Finding My Christian Ikigai!

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jon 3:1-5,10; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20

The third Sunday invites us to realize the purpose of our Christian vocation, following Jesus. 

In my opinion, the theme of this week can best be explained through the Japanese philosophy of Ikigai. 

The word Ikigai has the following meanings: ‘alive,’ ‘life,’ ‘worth,’ or ‘benefit.’ Put simply, it is finding the reason, purpose, or meaning of one’s life. 

Ikigai is similar to the French term ‘raison d’etre’ or ‘reason for being.’

This Japanese health and wellness principle holds that physical well-being is affected by one’s mental-emotional health and sense of purpose in life. Aligned with the Greek Eudaimonia (the highest or only human good that is desirable), Ikigaiis not just a self-help tool but profoundly communitarian. 

Put simply, if we have a reason to get up in the morning, if we have a reason to be happy about, and if we are consumed with the pursuit of something meaningful (for us and others), we have found our Ikigai. 

The point that concerns us most about the Japanese wellness philosophy is that everyone has an Ikigai. 

Every Christian has his/her Ikigai, and we are called to fulfill it by following Jesus. 

In the Gospel, Jesus makes a remarkable statement: ‘Come after me, I will make you fishers of men.’

In the light of Ikigai philosophy, we understand that only Jesus knows who we can become, and therefore, following Jesus is the only way to realize our Ikigai.

The apostles never thought of themselves more than their identity as fishermen. The thought that ‘that they could rise to be someone else’ never occurred to them or others. People must have surely laughed about Jesus’ choice of twelve apostles. But only Jesus knew what they would be transformed into. And these twelve coarse and uneducated men went on to found an empire that has withstood the test of time for over 2000 years. 

Jesus, the potter, knows what clay can be made into. Jesus’ vision for us is our Christian Ikigai, realizing which happens if and when we walk in His footsteps. 

Other readings also help us understand the truth. 

The first reading shows Prophet Jonah announcing God’s message through the city. The same Jonah fled the presence of God, thinking that he would find his Ikigai elsewhere. But it takes time for him to realize that, away from God, he would not realize his Ikigai. When he obeys God, proclaims God’s message faithfully, and does God’s will, he becomes God’s instrument to save the great city of Nineveh.

The second reading from Paul to the Corinthians helps us understand the urgency of realizing our Ikigai. We cannot postpone the realization of our Ikigai or not be concerned about it at all. As and when we have time and life, we are to run after our Christian Ikigai. 

If Ikigai is a helpful philosophy, how can we make use of it to follow Jesus more fully?

What is my Christian Ikigai so that, following Jesus, I will be transformed into a ‘Fisher of Men?’ 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar