couple was done not only by the Magi but also by Simeon and Anna in the Temple, as the Gospel reading for the feast of the Holy Family (Luke 2:22-40) describes.

The Christmastide reminds us that the consequences of the coming of the Messiah in human flesh, Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, are both joyful and sorrowful.  They are joyful, because the Messiah has come to dwell among us to guide us into salvation – as God prompted Moses to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land beyond the Red Sea and the Jordan River from the oppression in Egypt. But, they are also sorrowful, as there are some bloodshed sufferings along the way of our salvation, echoing the eschatological tribulation before the parousia (second coming) of the Lord in Revelation – though those who are to shed their blood are those who are with Satan and anti-Christ during the eschatological tribulation.

Now, to conclude the Christmastide, Jesus has already grown up strong and become ready to begin his mission.  He is now coming out of obscurity as he stepped up to the riverbank of Jordan. Through his baptism, Jesus is no longer just a son of Mary and Joseph, the Nazarean, but the Lord, the Son of God (to which Jesus calls the Son of Man). This is when the good tiding that he brings begins to become evident!

People often ask why Jesus had to be baptized because he has no sin and he was born from the immaculate womb of Mary.

To this question, we must remind that the meaning of baptism is not just for cleansing but also for commissioning. But, Jesus chose to be baptized like sinners were baptized by John the Baptist for spiritual cleaning, out of his humility – the kind of humility of God, who willfully took a form of human flesh, which is often associated with spiritual corruption. Why? It is out of love – the kind of love that is not afraid to be become vulnerable and weak.  This is the kind of love that is willing to suffer from consequences of the weakness in human flesh. But, this is not just to suffer with us but in a way to lead our suffering to salvation so that we can experience redemptive quality in our suffering. Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 so well.

Through his baptism, Jesus was not only born in human flesh but also is now dwelling among us completely, by taking up what sinful men and women had to go through. This also signals that he will die in the most humiliating way as a sinner – though he has no sin at all, out of his redemptive love for us.

As we are ready to begin the Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar to follow not only the life of Jesus beyond the baptism, with our focused attention to his ministry, and prepare for Lent, let us once again reflect profound meaning of the spectrum of Advent and Christmastide with the peak on Christmas. 

Begin New Year with Laughter - 笑いの効用 上方落語の処方 - Psychosomatic & Psychospiritual Health and Laughter

明けましておめでとうございます。Happy New Year! 

*English article follows the below Japanese article.

笑う所に福来る、そして、一年の計は元旦にあり。皆さん、笑ってますか？

だから、正月早々、笑っていると、一年中、何があっても笑いを絶やさずにすごすことができますよ。

え？不景気で笑ってる暇なんかない？　あんた、せめて正月ぐらい、そんな陰気な顔しなはんな。。。

実は、笑いとメンタルヘルスを含めた心身の健康とのポジティブな相関性は１９７０年代のノーマンカズンズが体験した笑いとガンによる痛みの軽減とガンその物の縮小とそれによる思いもよらぬ２０年以上の延命という事実に端を発し、日本の伊丹仁朗先生がこの事実と森田療法の理論を統合し、日本のサイコオンコロジーの源流ともいえる”いきがい療法”を確立しました。

あけましておめでとう、と言っても、実際、喪に服している人にはそうは言えないし、別にガンで苦しんでいなくても、一年間、いろんなことあり、その中にはあれこれと苦痛を伴うこともあります。そんな辛い時でも、陰気な顔して悲観的になってうつ状になる人もいれば、そういった状態にもかかわらずユーモアで笑いを絶やさない人もいます。

最近２０年の研究では笑うことにより免疫機能が高まり、こうしたことにより、ガン細胞や病原菌の増殖を抑えることができると解ってきました。

こうした生理学的なからくりが”笑う所に福来る”という日本古来のことわざの科学的根拠ですね。不景気やからって言うて、笑うこと忘れてしもうたら、あんたのそういった悲観的な考え方がほんまにあんたの人生そのものをボロボロにしまっせ。

私、医者のなり損ないどころか、医学部にも入れなかったほどのアホなので、心理（心裡）の”あきんど”の身分で医者のような偉そうなこと言うのも大変おこがましいのですが、正月なのであえて医者っぽいことを言わせてもらうと、笑いの効用を発揮する”くすり”としてこの上方落語をお楽しみください。

