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For this meditation, I\u2019d like to explore the concept of hope through three figures: the character of Gatsby in Francis Scott Fitzgerald\u2019s novel, the Apostle Paul, and the Danish philosopher S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard. I\u2019ll begin with an excerpt from the novel *The Great Gatsby*:<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as I sat there, thinking of the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby\u2019s astonishment when he first recognized the green light at the end of Daisy\u2019s pier. He had come a long way to that blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He didn\u2019t know that it was already behind him, somewhere back there in the vast darkness beyond the city, in the dark fields of the republic stretching out beneath the night.<\/p>\n
\u201cGatsby had faith in that green light, in that ecstatic future that recedes from us year after year. For now, it eludes us. But that doesn\u2019t matter. Tomorrow, we\u2019ll run faster, we\u2019ll reach out further… And, one fine morning… And so we struggle on, like boats against the current, endlessly pushed back toward our past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here, I choose to see Gatsby as a symbol of hope. In the novel, he spent his entire life pursuing a dream, living in the hope of reuniting with the woman with whom he shared an intense passion for one summer. When he finally finds her again\u2014when his hope is finally realized\u2014reality can only disappoint him. Fitzgerald makes it clear that the disappointment does not stem from the woman herself, but from \u201cthe colossal vitality of Gatsby\u2019s illusion.\u201d Gatsby had sketched out the contours of his hope so completely that, when it came true, he could not help but be disappointed. As Fitzgerald writes: \u201cHis dream seemed so close that he could not fail to grasp it.\u201d In reality, that dream had already passed him by. Gatsby\u2019s downfall may stem from the fact that his hope was a hope that \u201csees\u201d what it hopes for. At the end of his dock, Gatsby had formed a hope so defined and concrete that, once realized, it could only lead to his downfall.<\/p>\n
In contrast to Gatsby as a symbol of deadly hope, I would like to propose the figure of Abraham from the Epistle to the Romans. We can read verses 18\u201321 of chapter 4 of the Epistle to the Romans:<\/p>\n
\u201cAbraham, who against all hope, relying on hope, had faith to become the father of many nations, as it is said: \u2018So shall your descendants be, and, not wavering in his faith, he considered his own body\u2014already as good as dead, for he was nearly a hundred years old\u2014and Sarah\u2019s barren womb; yet, in view of God\u2019s promise, he did not waver in unbelief but was strengthened by faith, giving glory to God, fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to fulfill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abraham\u2019s situation seems to offer little cause for hope. Faced with God\u2019s promise that he would become the father of a great nation, he considers his own age and Sarah\u2019s advanced age\u2014described in no uncertain terms by Paul (his own body already ravaged by death, and Sarah\u2019s physical decline)\u2014and knows that God\u2019s promise defies all reality. Yet Paul specifically emphasizes that Abraham did not doubt, but received the divine promise with confidence, knowing that what God had promised, He could also bring to pass. It is this attitude of Abraham that Paul is referring to when he uses the phrase \u201cagainst all hope, yet relying on hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
To hope against all hope means trusting in a reality that is lived and understood from God\u2019s perspective. For Abraham, the reality of his situation offered little cause for hope.<\/p>\n
