Masland Library Blog

 Today's speaker in chapel was Makoto Fujimura, whose artwork has been featured in the PBU
library for a few years now. It was one of the most beautiful messages I have heard and it seemed a lot of people found it to be really encouraging for where they are at and have been feeling. Although his artwork is most definitely fabulous, what touched me the most was the fact that he was able to make the message he shared this morning an art in and of itself.

He spoke on John 11. He focused on verse 11, pointing out that Jesus’ tears in this passage can aid our understanding of the arts and culture. He described three of the people present at the scene including Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Each of these individuals had very different personalities, mannerisms, desires, thoughts etc. throughout the chapter. Because each of them was so different, the approach that Jesus Christ had to take to reach them individually had to be unique. Fuijimura reminded us that in our suffering and crises Jesus is the ultimate master of helping us uniquely in difficult situations. When life is filled with chaos, we need to be reminded that Jesus wept. He stated that a day will come when our sufferings will not be worth it anymore because we will be reclining with Jesus. Our reaction to this is to be that of love, prioritizing our lives, and truly living in Christ's freedom. Fujimura challenged us to face the world by creating and showing beauty, truth, and goodness. All of this should be done in confidence for God's glory.

Makoto Fujimura’s message displayed such reverence for the Lord, while also pointing out so many aspects of John 11 that I have never noticed. Take some time and check out the passage in light of Fujimura’s thoughts. Also, take some time and stop by the library to check out some of his artwork!

~Christa Joy Ciotta

Library Items by Makoto Fujimura

Makoto Fujimura's website

Image: Fujimura, Makoto. Aijo (Compassionate Love). Digital image. Makoto Fujimua. 1987. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .