The February 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 to God the Parent for protecting us and guiding us toward the Joyous Life by showing us unlimited workings in various instances with warm parental love. Continuing, he said: “All of us Service performers as well as church head ministers and other Yoboku will deepen our awareness as instruments of Oyasama as we strive to respond to Her parental love by earnestly engaging in single-hearted salvation. We are determined to dedicate our utmost sincerity to this cause so as to see Jiba filled with vibrancy and enthusiasm befitting the final year of the pre-anniversary activity period.”
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements. After the Service performance, Honbu-in Yoshiyo Ueda took the podium to deliver the sermon.
Speaking about the teaching of “leaning on God,” Rev. Ueda noted how leaning on God the Parent by trusting God in any and all matters would allow us to receive the most reassuring, wonderful blessings. “We can find a model of leaning on God in the Divine Model of Oyasama,” said Rev. Ueda, noting that there are three keys to following the Divine Model, and they are “having an awareness that the body is a thing borrowed,” “being free from greed and empathizing with others,” and “making the Parent of Origin known.”
In elaborating on these points, Rev. Ueda spoke about how true salvation comes from leaning on the Parent of Origin. He stressed that doing so is the key to experiencing complete peace of mind and the Joyous Life, a state of the world where God the Parent provides us with free and unlimited blessings through our body. Noting how the service, the Sazuke, and conveying the teachings to others are all means to lean on the Parent, Rev. Ueda said: “Following the path while always leaning on God and feeling Oyasama close to us will allow us to receive God the Parent’s free and unlimited blessings, which will in turn enable people around us to attain true salvation. This is what it means to follow the Divine Model by leaning on God.”