Hope is possible only because God is the guarantor of another reality. To Paul, the hope that sustained Abraham has nothing to do with human plans; it is not a dream that human imagination or will can shape and then set out to achieve. It is a hope that transcends the realm of human life\u2014and, in fact, even calls it into question.<\/p>\n
For Paul, God\u2019s sovereignty is such that human beings can rest in it and wait with confidence\u2014without impatience\u2014for this improbable hope to become a reality. But human beings must also be aware of their smallness in the face of this hope. They are humbled\u2014or, if you prefer, brought low\u2014by the realization of what they can do to bring their hope to fruition. If we cannot even conceive of the reality of what we hope for, there is little credit to be given to human beings when what we hope for finally comes to pass. Abraham\u2019s merit lies in his trust and obedience to the divine will, but he is not the source of the fulfilment of the promise.<\/p>\n
I will now turn to S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard. In his Christian discourse, \u201cThe Care of the Pagans,\u201d Kierkegaard reflects on the concept of tomorrow, initially in a negative sense: he defines tomorrow as the \u201ccare of tomorrow.\u201d He writes:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next day: it is the grappling hook that allows the vast horde of worries to cling to the frail skiff of the \u2018Individual\u2019; if the operation succeeds, he is then at the mercy of that power. The next day: it is the first link in the chain that binds a man, along with thousands of others, to this fatal abundance of worries.\u201d%91i%93<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Isn\u2019t worry about the future precisely the opposite of hope? In contrast to the persevering and confident waiting exemplified by Abraham and called for among the believers in Rome, worry about the future is the attitude of someone who, constantly focused on the future, does not hold onto hope as Paul would have us do. Doesn\u2019t the worry about tomorrow characterize that other figure of dashed hope, Jay Gatsby, who pursues his dream with an intensity that ultimately leads to his downfall? If hope is not the worry about tomorrow, the preoccupation with the future, or the frantic pursuit of a dream, we must nevertheless consider how to give it a positive meaning.<\/p>\n Kierkegaard uses the image of the rower as a \u201ccorrect and true attitude\u201d%91ii%93<\/span><\/a> toward the problem of the future. He describes the situation as follows:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the boat, the rower has his back turned to the goal toward which he is nevertheless striving. The same is true of tomorrow. When, through the help of the Eternal One, a person lives fully immersed in the present moment, he turns his back on tomorrow. And the more eternity immerses him in the present, the more he deliberately turns his back on tomorrow\u2014which he therefore cannot see. If he turns away, eternity becomes blurred in his eyes and turns into tomorrow. But when, in order to steer himself properly toward the goal (eternity), he turns his back on it, he cannot see the next day at all, whereas, thanks to the eternal, he sees the present day and his tasks with perfect clarity. And this is how a man must orient himself in order to work well today. Any moment of impatience when we want to look toward the goal to see if we\u2019re getting any closer is always a cause of delay and distraction. No; be resolute once and for all and get to work\u2014with your back turned to the goal. This is what the rower does in the boat, and so does the believer.\u201d%91iii%93<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The one who hopes in the Christian way is the one who, so to speak, firmly turns his back on his hope and anchors his life in the present. Kierkegaard\u2019s concern is that the Christian should not lose himself in contemplation of the eternal (for example, concern for the afterlife or paradise) by thinking that he is thereby closer to the divine. . Christian hope is rooted in the confidence that God can fulfill what God has promised, and therefore, Christians no longer need to worry about the future. They are invited to immerse themselves in the present.