Water Buffalo Theology

On my way to the country church, I never fail to see a herd of water buffaloes gazing in the muddy field. This sight is an inspiring moment for me. Why? Because it reminds me that the people to whom I am to bring the gospel of Christ spend most of their time with these water buffaloes in the rice field. The water buffaloes tell me that I must preach to these farmers in the simplest of sentence structure and thought development. They remind me to discard all the abstract ideas and to use exclusively objects that are immediately tangible. "Sticky rice," "banana," "pepper," "dog," "cat," "bicycle," "rainy season," "leaking house," "fishing," "cockfighting," "lottery," "stomach ache,"--these are meaningful words for them. This morning I say to myself, "I will try to bring the gospel of Christ through the medium of cockfighting!"

Kosuke Koyama, Water Buffalo Theology