Where is the Relief to the Pressure?

It all started when one of my friends (who is fluent in Japanese) was talking to another teacher in the break room. He said one sentence in Japanese that confused me because of all that was eliminated from it. He said, "eki kara demo" which means "station from also" however we would reorder that to say....But, what about from the station? But, you see, this is the thing about the Japanese language...much is omitted from the sentences. Many times it is the subject. Can you imagine speaking English and almost always leaving out the subject in your sentences? I know I can't. As Americans, words are very important to us. We need them to understand. Well chosen words create good writers, good speakers, good teachers, etc. This has been one of the difficult things for me in comprehending the Japanese language. Much is omitted from sentences. So, then, how do you know what someone is talking about? The answer: you pay VERY close attention and you try to guess. Yes, guess. Foriegners have to do more quessing, I think, because the culture isn't our own. But, if you are Japanese, you should know what the other person is thinking, feeling, wanting. You should assume. It is expected that you should get it right. Talk about pressure!

The Japanese, being raised in this expectation have an uncanny ability to figure this out. However, if they are wrong, they immediately feel shamed and embarassed. There is no room for failure in this culture. Many students don't speak up in class for fear they will be wrong. When my students finish the simpilest of exercises and I try to check it, they quickly cover it and say, "not yet". Then proceed to check and recheck and this worksheet isn't even for a grade. Put this mentatlity into a work environment. If your boss requests something of you, you don't ask too many questions. You figure out what he wants and you check and recheck to make sure it's right. The result....long working hours and a lot of stress. Because the expectation is that you should know.

I learned this while my friend explained it to me after I asked questions about his sentence. The language reflects the culture or rather the culture reflects the language. Which one, I am not sure, maybe it is both. Not linear but ciclical. As I pondered all this new information and tried to wrap my American/Western mind around it I wondered about all of this in realtionship to knowing Jesus Christ. So, I asked. How can the Japanese understand grace when it doesn't exist in their own culture? How do they see this picture of Jesus? How do they even explain it? I got an answer from one of the Bible Teachers at this school who happened to be standing at the sink. Her answer was something like this: Some Japanese come to see this grace because it has been shown to them through other believers from other countries (i.e. America, Canada, Australia, England, on and on). The Japanese see grace in other people and then can therefore come to understand for themselves in relationship with a loving God who doesn't "shame" you if you fail.

I began thinking about Matthew 9: 36-38. "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Please pray with me that the Lord would send His workers. That out of Japan, out of other countries, He would bring His laborers to love on these people. These people who know pressure but not a burden that is light. They know shame but not grace to redeem. My heart breaks for this culture. They need Jesus. He has so much love to give them, pray their hearts would be open to receive it.