不景気な方、現実的に、今年もまたしょうもない年かも知れませんけど、せやけど、笑ってえんかった去年と違い、今年は、不景気でもなんとか笑っていける年になるかも知れへんで。せやったら、困難も乗り切りやすいし、第一、病気にもなりにくい。不景気やからいつも陰気な気分でしけた顔しとったら、不景気の上、病気になってしもうて、それこそ泣きっ面に蜂でっせ。

まあ、この笑福亭福笑さんの”きょうの料理”という落語にあるように、おいしい炒めもん食べて笑って、心も体も痛めんようにしたらええ。

この落語の”くすり”、どうぞ！お年玉ですわ。

*****

In Japan, we say, “where there is laughter, there finds joy”.  Ancient Japanese believed that the Seven Lucky Deities would come to a home on a  boat, loaded with treasures, to bless its family on the New Year’s Day. To ensure the deities of happiness find your home, you must keep your smile as you usher the new year in. It has also been said in Japan that the deity of poverty seeks those who feel miserable and make themselves looks miserable because of the condition. Even though the misery is not lifted, you may, nevertheless, feel “happy” and experience joy amidst struggles, if you make conscious efforts to laugh and smile, in spite of the difficulties. It is because, the deity of poverty, who would keep you in misery for sure, is believed to despise people who acts happy, as well as acts like as if they were happy.

 The Seven Lucky Deities on the Treasure Boat 

In light of today’s clinical psychology, the lucky deities and the poverty deity in the above-mentioned Japanese folk belief correspond to positive belief and negative belief, respectively. In particular, this is related to an important clinical principle of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has been known for its efficacy in treating depression.  With mindfulness, this yields great effects in fighting depression, as indicated by a research study by Teasdale et al. (2000)*. Thus, it is good to keep our intention (mindfulness) to seek “lucky deities” by making conscious efforts for smiling and laughing.

Another Japanese proverb says, if the beginning is good, then, the ending is also good. It means that if you begin the New Year with a smile, then, you will also close the year with a smile.

Ever since Norman Cousins’ experience of how laughter could alleviate cancer pain and even shrinking cancer mass, resulting in his more-than-20-years of “extra” life during the 1970s, as written in his “Anatomy of Illness” (1981), scientists have been studying how laughter, as well as a sense of humor, can contribute to health, including mental health. And, the results are consistently showing positive correlations.  In the last 15 years,  studies, such as Takahashi et al. (2001)**,   show that laughter boosts immune functions, in particular, stimulating the function of NK cells, to discourage the growth of cancer cells and pathogens in our body.

As the Bible (Proverb 17:22) indicates, laughter sure is the best medicine!

Some may complain that not everyone feels “happy”. It is true that not everyone during the holiday season is in mood for laughter, even when everyone else is saying, “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Chanukah”, and “Happy New Year”.

It is not necessarily “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” to  everyone, as some have been mourning their loved ones’ losses with pain of grief, others have been suffering and struggling with life’s challenges, and so forth.  In fact, it hurts more when everyone else is in merry and jolly mood but you find yourself not so and feel so isolated. And, this is how some of those who are not in mood for laughter and smile feel during the holiday season.

But, this is where Norman Cousins’ lesson kicks in. And, we must be mindful about it – if we do not want the misery to become permanent.

In spite of all this hard reality in life, which can keep us from laughing, if we manage to laugh and smile, then, the pain of life’s suffering may be alleviated, if not necessarily life’s suffering itself would be taken away.

This is what the quality of life (QOL) as well as meaning of life, is about.  This is what resilience of life is about.

As we find something that is likely to make us laugh, we put ourselves in a better position to attract the seven lucky deities and keep these lucky deities with us throughout the year. Keep this always in mind is in our daily mindfulness. This way, we live this Zen proverb: Everyday is a good day (日々是好日), no matter how life circumstances may turn.  This is our resilience that lead to QOL and meaningfulness in life. 

And, this is not a laughing matter (no pun intended…ha, ha). Otherwise, we would be stuck with the deity of poverty and misery.

*Teasdale, J. D.; Segal, Z. V.; Williams, J. G.; Ridgeway, V. A.; Soulsby, J. M.; & Lau, M. A. (2000).

Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 68(4), Aug 2000, 615-623

**

Takahashi,  K.; Iwase, M.; Yamashita, K.; Tatsumoto, Y.; Kuratsune,  H.; Shimizu, A.; Takeda. M. (2001). The elevation of natural killer cell activity induced by laughter in a crossover designed study. International Journal of Molecular Medicine 8(6): 645-650