{"id":2806,"date":"2025-11-13T13:10:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/?p=2806"},"modified":"2025-11-13T13:10:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:10:04","slug":"meditation-biblique-lespoir-sans-horizon-cest-la-perseverance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/meditation-biblique-lespoir-sans-horizon-cest-la-perseverance\/","title":{"rendered":"Biblical Reflection : horizonless hope is perseverance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.19.5&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; max_height=&#8221;200px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.19.5&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;|||7px||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.19.5&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.19.5&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; content_en_us=&#8221;<p>For this meditation, I would like to share with you some excerpts of testimonies and texts heard in preparation for and during the General Assembly of the World Communion of Reformed Churches &#8211; WCRC in Thailand, placed under the theme %22Persevere in your witness%22.<\/p>\n<p>This Assembly has witnessed all the revolting and disturbing situations and themes of our world. To be honest, it was depressing, but also a necessary reminder that we must go through it to find a word that is not a cheap consolation. Before being able to taste and appreciate interventions that allow us to go further than accusation, denunciation, and the cry of alarm or suffering, it was necessary to relearn how to suffer with those who are suffering. %22We must share our sufferings to be a united church,\u201d said a Swedish pastor.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what Rima Nasrallah did. She is a Lebanese pastor and a practical theology professor at NEST in Beirut (Near East Seminar of Theology). This spring, during the war in Gaza, she published this brief meditation on an excerpt from the Book of Lamentations 5:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span>2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,<\/span><span> <\/span><span>our homes to foreigners.<\/span><br \/><span>3 We have become fatherless,<\/span><span> <\/span><span>our mothers are widows.<\/span><br \/><span>4 We must buy the water we drink; <\/span><span> <\/span><span>our wood can be had only at a price.<\/span><br \/><span>5 Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are weary and find no rest.<\/span><br \/><span>6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria <\/span><span> <\/span><span>to get enough bread.<\/span><br \/><span>7 Our ancestors sinned and are no more, <\/span><span> <\/span><span>and we bear their punishment.<\/span><br \/><span>8 Slaves rule over us, <\/span><span> <\/span><span>and there is no one to free us from their hands.<\/span><br \/><span>9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives <\/span><span> <\/span><span>because of the sword in the desert.<\/span><br \/>10 Our skin is hot as an oven, feverish from hunger.<br \/><span>11 Women have been violated in Zion, and virgins in the towns of Judah.<\/span><br \/><span>12 Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00ab They say: %22Peace, peace&#8230;%22 but there is no peace!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Do we dare to talk about peace when every day we see dozens of children being killed before our eyes? Families chased from their homes, young people shot while waiting for food?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We want to look away, move on to more cheerful images. These scenes have become too difficult to bear and we feel powerless in the face of a situation that continues to darken. Our mind cannot conceive how human beings can inflict this on others.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And yet, the book of Lamentations reminds us that this is not new. Similar scenes, with different weapons of course, took place on this same ground and repeated time after time between different groups of people. The same pain and the same atrocious acts.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And even if we feel driven to act and dream of solutions, it is also important to recognize suffering. We must cry with the child whose family is no longer, tremble with the teenager who escapes the bullets trying to get a thin piece of bread, and grind in the dark with the old man who sees the fruits of his life collapse. We must see the pain and acknowledge the loss.