Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5–6
Subject: Sad news concerning the death of Yu Furukawa
Dear beloved Samurai,
We often do not understand why the Lord ordains such things as the untimely death of those dear to us. But we do know that the Lord answers our prayers more truly, goodly, and beautifully than we can imagine or hope.
Just as there was evening, then morning (Genesis 1:3-5), “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5-6).
When Jesus, the light of the world died in our place to atone for our sins, the Sun turned dark (Isaiah 13:10, 34:4; Jeremiah 4:23), yet Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, as he had promised. The darkness did not overcome the light (John 1:5). On the day that Jesus returns, there will be no evening (Revelation 21:23-25, 22:5-6), and God will wipe away all of our tears (Revelation 21:1-5).
The Lord decided that he would wipe away Yu’s tears and take away all her pain, just a little earlier than he will for us. So in a strange way, Yu is more alive than ever, in the presence of Jesus. Even though for Christians, separation by death is but temporary, there is still sadness. Jesus wept when he saw Mary and Martha weep over their brother Lazarus. So Jesus knows well our grief. And we do not grieve without a sure hope.
We are confident that the one who wept for his friends, who lay down his life for his friends and took it up again (John 10:16-18), has taken Yu to be with him and that we shall join in praising him when he returns.
Makito Miyashita
SP Director
Funeral Sermon for Yu Furukawa
Naoki Tachibana
Pastor of His Presence Church in Kyoto
Owner of ‘The Bridge’ cafe
(English translation of sermon originally given in Japanese at the funeral of Yu Furukawa on Wednesday 4th December 2024 by Pastor Naoki Tachibana)
I would like to introduce to all of you here today a brief account of the life here on earth of Ms. Yu Furukawa. My name is Naoki Tachibana, the pastor of ‘His Presence Church’ in Kyoto and the owner of The Bridge, which is the cafe where Yu worked. I am the MC for today’s service and funeral. I have not done this many times, and so please forgive me if there is anything I do incorrectly.
I remember that it was the Christmas of 2021 when I met Yu-san. A Singaporean missionary took her to our bowling event where I was introduced to her. However, it was not until January 2023 that we really got to know each other. Yu came to us saying that she wanted to leave her hometown of Osaka and serve our church community in Kyoto. She found a new job, rented a new house, and began attending Sunday services every week. Finally, she began working as one of the opening staff members at The Bridge café, which opened in June of that year. Yu-san was born in Toyonaka City on the 20th of September, 1983, and lived in Japan until she graduated from a foreign language school in 2011. Then, she went to New York City, where she helped provide support for international students. It was in NYC that she had an encounter with a Christian, which led her to faith in Jesus Christ. After returning to Japan, she was baptized at a church in 2012, and for a while she belonged to a church in Kobe. Her last job before coming to Kyoto was working at a campus (Suita campus) of Osaka University as a member of the team which helps disabled students. One day, in a chance encounter on a bus, Yu-san met a missionary associated with our church in Kyoto, and after that she often came to Kyoto to our church services on Sundays.
From January 2023 to July of this year, 2024, Yu-san has been remarkably active both in the church here in Kyoto and in the café. Above all, I would like to mention her kindness and humility. She was so polite and kind to everyone, even putting me as a pastor to shame. Her kindness attracted many people. One episode I would like to share with you begins with a common sight in cafes: a menu signboard outside the café entrance. Many potential customers just stop and look at the signboard and then walk away. When I try to approach them, they usually scatter as if they were spiders. However, when Yu-san approached people, for some reason, they would almost always begin talking with her, and often end up coming in and becoming customers at the café. I am sure that even those who had never met her before were touched by her kindness, and their hearts were comforted.
Since Yu-san was fluent in English, she often translated at church, and also at the café for any foreign customers. She also helped with various bible messages and baptisms. However, what made her unique above all else was her evangelistic outreach. Today you should have a small card in your hand. Please look at the illustration on the back of the card.
It was these cards which Yu-san used when she went out into town to tell people about Jesus Christ. She would walk and pray and talk to people she met, show them the card, and explain the message of the Bible to people as follows: The red heart represents the initial state of a good relationship between the one Creator God and human beings. However, the world became corrupt because people decided they could do everything on their own and so they stopped looking to God and stopped trusting Him. That is what is shown by the picture in gray. Family breakdown, wars, viruses, and many other difficulties came upon us due to our turning away from God. Yet, seeking a solution, God sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world. That is what is written in yellow. Jesus Christ bore the punishment for all of our human sinfulness on the cross and died as a substitute. Those who believe in him will be forgiven and will be restored to a good relationship with God once again. And one day they will be resurrected in the same way that Jesus Christ was resurrected. Yu-san would explain this to the people whom she met and she would invite them to come to church. Yu-san loved this outreach. Even on the hot summer days this past year, she went out with a hat and parasol. And she would come home sweaty and red-faced. The Yu-san I knew loved Jesus, loved the church, and loved The Bridge Cafe.