<\/p>\n This brief reflection on hope seems useful to me for our work at the FAP. Hope is an integral part of our mission, and we must trust those who bring projects to us. The future does not belong to us, and it is our decisions in the present that should concern us. So we turn our backs on our goal, without looking to tomorrow, and we get to work.<\/p>\n \u00a0Val\u00e9rie NICOLET – vicepresient<\/span><\/p>\n %91i%93<\/span><\/a> S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard, Discours Chr\u00e9tiens<\/em> vol. 1, Neuch\u00e2tel, Delachaux et Niestl\u00e9, 1967, p. 99.<\/p>\n %91ii%93<\/span><\/a> S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard, Discours Chr\u00e9tiens<\/em> dans \u0152uvres completes<\/em> vol. 15, Paris, L\u2019Orante, p. 68.<\/p>\n %91iii%93<\/span><\/a> Ibid<\/em>.<\/p>\n ” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n J\u2019aimerais pour cette m\u00e9ditation faire trois arr\u00eats autour de la notion d\u2019espoir avec trois figures\u00a0: le personnage de Gastby dans le roman de Francis Scott Fitzgerald, l\u2019ap\u00f4tre Paul et et le philosophe danois S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard. Je commence par un extrait du roman Great Gatsby\u00a0:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Et comme j\u2019\u00e9tais assis l\u00e0, songeant au vieux monde inconnu, j\u2019ai pens\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tonnement de Gatsby quand il avait reconnu pour la premi\u00e8re fois la lumi\u00e8re verte au bout de la jet\u00e9e de Daisy. Il avait fait un long chemin jusqu\u2019\u00e0 cette pelouse bleue, et son r\u00eave d\u00fbt para\u00eetre si proche qu\u2019il ne pouvait gu\u00e8re manquer de le saisir. Il ne savait pas qu\u2019il \u00e9tait d\u00e9j\u00e0 derri\u00e8re lui, quelque part l\u00e0-derri\u00e8re dans la vaste obscurit\u00e9 au-del\u00e0 de la ville, dans les champs sombres de la r\u00e9publique d\u00e9roul\u00e9e sous la nuit.<\/p>\n Gatsby avait foi en cette lumi\u00e8re verte, en cet avenir orgastique qui chaque ann\u00e9e recule devant nous. Pour le moment, il nous \u00e9chappe. Mais c\u2019est sans importance. Demain, nous courrons plus vite, nous tendrons les bras plus avant…Et, un beau matin…Et nous luttons ainsi, barques \u00e0 contre-courant, refoul\u00e9s sans fin vers notre pass\u00e9.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n Je choisis ici de voir en Gatsby une figure de l\u2019espoir. Dans le roman, il a pass\u00e9 toute sa vie \u00e0 poursuivre un r\u00eave, \u00e0 vivre dans l\u2019espoir de retrouver la femme avec laquelle il a v\u00e9cu, le temps d\u2019un \u00e9t\u00e9, une passion intense. Lorsqu\u2019il la retrouve enfin, lorsque l\u2019espoir se r\u00e9alise enfin, la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 ne peut que le d\u00e9cevoir. Fitzgerald pr\u00e9cise que la d\u00e9ception ne provient pas de la femme elle-m\u00eame, mais de \u00ab\u00a0la vitalit\u00e9 colossale de l\u2019illusion\u00a0\u00bb de Gatsby. Gatsby a \u00e9bauch\u00e9 les contours de son espoir si compl\u00e8tement que, lorsqu\u2019il se r\u00e9alise, il ne peut \u00eatre que d\u00e9\u00e7u. Comme l\u2019\u00e9crit Fitzgerald: \u00ab\u00a0son r\u00eave semblait si proche qu’il ne pouvait manquer de le saisir\u00a0\u00bb. En r\u00e9alit\u00e9, ce r\u00eave \u00e9tait d\u00e9j\u00e0 pass\u00e9, derri\u00e8re lui. La d\u00e9ch\u00e9ance de Gatsby provient peut-\u00eatre du fait que son espoir \u00e9tait un espoir qui \u00ab\u00a0voit\u00a0\u00bb ce qu\u2019il esp\u00e8re. Au bout de sa jet\u00e9e, Gatsby avait form\u00e9 un espoir si d\u00e9fini et concret qu\u2019une fois r\u00e9alis\u00e9, il ne pouvait que mener \u00e0 sa perte.