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>When we move too quickly from criticism of war to discussion of peace, we risk turning these experiences into abstractions and ignoring the trampled lives of individuals. We fall into the trap of counting numbers and forgetting names.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If we have learned anything in the Middle East, it is that war is not just a strategy designed by leaders, nor a battle fought with drones and rockets for a few months or years, but that it is inscribed in bodies and damages souls for future generations. And finally, she reproduces&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>That\u2019s why we raise our voice before God today to lament. We cry and ask: %22Until when, Lord? And how many more times? Come, O Lord, and bring restoration to all your people.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p>In Chiang Mai, we indeed had to relearn to first listen, for a long time, to the suffering of so many people on earth.<\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p>During the Assembly, two particular speeches impressed me: the first was a presentation by Prof. Jude Lal Fernando, an Irish-Sri Lankan theologian, at Trinity College in Dublin. In his presentation on the resurrection understood as the divine rebellion against suffering and death, he particularly overturned the classic Western sequence of steps that lead the believer to act against evil: <em>look, judge\/think, act<\/em>. From his reading of the biblical texts, in particular of the crucifixion and the resurrection, he draws another series: listen, act, see. It is first of all about listening attentively to the cries and discerning in them the necessary action that follows. The action done, one can see the result. Our challenge, that of the mission of the Church, is to break down the barrier between listening and action which allows God to restore life. Those today who orchestrate hatred and suffering in the world are %22Christian%22 nations. How can Christianity solve this problem?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Another voice from the Middle East has provided an answer to this dilemma. It is Pastor Adon Naaman, from Homs, Syria. Homs, capital of the Islamic State for several years. Adon is a young pastor, recently graduated from NEST. The parish no longer had a pastor during this period. He was placed there after the defeat of ISIS. After the flight of Bashar al-Assad last December and the seizure of power by the Islamists in Idlib, he was repatriated to Lebanon for a few months out of safety. He is now back. In Chiang Mai, he gave a strong testimony of which here are some extracts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201c We learned to live one day at a time, to hold our dreams carefully \u2014 like glass. In the beginning, we used to say: \u201cOne day this will end.\u201d But after years of war and displacement, people stopped counting days. We learned a new way of living \u2014 one where the horizon disappears, and you keep walking anyway. But Is this experience only Syrian one? It is shared by many in our world: in Gaza, in Sudan, in Lebanon, in Ukraine, in every place where people wake up not knowing what tomorrow will bring. From this soil of uncertainty, something began to grow inside me \u2014 slowly, quietly \u2014 a new way of understanding faith and hope.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>A theology born not from books or conferences, but from the daily act of surviving with dignity. I call it \u201cHorizonless Hope.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>What does this mean? Horizonless hope is hope practiced when the future is hidden. It is the faith to keep walking when the road fades into fog. It is not about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel \u2014 it is about becoming the light inside the tunnel. There is a quote by the Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous that I always remember. It says: \u201cWe are condemned to hope.