But after the summer, she started to lose weight rapidly. She gradually stopped eating. And for some reason, she began to blame herself. It is impossible to know exactly what was going on in her mind. Yu-san, who never blames others and is very gentle, kept blaming herself. My wife and I were perplexed. We consulted various specialists, and did everything we could, including getting her counseling and psychiatric medicine. Her parents were so worried that they rushed to help her, and she finally returned to Osaka at the end of September. We do not intend to dismiss this as simply a mental illness or an eating disorder. We believe that some kind of twisted thinking may have led her to keep blaming herself, but no one really knows. The only thing I can say is that all Christian lives are in the hands of Jesus Christ, and each will be taken to heaven at the best possible time. The timing is difficult for finite human beings to understand, but it is the timing that Jesus Christ, who knows eternity, deems best.
In October, Yu-san was transferred from the hospital where she had been admitted to a larger hospital. Her heart suddenly paused. It did start again, and after she had been unconscious for five days, she miraculously regained consciousness. However, her internal organs, especially her kidneys, remained severely damaged, and she began dialysis. She was unable to speak or move her body, but she was still conscious and was able to communicate with her mother by closing and opening her eyes.
On November 11th, she began to be fed intravenously to avoid the risk of infection. On November 28th, the treatment finally reached its limit. Her blood pressure dropped to 50. It recovered and settled at 60, but we had to prepare for the worst. On November 29th, I played her a voice message that my wife Hiroko and I had made together for her, and she responded by opening her eyes and grasping her parents’ fingers as best she could with her weak hands. This was the last conversation we had with Yu-san before her untimely death at the age of 41.
Please take a look at the piece of paper in front of you that says ‘Ceremony for the late Yu Furukawa’. There is a passage from the Gospel of John written there. These are the words of Jesus Christ Himself. Let me read it to you:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
These are the words of Jesus Christ to His disciples just before He died on the cross. Unless wheat is sown in the earth, it will not sprout and bear fruit. Jesus Christ died on the cross alone for all the sins of humankind, past, present, and future, and took all our judgment on himself. Through this, the plan for the salvation of mankind was completed. This is expressed as bearing abundant fruit.
I was reminded of this verse when I heard the news of Yu’s death. Yu-san died and so fell to the ground. Of course, unlike Jesus Christ, she was not sacrificed by anyone. However, her death on earth to go to heaven left behind something that never ceases to exist, namely, fruit. You could call it a seed. Please will each of you remember Yu’s words spoken to you. Her kind words and words of encouragement will have been sown in your hearts like seeds. They will eventually sprout, grow, and bloom. At this time, I would like you to remember those seeds sown. Remember that the seeds she sowed were sown because of the love she received from Jesus, whom she loved. Jesus’ love comforted you, taught you, and gave you courage. And now you can sow the seed in someone else’s life. In this way, the world of kindness and encouragement and truth spreads. This is what the Bible calls the Kingdom of God.
I believe that Yu-san forgave herself in the end and was welcomed by Jesus. I believe that Yu-san’s hands, clasping her parents’ fingers with all the strength she could muster was some kind of a demonstration of this. Here is the voice message we sent to her:
“Yu-san, we think of you every day. You are one of our His Presence Church family. Embroidery has two sides. Even if the back side is a mess, the front side is a very beautiful rose. Even if you think that you are useless, God does not see you that way. You are a masterpiece in God’s eyes. God says that ‘In my eyes you are precious and honored. I love you.’ (Isaiah 43:4). Please do not condemn yourself or give up. You have a joyful life to live as God’s masterpiece. Please get well and come back to The Bridge again. Everyone is waiting for you, Yu-san, and I want to say ‘Welcome back HOME’. Can’t wait to see you. Please come back as soon as possible.”
This is the end of my talk, but I have made a slide show of photographs of Yu-san in the hope that you might see how bright and effervescent she was during the last year and a half of her life. And please know that the source of her bright life was Jesus Christ, whom she loved so much. I hope that you can see with your own eyes what the source of her joy was, and that the seed of this same joy will be sown in your hearts as well.
(Pastor Naoki Tachibana, Wednesday 4th December 2024)
