By James Wilson
Fuchida Mitsuo was an American byword for villainy although few Americans remember his name today. The leader of the Pearl Harbor airstrike was such an admirer of Adolph Hitler he adopted a Hitlerian mustache as a statement of loyalty to the nazi-est nazi of them all.
Why would any honorable person admire Adolph Hitler? It could be Fuchida saw in Hitler the rescuer of a nation downtrodden by the pyrrhic peace treaty cast by World War I’s victors. Certainly he saw his own country as belittled and abused by Americans and other white-European colonial powers claiming sovereignty over the great Asian nations of China and Indo China. Certainly Arab peoples who now style themselves Palestinians saw that rescuer persona in Hitler when their leader – the British-installed Grand Mufti of Jerusalem – spent the Second World War visiting Hitler and accepted materiel and training assistance from him even as his Nazi empire burned around him. Hitler personifies the archetypal bully to most but why he attracted some is not important. How peace comes about between people who admire such a demonic figure and the people of Yahweh is crucial. Understanding – even identifying with – such people is instrumental; at least Jesus thought so.
Fuchida Mitsuo ended the war a broken man. A Buddhist, he committed his life to the cult of country and the Japanese warrior code Bushido. In 1946 he became aware of Jacob DeShazer, a former prisoner of war held and mistreated by the Japanese over three-plus years. DeShazer was a bombardier in the famous Doolittle Raid nicknamed 30 Seconds Over Tokyo. Both men believed in vengeance on your enemies; forgiveness was not in their vocabulary. When defeated Japanese warrior read liberated prisoner’s pamphlet describing his experiences and meeting Jesus in his prison cell he recognized a kindred spirit transformed in a way Fuchida could not imagine.
The American had been so filled with hatred for Japan – born in the wreckage of Pearl Harbor and augmented in the treatment he received – he was losing his mind. One day he received a copy of the New Testament being passed around the cells. He read the Gospel of Luke repeatedly while it was his turn. He reported that Jesus appeared in his cell and told him only forgiveness of his enemies could bring recovery of his mind. He asked the Lord into his life as its monarch and – feeling a peace come over him he had never known before – asked what he should now do. The answer was repeated: he must love and forgive his captors. DeShazer began practicing this unimaginable love from that moment on.
He did not practice kindness in hope of reward; he remained convinced his tormenters were incapable of reciprocity. However, his treatment from the guards did improve. In the meantime, the Spirit of the Living God appeared to him from time to time with encouragement and prophetic words. He heard and warned his fellow captives about the atomic bomb drops and the coming end of war. He heard also of his destiny to return to Japan as an ambassador of reconciliation in Christ. Returning home he enrolled in Bible School and returned to Japan as soon as he was able.
Fuchida was so moved – as well as confused – by what he read that he arranged to meet DeShazer. He accepted the Lord and was baptized after a time of waffling – how many of us do that – and eventually partnered with DeShazer to bring the hope of abundant and eternal life to Japan until his death in 1976. There has never been a more successful evangelistic team for that nation.
What has all this to do with reconciliation in the Middle East seventy years later?
In the midst of the intractable hatred ruling the region it is not rocket science that only the Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob can bring authentic peace. Applying the story of Fuchida and DeShazer, it seems just as clear this Living God would operate through redeemed but formerly hate-filled people of both sides. St. Paul – the most prolific writer of the New Testament and the most successful missionary of all time – comes to mind. I was myself once a hater of Yeshua.
Authentic reconciliation requires bold ones who proclaim what they believe true without reservation, become willing to listen to the other side with respect, and permit the Spirit of the Living Christ to re-frame their conversation. A mutual effort is necessary. And it is not the prevenient righteous but the proactively redeemed who will establish the Kingdom of God – in the Middle East and all over the planet.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships, The Holy Spirit and the End Times, and Kingdom in Pursuit – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at praynorthstate@gmail.com
