About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”?which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. . . . And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. . . . After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. (Matthew 27:46, 50-51; 28:1-2) [NIV]
　

  I would like to express my heartfelt sorrow for all of those people and their families in the disaster areas, and I pray that the Lord’s peace may be with them.


  This year, at 2:46 p.m. on Friday, March 11, eastern Japan was struck from underground by a catastrophic earthquake. Quickly following the earthquake was a massive tsunami from the side, causing a nuclear power plant accident and radiation from above: a three-dimensional land, sea, and air assault. The very ground upon which Japanese society had been built was violently shaken, the bonds between people shorn, and we were unable to perceive a light of hope when lifting up our faces in despair. After the earthquake, one person asked me, “Does God really exist?” I replied, “The March 11th earthquake occurred three days after Lent. God exists in the Passion of Christ, and God works through the process of resurrection and reformation.” Scripture tells us that an earthquake occurred when Christ let out his final cry of anguish on the Cross. Significantly, in the early morning of his resurrection three days later, the stone, symbolic of the distance between God and man as well as man’s desolation, was rolled back by an earthquake, opening up a new world.


  We remain in deep sorrow after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Yet, there is a relationship between extensive wounds and a new creation: wounds activate the healing process, resulting in rejuvenation and, in this case, the creation of new bonds between people. As such, there are increasing numbers of students in our schools who try to empathize with the people in the disaster-stricken areas and help them in whatever small ways they can. Thus, now is the time to rethink the stereotypical views, even towards education, that have hitherto dictated how society should be. Through this tragedy, let us, alongside the younger generation, determine to construct a new society in which we better support and cooperate with each other.


  Merry Christmas on the day of the birth of God’s child, who undertook the Passion of the Cross out of the unfathomable depths of the love He has for us. May His grace be with you this Christmas, and may the light of hope shine upon the people of the disaster-stricken areas and all of you abundantly in the New Year.

Christmas 2011
Mitsuharu Akudo
Chairman and President
Seigakuin University & Schools