\u201d I think he meant that hope is not optional for us. It is not a mood. It is a survival skill. It is the one thing that keeps us human when everything else collapses. In Syria, I discovered that we are condemned not only to hope, but also to context. We don\u2019t get to choose peaceful times for our faith. We live our theology inside the storm, not beyond it. And that\u2019s why I believe horizonless hope is not a luxury for good days. It is the spiritual oxygen for bad ones. It\u2019s what keeps people caring, serving, and believing even when nothing makes sense. It is not optimism \u2014 optimism expects things to get better. Hope, in our experience, is something else. Hope is the decision to remain faithful even if things don\u2019t get better. Sometimes, life looks exactly like THIS PICTURE \u2014 a road fading into fog. You don\u2019t know where it leads. You only know that you must keep walking. That is horizonless hope.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Horizonless hope is perseverance.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>For me, to persevere in witness means to hold the light \u2014 not until the dawn appears, but as the light itself when the horizon is gone. And maybe that is what the world needs from the church today. Not louder doctrines, not bigger structures \u2014 but communities that dare to hope without guarantees. Churches that remain human, compassionate, and faithful even when results are invisible. Theology, then, is not about predicting the future. It is about care for faith that can survive when the future disappears. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Hope without horizon teaches us community \u2014 because in the fog, no one walks alone. And maybe this is what God is teaching the global church in our time: to stop depending on certainty and start depending on one another \u2014 and on grace.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0In conclusion, the final message of the Assembly has also attempted to take up the thread of hope that has been expressed and strengthened over the days of this Assembly. Here too some excerpts:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Message Of the Genenral Council of the WCRC, Thailand 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The WCRC believes Christian faith means responding to God\u2019s call to foster justice and meet the spiritual needs of all people in the transformation of the world, through the love of Jesus Christ. Our desire to see change in the world should come from our connection to God and living of the Spirit. Being together in community with others provides us with the capacity for deepening our spirituality<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0The call to prophetic witness is one that requires courage. We are reformed and reforming, living into the needs of this 21st century church. 150 years ago, reformers took bold steps that pushed them beyond the places of comfort into creating something new. We too, find ourselves in a world that requires we take bold steps to be the counter narrative at a time when injustice is normalized and accepted. Mission continues to be disruptive and transformative, a hope and a future that calls the church to address the growing needs of the world around us. Mission is the church in action.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0The call to be communion is one that requires courage. Courage to act on what we have heard and observed, to attend to the need to decolonize our governance and structure to ensure the inclusion of all voices.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Looking to Jesus means we craft a vision that is cantered in following Jesus, his teaching, his deeds, his life in prayer and communion. Jesus took time to step away and pray. He took time to care for himself spiritually and so should we. The psalmist wrote: \u201cBe still and know that I am God.\u201d (Psalm 46:10)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Out of the stillness and being with God, we will cast a vision for the church these days. A vision for a future where all are fed and free, a future where the church is relevant and working to dismantle normalized suffering created by the power of Empire. The power of this Communion cantered in the love of God is the power to change the world. May God grant us the courage beyond the tears of yesterday and today. Approved by consensus.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Amen<\/p>\n<p><span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> <\/span><\/p>&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<p><span>Pour cette m\u00e9ditation, je souhaite partager avec vous quelques extraits de t\u00e9moignages et textes entendus en pr\u00e9paration de et pendant l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e g\u00e9n\u00e9rale de la Communion Mondiale d\u2019\u00c9glises R\u00e9form\u00e9es CMER en Tha\u00eflande, plac\u00e9e sous le th\u00e8me \u00ab\u00a0Pers\u00e9v\u00e8re dans ton t\u00e9moignage\u00a0\u00bb. