Cold Season in Japan

Well it's fall time, which marks the debut of cold season in Japan. Yes, as I ride the trains even cold season proves itself to be a new cultural experience for me here. I mean as sickness sweeps through America, we rarely ever see the people inflicted wearing mask over their faces as if they were on the movie Outbreak starring Dustin Hoffman. But here in Japan, that is a common practice, to wear a mask over your face in order that others may not receive the air born virus quarantining them to the confines of their own bed room. So that’s where I am right now. Alone and separated from the world around me. That’s what happens when you have a cold and it’s contagious. I am sure that I could perhaps try the Japanese approach and wear a mask over my face into that I may go out in public without the fear of causing others to share in the same sickness that I am currently facing. It’s just a cold though and within a day or two it will pass. But as I ride the trains in Japan and I look at the people wearing mask over their mouths in order that others may not receive the same air born virus that deviates from their lips, I am reminded of the Gospel. The Gospel is something that we as Christians know and contain within us. In Holy Baptism we have become heirs of the Gospel through the Word and through the water. Because as St. Paul says, “don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:2-4. Therefore, through our baptism as Christians we should know the Gospel, the good news of life found in Christ Jesus, and we shouldn’t be afraid to make that Gospel air born. So often growing up, I feel as though there were times when I covered my mouth and was afraid to share that Gospel. But now, let us remove that covering from our mouths because while a cold or any kind of air born virus that confines us to our bed room is bad news, the Gospel of Christ is certainly good news!