<\/p>\n En dialogue avec Gatsby comme figure d\u2019un espoir meurtrier, je vous propose la figure d\u2019Abraham, dans l\u2019\u00e9p\u00eetre aux Romains. On peut lire les versets 18-21 du chapitre 4 de l\u2019\u00e9p\u00eetre aux Romains\u00a0:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Abraham qui, contre l\u2019esp\u00e9rance, appuy\u00e9 sur l\u2019esp\u00e9rance, a eu foi pour devenir le p\u00e8re de nombreuses nations, selon ce qui est dit : ainsi sera ta descendance,<\/p>\n et, n\u2019ayant pas faibli dans la foi, il consid\u00e9ra son propre corps d\u00e9j\u00e0 n\u00e9cros\u00e9 \u2013 il avait pr\u00e8s de cent ans \u2013 et la n\u00e9crose de la matrice de Sara ; mais en vue de la promesse de Dieu, il ne douta pas, par manque de foi, mais il fut rendu fort par la foi, donnant gloire \u00e0 Dieu, convaincu que ce qu\u2019il a promis, il est aussi capable de le faire.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n La situation d\u2019Abraham semble peu propice \u00e0 esp\u00e9rer. Confront\u00e9 par la promesse divine de devenir le p\u00e8re d’une grande nation, il voit son propre \u00e2ge, et l\u2019\u00e2ge avanc\u00e9 de Sarah, d\u00e9crit en termes non \u00e9quivoques par Paul (son propre corps d\u00e9j\u00e0 atteint par la mort, et la n\u00e9crose de Sarah), et sait que la promesse divine d\u00e9fie toute r\u00e9alit\u00e9. Pourtant, Paul insiste pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment sur le fait que Abraham ne doute pas, et re\u00e7oit la promesse divine avec confiance, sachant que ce que Dieu a promis, il peut aussi le r\u00e9aliser. C\u2019est cette attitude d\u2019Abraham qui est donc vis\u00e9e quand Paul utilise la formule \u00ab\u00a0contre l\u2019esp\u00e9rance, appuy\u00e9 sur l\u2019esp\u00e9rance\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n Esp\u00e9rer contre l\u2019espoir implique de faire confiance en une r\u00e9alit\u00e9 v\u00e9cue et comprise du point de vue de Dieu. Pour Abraham, la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 de sa situation ne peut gu\u00e8re susciter l\u2019espoir. L\u2019espoir ne peut \u00eatre envisag\u00e9 que parce que Dieu est le garant d\u2019une autre r\u00e9alit\u00e9. Pour Paul, l\u2019espoir qui nourrit Abraham n\u2019a rien \u00e0 voir avec le plan humain, il n\u2019est pas un r\u00eave que l\u2019imagination ou la volont\u00e9 humaines peuvent fa\u00e7onner et ensuite se pr\u00e9occuper de r\u00e9aliser. C\u2019est un espoir qui d\u00e9passe le plan de la vie humaine, qui, en fait, le remet m\u00eame en question.<\/p>\n Pour Paul, la souverainet\u00e9 de Dieu est telle que l\u2019\u00eatre humain peut se reposer en elle, et attendre avec confiance, sans impatience, que cet espoir improbable se change en vision r\u00e9elle. Mais l\u2019\u00eatre humain doit aussi avoir conscience de sa petitesse face \u00e0 cet espoir. Il ou elle est humili\u00e9\u00b7e, abaiss\u00e9\u00b7e, si vous pr\u00e9f\u00e9rez, dans la conscience de ce qu\u2019il ou elle peut faire pour r\u00e9aliser, pour concr\u00e9tiser son espoir. Si l\u2019on ne peut m\u00eame pas envisager la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 de ce que l\u2019on esp\u00e8re, il n\u2019y a pas beaucoup de m\u00e9rite qui revient \u00e0 l\u2019\u00eatre humain quand ce que l\u2019on esp\u00e8re se r\u00e9alise enfin. Le m\u00e9rite d\u2019Abraham est la confiance et l\u2019ob\u00e9issance \u00e0 la volont\u00e9 divine, mais il n\u2019est pas \u00e0 l\u2019origine de la r\u00e9alisation de la promesse.<\/p>\n Je passe maintenant \u00e0 S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard. Dans son discours chr\u00e9tien, \u00ab\u00a0Le souci des pa\u00efens\u00a0\u00bb, Kierkegaard d\u00e9veloppe une r\u00e9flexion sur la notion du lendemain, d\u2019abord de mani\u00e8re n\u00e9gative\u00a0: il d\u00e9finit le lendemain comme le \u00ab\u00a0souci du lendemain\u00a0\u00bb. Il \u00e9crit\u00a0:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Le lendemain\u00a0: c\u2019est la griffe d\u2019abordage qui permet \u00e0 l\u2019immense troupe des soucis de s\u2019agripper au fr\u00eale esquif de l\u2019\u2018Individu\u2019\u00a0; si l\u2019op\u00e9ration r\u00e9ussit, il est alors \u00e0 la merci de cette puissance. Le lendemain\u00a0: c\u2019est le premier anneau de la cha\u00eene qui rive un homme avec des milliers d\u2019autres \u00e0 cette funeste abondance des soucis.