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>Cette Assembl\u00e9e a vu d\u00e9filer toutes les situations et th\u00e8mes r\u00e9voltants et inqui\u00e9tants de notre monde. Pour tout dire, c\u2019\u00e9tait d\u00e9primant, mais aussi un rappel n\u00e9cessaire qu\u2019il nous faut passer par l\u00e0 pour trouver une parole qui ne soit pas une consolation bon march\u00e9. Avant de pouvoir go\u00fbter et appr\u00e9cier des interventions qui nous permettent d\u2019aller plus loin que l\u2019accusation, la d\u00e9nonciation et le cri d\u2019alarme ou de souffrance, il a fallu r\u00e9apprendre \u00e0 souffrir avec ceux qui souffrent. <\/span>\u00ab\u00a0We must share our sufferings to be a united church\u00a0\u00bb disait une pasteure su\u00e9doise.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>C\u2019est ce qu\u2019a fait Rima Nasrallah. Elle est pasteure libanaise et professeure de th\u00e9ologie pratique au NEST \u00e0 Beyrouth. Ce printemps, pendant la guerre \u00e0 Gaza, elle a publi\u00e9 cette br\u00e8ve m\u00e9ditation sur un extrait du Livre des Lamentations\u00a0: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span>Lamentations 5, 2-12<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-2.htm\"><strong>2<\/strong><\/a>Notre h\u00e9ritage a pass\u00e9 \u00e0 des \u00e9trangers, Nos maisons \u00e0 des inconnus.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-3.htm\"><strong>3<\/strong><\/a>Nous sommes orphelins, sans p\u00e8re; Nos m\u00e8res sont comme des veuves.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-4.htm\"><strong>4<\/strong><\/a>Nous buvons notre eau \u00e0 prix d&#8217;argent, Nous payons notre bois.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-5.htm\"><strong>5<\/strong><\/a>Nous sommes poursuivis, le joug sur le cou; Nous sommes \u00e9puis\u00e9s, nous n&#8217;avons point de repos.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-6.htm\"><strong>6<\/strong><\/a>Nous avons tendu la main vers l&#8217;Egypte, vers l&#8217;Assyrie, Pour nous rassasier de pain.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-7.htm\"><strong>7<\/strong><\/a>Nos p\u00e8res ont p\u00e9ch\u00e9, ils ne sont plus, Et c&#8217;est nous qui portons la peine de leurs iniquit\u00e9s.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-8.htm\"><strong>8<\/strong><\/a>Des esclaves dominent sur nous, Et personne ne nous d\u00e9livre de leurs mains.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-9.htm\"><strong>9<\/strong><\/a>Nous cherchons notre pain au p\u00e9ril de notre vie, Devant des bandes arm\u00e9es du d\u00e9sert.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-10.htm\"><strong>10<\/strong><\/a>Notre peau est br\u00fblante comme un four, Par l&#8217;ardeur de la faim.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-11.htm\"><strong>11<\/strong><\/a>Ils ont d\u00e9shonor\u00e9 les femmes dans Sion, Les vierges dans les villes de Juda.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/saintebible.com\/lamentations\/5-12.htm\"><strong>12<\/strong><\/a>Des chefs ont \u00e9t\u00e9 pendus par leurs mains; La personne des vieillards n&#8217;a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 respect\u00e9e.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span>\u00ab\u00a0Ils disent : \u00ab Paix, paix\u2026 \u00bb mais il n\u2019y a pas de paix !<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Osons-nous parler de paix alors que nous voyons chaque jour des dizaines d\u2019enfants se faire tuer sous nos yeux ? Des familles chass\u00e9es de leurs maisons, des jeunes gens\u00a0abattus alors qu\u2019ils attendaient de la nourriture ?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Nous voulons d\u00e9tourner le regard, passer \u00e0 des images plus r\u00e9jouissantes. Ces sc\u00e8nes sont devenues trop difficiles \u00e0 supporter et nous nous sentons impuissants face \u00e0 une situation qui ne cesse de s\u2019assombrir. Notre esprit\u00a0ne peut concevoir comment des \u00eatres humains peuvent infliger cela \u00e0 d\u2019autres.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Et pourtant, le livre des Lamentations nous rappelle que ce n\u2019est pas nouveau. Des sc\u00e8nes similaires, avec des armes bien s\u00fbr diff\u00e9rentes, se sont d\u00e9roul\u00e9es sur ce m\u00eame sol et se sont r\u00e9p\u00e9t\u00e9es \u00e0 maintes reprises entre diff\u00e9rents groupes de personnes. La m\u00eame douleur et les m\u00eames actes atroces.