The June Monthly Service of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters was performed on the 26th in the Main Sanctuary, with Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama serving as chief officiant on behalf of the Shinbashira.
In the Service prayer, Rev. Nakayama first expressed gratitude for the complete providence of God the Parent and the guidance of the everliving Oyasama, which allow us to enjoy the everyday lives that we are blessed with. Continuing, he said: “All of us Service performers as well as church head ministers and other Yoboku will deeply ponder over the Parent’s intention behind various occurrences that are shown in the world as we make decisive efforts in the current season with our sights set on the Divine Model, which is the single path that leads to the Joyous Life. We are determined to devote our utmost sincerity to spreading the fragrance of the teachings and engaging in salvation work as the instruments of Oyasama. This month, we started to perform a prayer service in the Main Sanctuary of Church Headquarters on Sundays, national holidays, and the 25th of the month. We pledge to take actions to make further progress in our spiritual growth as we pray for the completion of each Yoboku’s resolution toward the upcoming anniversary as well as for Your blessings in our salvation work.”
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements. After the Service performance, Honbu-in Hinao Nagao took the podium to deliver the sermon.
In his sermon, Rev. Nagao shared his view of what it means to “yearn for the Parent” in our faith by referring to Chapter 3 of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, “The Truth of Origin.” He noted that, when the children of Izanami-no-Mikoto grew to four inches (4 sun), she withdrew from physical life, which was followed by all her children passing away for rebirth out of a deep yearning for their mother. Rev. Nagao said that, in the light of the teachings, this event can be seen as none other than an action of yearning for Oyasama, who has the causality of the soul of the original mother, and of following the Divine Model, which is the precious path that She demonstrated for us to follow.
Rev. Nagao moved on to say that we would do well to use Oyasama’s Divine Model as a firm guiding principle for concrete decisions we make, concrete actions we take, and concrete words we speak in our daily lives. “This constitutes one of the most fundamental aspects of our faith for those of us who adore the everliving Oyasama as our Parent,” he said. Toward the end of his sermon, Rev. Nagao said, “Let us take the initiative to reflect the faith that entails caring about and yearning for the Parent to people around us including our family members.”