6th Sunday of Easter, Year A

It was one evening, on my way home. As I was about to enter the grounds of the Society of the Divine Word House, I heard a boy, about elementary school age, greet me from across the road: "Good evening, sir." "It's nighttime, where are you going?" I asked the boy. "I forgot my textbooks at school, so I'm going to get them," he replied. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" I asked. He shook his head, so I decided to go to school with him.

I introduced myself, "Nice to meet you, I'm [my name]." The boy replied in a cheerful voice, "I'm [my name]."

The conversation we had from when I retrieved my textbooks until we reached his house was very meaningful to me. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I asked the boy. "I haven't thought about my future yet, but I want to repay my parents," he replied. "Why do you want to repay your parents?" I asked him.

"When I started attending ○○○ Elementary School, my parents bought an expensive apartment near the school for me, and I lived there until I graduated. I didn't even ask for it, but my parents did that for me because they care about me more than anyone else. So, isn't it only natural that I repay them?" the boy began. After he finished speaking, we arrived at the gate of his apartment building.
"Never forget your desire to repay your parents," I told the boy, and sent him inside. I stood at the gate until he was out of sight. "I wonder if there are still many fine boys like him in this region," I thought as I returned to the monastery.

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"Filial piety is the foundation of everything," said Nakae Tōju (1608-1648). Here, "filial piety" is not limited to filial piety towards one's parents. It is the foundation of all virtues, an attitude that applies to all people. In other words, "filial piety" is a universal virtue.

The "filial piety" as described by Nakae Tōju is close to the Christian concept of "agape" (love). Christian agape truly means "unconditional love." God gave us existence and the way of being human "unconditionally." And the teaching Jesus gives in today's Gospel reading—"I will not leave you as orphans; I will return to you. The world will no longer see me, but you will see me" (see John 14:18)—is actually Jesus trying to say, through this passage, "Just as God gives unconditionally, let us also do the same in our daily lives."

"Unconditional love" is neither rare nor impossible. A parent's love for their child is "unconditional love," and all living things give unconditionally to their offspring. It is no exaggeration to say that "unconditional love" is a principle of life.

Filial piety is not something from the distant past; it is a natural way of life for human beings, a wisdom of humanity, in every era.

However, there's a proverb that says, "By the time you want to show filial piety, your parents are gone." Don't forget to show filial piety while your parents are still alive. Otherwise, you'll regret it forever.

That boy who called out to me from across the road to the monastery that night must surely be showing filial piety. I believe so. I still remember that boy fondly. Isn't one of the greatest acts of respect for one's parents "filial piety"?