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Et m\u00eame si nous nous sentons pouss\u00e9s \u00e0 agir et \u00e0 r\u00eaver de solutions, il est \u00e9galement important de reconna\u00eetre la souffrance. Nous devons pleurer avec l\u2019enfant dont la famille n\u2019est plus, trembler avec l\u2019adolescent qui se soustrait aux balles en essayant d\u2019obtenir un maigre morceau de pain, et broyer du noir avec le vieil homme qui voit les fruits de sa vie s\u2019effondrer. Nous devons voir la douleur et reconna\u00eetre la perte.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Car lorsque nous passons trop rapidement de la critique de la guerre \u00e0 la discussion sur la paix, nous risquons de transformer ces exp\u00e9riences en abstractions et d\u2019ignorer la vie pi\u00e9tin\u00e9e des individus. Nous tombons dans le pi\u00e8ge de compter les chiffres et d\u2019oublier les noms.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Si nous avons appris quelque chose au Moyen-Orient, c\u2019est que la guerre n\u2019est pas seulement une strat\u00e9gie con\u00e7ue par des dirigeants, ni une bataille men\u00e9e avec des drones et des roquettes pendant quelques mois ou quelques ann\u00e9es, mais qu\u2019elle s\u2019inscrit dans les corps et endommage les \u00e2mes pour les g\u00e9n\u00e9rations \u00e0 venir. Et finalement, elle se reproduit\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>C\u2019est pourquoi nous \u00e9levons aujourd\u2019hui notre voix devant Dieu pour nous lamenter. Nous pleurons et nous demandons : \u00ab Jusqu\u2019\u00e0 quand, Seigneur ? Et combien de fois encore ? Viens, Seigneur, et apporte le r\u00e9tablissement \u00e0 tout ton peuple\u00a0\u00bb.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A Chiang Mai, nous avons en effet d\u00fb r\u00e9apprendre \u00e0 d\u2019abord entendre longuement la souffrance de tant de gens sur la terre. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>Pendant l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e, deux prises de parole en particulier m\u2019ont impressionn\u00e9\u00a0: la premi\u00e8re a \u00e9t\u00e9 un expos\u00e9 du Prof. Jude Lal Fernando, un th\u00e9ologien irlando-sri lankais, au Trinity College \u00e0 Dublin. Dans son expos\u00e9 sur la r\u00e9surrection comprise comme la r\u00e9bellion divine contre la souffrance et la mort, il a en particulier renvers\u00e9 l\u2019encha\u00eenement occidental classique des \u00e9tapes qui m\u00e8nent le croyant \u00e0 agir contre le mal\u00a0: <em>regarder, juger\/r\u00e9fl\u00e9chir, agir<\/em>. De sa lecture des textes bibliques, en particulier de crucifixion et de la r\u00e9surrection, il tire une autre s\u00e9rie\u00a0: <em>\u00e9couter, agir, voir<\/em>. Il s\u2019agit d\u2019abord d\u2019\u00e9couter avec attention les cris, et d\u2019y discerner l\u2019action n\u00e9cessaire qui d\u00e9coule. L\u2019action faite, on peut voir le r\u00e9sultat. Notre d\u00e9fi, celui de la mission de l\u2019Eglise est de briser la barri\u00e8re entre l\u2019\u00e9coute et l\u2019action qui permet \u00e0 Dieu de r\u00e9tablir la vie. Ceux aujourd\u2019hui qui orchestrent la haine et la souffrance dans le monde sont des nations \u00ab\u00a0chr\u00e9tiennes\u00a0\u00bb. Comment la chr\u00e9tient\u00e9 peut-elle r\u00e9soudre ce probl\u00e8me\u00a0?\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>Une autre voix du Proche Orient a apport\u00e9 un \u00e9l\u00e9ment de r\u00e9ponse \u00e0 ce dilemme. Il s\u2019agit du pasteur Adon Naaman, de Homs, Syrie<strong>. <\/strong>Homs, capitale de l\u2019\u00c9tat islamique pendant plusieurs ann\u00e9es. Adon est un jeune pasteur, fra\u00eechement gradu\u00e9 du NEST justement. La paroisse n\u2019avait plus de pasteur pendant cette p\u00e9riode. Il a \u00e9t\u00e9 plac\u00e9 l\u00e0 apr\u00e8s la d\u00e9faite de ISIS. Apr\u00e8s la fuite de Bashar El Assad en d\u00e9cembre dernier et la prise du pouvoir par les les islamistes d\u2019Idlib, il a \u00e9t\u00e9 rapatri\u00e9 quelques mois au Liban par s\u00e9curit\u00e9. Il est d\u00e9sormais de retour. A Chiang Mai, il a donn\u00e9 un t\u00e9moignage fort dont voici quelques extraits. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span>\u00ab\u00a0Nous avons appris \u00e0 vivre au jour le jour, \u00e0 pr\u00e9server nos r\u00eaves avec soin, comme du verre. Au d\u00e9but, nous avions l&#8217;habitude de dire : \u00ab Un jour, tout cela prendra fin. \u00bb Mais apr\u00e8s des ann\u00e9es de guerre et de d\u00e9placements, les gens ont cess\u00e9 de compter les jours. Nous avons appris une nouvelle fa\u00e7on de vivre, une fa\u00e7on o\u00f9 l&#8217;horizon dispara\u00eet et o\u00f9 l&#8217;on continue d&#8217;avancer malgr\u00e9 tout. Mais cette exp\u00e9rience est-elle propre \u00e0 la Syrie ? Elle est partag\u00e9e par beaucoup dans notre monde : \u00e0 Gaza, au Soudan, au Liban, en Ukraine, partout o\u00f9 les gens se r\u00e9veillent sans savoir ce que leur r\u00e9serve le lendemain. De ce terreau d&#8217;incertitude, quelque chose a commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 grandir en moi, lentement, silencieusement, une nouvelle fa\u00e7on de comprendre la foi et l&#8217;espoir. Une th\u00e9ologie n\u00e9e non pas des livres ou des conf\u00e9rences, mais de l&#8217;acte quotidien de survivre avec dignit\u00e9. Je l&#8217;appelle \u00ab l&#8217;espoir sans horizon \u00bb.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Qu&#8217;est-ce que cela signifie ?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>L&#8217;espoir sans horizon est l&#8217;espoir que l&#8217;on cultive lorsque l&#8217;avenir est incertain. C&#8217;est la foi qui nous pousse \u00e0 continuer d&#8217;avancer lorsque la route s&#8217;estompe dans le brouillard<\/span><\/em><span>. <em>Il ne s&#8217;agit pas de voir la lumi\u00e8re au bout du tunnel, il s&#8217;agit de devenir la lumi\u00e8re \u00e0 l&#8217;int\u00e9rieur du tunnel.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Il y a une citation du dramaturge syrien Saadallah Wannous dont je me souviens toujours. Il dit : \u00ab Nous sommes condamn\u00e9s \u00e0 esp\u00e9rer. \u00bb Je pense qu&#8217;il voulait dire que l&#8217;espoir n&#8217;est pas une option pour nous. Ce n&#8217;est pas une humeur. C&#8217;est une aptitude \u00e0 survivre.\u00a0 C&#8217;est la seule chose qui nous permet de rester humains lorsque tout le reste s&#8217;effondre. En Syrie, j&#8217;ai d\u00e9couvert que nous sommes condamn\u00e9s non seulement \u00e0 esp\u00e9rer, mais aussi \u00e0 accepter notre contexte.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Nous ne pouvons pas choisir des temps paisibles pour notre foi. Nous vivons notre th\u00e9ologie au coeur de la temp\u00eate, et non au-del\u00e0. Et c&#8217;est pourquoi je crois que l&#8217;espoir sans horizon n&#8217;est pas un luxe r\u00e9serv\u00e9 aux bons jours. C&#8217;est l&#8217;oxyg\u00e8ne spirituel des mauvais jours. C&#8217;est ce qui permet aux gens de continuer \u00e0 se soucier des autres, \u00e0 servir et \u00e0 croire, m\u00eame lorsque rien n&#8217;a de sens. Ce n&#8217;est pas de l&#8217;optimisme \u2014 l&#8217;optimisme consiste \u00e0 s&#8217;attendre \u00e0 ce que les choses s&#8217;am\u00e9liorent. L&#8217;espoir, d&#8217;apr\u00e8s notre exp\u00e9rience, est autre chose. L&#8217;espoir, c&#8217;est la d\u00e9cision de rester fid\u00e8le m\u00eame si les choses ne s&#8217;am\u00e9liorent pas. Parfois, la vie ressemble exactement \u00e0 cette image \u2014 une route qui s&#8217;estompe dans le brouillard. Vous ne savez pas o\u00f9 elle m\u00e8ne. Vous savez seulement que vous devez continuer \u00e0 marcher. C&#8217;est cela, l&#8217;espoir sans horizon.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>L&#8217;espoir sans horizon, c&#8217;est la pers\u00e9v\u00e9rance.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>Pour moi, pers\u00e9v\u00e9rer dans le t\u00e9moignage signifie garder la lumi\u00e8re \u2014 non pas jusqu&#8217;\u00e0 l&#8217;apparition de l&#8217;aube, mais comme la lumi\u00e8re elle-m\u00eame lorsque l&#8217;horizon a disparu. Et c&#8217;est peut-\u00eatre ce dont le monde a besoin aujourd&#8217;hui de la part de l&#8217;\u00c9glise. Pas de doctrines plus bruyantes, pas de structures plus imposantes, mais des communaut\u00e9s qui osent esp\u00e9rer sans garanties. Des \u00c9glises qui restent humaines, compatissantes et fid\u00e8les m\u00eame lorsque les r\u00e9sultats sont invisibles. La th\u00e9ologie ne consiste donc pas \u00e0 pr\u00e9dire l&#8217;avenir. Elle consiste \u00e0 prendre soin d&#8217;une foi qui peut survivre lorsque l&#8217;avenir dispara\u00eet.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span>L&#8217;espoir sans horizon nous enseigne la communaut\u00e9 \u2014 car dans le brouillard, personne ne marche seul. Et c&#8217;est peut-\u00eatre ce que Dieu enseigne \u00e0 l&#8217;\u00c9glise mondiale \u00e0 notre \u00e9poque : cesser de d\u00e9pendre de la certitude, et commencer \u00e0 d\u00e9pendre les uns des autres \u2014 et de la gr\u00e2ce\u00a0\u00bb.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>En conclusion, le message final de l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e a tent\u00e9 lui aussi de reprendre le fil d\u2019espoir qui s\u2019est exprim\u00e9 et affermi au fil des jours de cette Assembl\u00e9e. Ici aussi quelques extraits\u00a0: \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><strong><span>Message de l\u2019AG CMER, Tha\u00eflande 2025 (extraits)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>La CMER croit que la foi chr\u00e9tienne signifie r\u00e9pondre \u00e0 l&#8217;appel de Dieu \u00e0 promouvoir la justice et \u00e0 r\u00e9pondre aux besoins spirituels de tous les peuples dans la transformation du monde, par l&#8217;amour de J\u00e9sus-Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>Notre d\u00e9sir de voir le monde changer doit venir de notre relation avec Dieu et de notre vie dans l&#8217;Esprit. Le fait d&#8217;\u00eatre ensemble en communaut\u00e9 avec les autres nous donne la capacit\u00e9 d&#8217;approfondir notre spiritualit\u00e9. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>L&#8217;appel \u00e0 t\u00e9moigner de mani\u00e8re proph\u00e9tique exige du courage. Nous sommes r\u00e9form\u00e9s et en pleine r\u00e9forme, vivant selon les besoins de l&#8217;\u00c9glise du XXIe si\u00e8cle. \u2026 les r\u00e9formateurs ont pris des mesures audacieuses qui les ont pouss\u00e9s \u00e0 sortir de leur zone de confort pour cr\u00e9er quelque chose de nouveau. Nous aussi, nous nous trouvons dans un monde qui exige que nous prenions des mesures audacieuses pour aller \u00e0 contre-courant \u00e0 une \u00e9poque o\u00f9 l&#8217;injustice est normalis\u00e9e et accept\u00e9e.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>La mission continue d&#8217;\u00eatre perturbatrice et transformatrice, un espoir et un avenir qui appellent l&#8217;\u00c9glise \u00e0 r\u00e9pondre aux besoins croissants du monde qui nous entoure. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>La mission, c&#8217;est l&#8217;\u00c9glise en action\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>L&#8217;appel \u00e0 la communion est un appel qui exige du courage. Le courage d&#8217;agir en fonction de ce que nous avons entendu et observ\u00e9, de r\u00e9pondre \u00e0 la n\u00e9cessit\u00e9 de d\u00e9coloniser notre gouvernance et notre structure afin de garantir l&#8217;inclusion de toutes les voix.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Regarder vers J\u00e9sus signifie que nous \u00e9laborons une vision centr\u00e9e sur le fait de suivre J\u00e9sus, son enseignement, ses actes, sa vie dans la pri\u00e8re et la communion. J\u00e9sus prenait le temps de s&#8217;\u00e9loigner et de prier. Il prenait le temps de prendre soin de lui-m\u00eame spirituellement, et nous devrions en faire autant. Le psalmiste a \u00e9crit : \u00ab Soyez tranquilles et sachez que je suis Dieu. \u00bb (Psaume 46:10) <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>\u00c0 partir du calme et de la pr\u00e9sence de Dieu, nous allons d\u00e9finir une vision pour l&#8217;\u00c9glise aujourd&#8217;hui. Une vision d&#8217;un avenir o\u00f9 tous sont nourris et libres, un avenir o\u00f9 l&#8217;\u00c9glise est pertinente et \u0153uvre pour d\u00e9manteler la souffrance normalis\u00e9e cr\u00e9\u00e9e par le pouvoir de l&#8217;Empire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>La puissance de cette communion centr\u00e9e sur l&#8217;amour de Dieu est la puissance qui peut changer le monde. Que Dieu nous accorde le courage qui transcende les larmes d&#8217;hier et d&#8217;aujourd&#8217;hui.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Amen<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pour cette m\u00e9ditation, je souhaite partager avec vous quelques extraits de t\u00e9moignages et textes entendus en pr\u00e9paration de et pendant l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e g\u00e9n\u00e9rale de la Communion Mondiale d\u2019\u00c9glises R\u00e9form\u00e9es CMER en Tha\u00eflande, plac\u00e9e sous le th\u00e8me \u00ab\u00a0Pers\u00e9v\u00e8re dans ton t\u00e9moignage\u00a0\u00bb. \u00a0Cette Assembl\u00e9e a vu d\u00e9filer toutes les situations et th\u00e8mes r\u00e9voltants et inqui\u00e9tants de notre monde. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2806"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2813,"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions\/2813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fondationfap.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}