\u00a0\u00bb[1]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Le souci du lendemain n\u2019est-il pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment pas l\u2019attitude inverse de l\u2019espoir\u00a0? En contraste de l\u2019attente pers\u00e9v\u00e9rante et confiante exemplifi\u00e9e par Abraham et demand\u00e9e aux croyant\u00b7e\u00b7s \u00e0 Rome, le souci du lendemain est l\u2019attitude de celui ou de celle qui, constamment tourn\u00e9\u00b7e vers le futur, ne porte pas l\u2019espoir comme Paul le voudrait. Le souci du lendemain ne caract\u00e9rise-t-il pas cette autre figure de l\u2019espoir d\u00e9\u00e7u qu\u2019est Jay Gatsby, poursuivant son r\u00eave avec une intensit\u00e9 qui le perd\u00a0? Si l\u2019espoir n\u2019est pas le souci du lendemain, la pr\u00e9occupation avec l\u2019avenir et la poursuite effr\u00e9n\u00e9e d\u2019un r\u00eave, il faut r\u00e9fl\u00e9chir n\u00e9anmoins \u00e0 lui donner un contenu positif.<\/p>\n Kierkegaard propose l\u2019image du rameur, comme une \u00ab\u00a0attitude correcte et vraie\u00a0\u00bb[2]<\/span><\/a> par rapport \u00e0 la probl\u00e9matique du lendemain. Il d\u00e9crit la situation de la mani\u00e8re suivante\u00a0:<\/p>\n \u00ab\u00a0Dans la barque, le rameur tourne le dos au but vers lequel il s\u2019efforce pourtant. Il en est de m\u00eame du lendemain. Quand, gr\u00e2ce au secours de l\u2019\u00e9ternel, l\u2019homme vit plong\u00e9 dans le jour pr\u00e9sent, il tourne le dos au lendemain. Et plus l\u2019\u00e9ternit\u00e9 l\u2019y plonge, plus aussi il tourne d\u00e9lib\u00e9r\u00e9ment le dos au lendemain qu\u2019il ne voit donc pas. S\u2019il se retourne, l\u2019\u00e9ternel se brouille \u00e0 ses yeux et devient le lendemain. Mais quand, pour bien se diriger vers le but (l\u2019\u00e9ternit\u00e9), il lui tourne le dos, il ne voit pas le moins du monde le lendemain, alors que gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9ternel il voit avec une parfaite nettet\u00e9 le jour pr\u00e9sent et ses t\u00e2ches. Et c\u2019est ainsi qu\u2019un homme doit s\u2019orienter pour bien travailler aujourd\u2019hui. Tout moment d\u2019impatience o\u00f9 l\u2019on veut regarder au but pour voir si l\u2019on s\u2019en approche un peu est toujours une cause de retard et de distraction. Non\u00a0; sois une fois pour toutes et s\u00e9rieusement r\u00e9solu et mets-toi au travail\u2013le dos tourn\u00e9 au but. Ainsi fait le rameur dans la barque, et de m\u00eame le croyant\u00a0\u00bb.[3]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Celui qui esp\u00e8re en mode chr\u00e9tien est celui qui tourne fermement le dos, si l\u2019on veut, \u00e0 son espoir et ancre sa vie dans le pr\u00e9sent. Le souci de Kierkegaard est que le chr\u00e9tien ne se perde pas dans la contemplation de l\u2019\u00e9ternel (par exemple le souci de la vie apr\u00e8s la mort, du paradis) en pensant qu\u2019il se trouve ainsi plus pr\u00e8s de la divinit\u00e9. L\u2019espoir chr\u00e9tien est ancr\u00e9 dans la confiance que Dieu peut accomplir ce que Dieu a promis, et d\u00e8s lors, le chr\u00e9tien n\u2019a plus \u00e0 se pr\u00e9occuper du futur. Il ou elle est invit\u00e9\u00b7e \u00e0 se plonger dans le pr\u00e9sent.<\/p>\n Cette petite r\u00e9flexion sur l\u2019espoir me semble utile pour notre travail \u00e0 la FAP. L\u2019espoir fait partie int\u00e9grante de notre mission, et nous devons faire confiance \u00e0 celles et ceux qui nous am\u00e8nent des projets. Le futur ne nous appartient pas, et c\u2019est nos d\u00e9cisions dans le pr\u00e9sent qui doivent nous pr\u00e9occuper. Nous tournons donc le dos \u00e0 notre but, sans regarder au lendemain, et nous nous mettons au travail.<\/p>\n Val\u00e9rie NICOLET – vice-pr\u00e9sidente<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/span><\/a> S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard, Discours Chr\u00e9tiens<\/em> vol. 1, Neuch\u00e2tel, Delachaux et Niestl\u00e9, 1967, p. 99.<\/p>\nConseil FAP, 12 Octobre 2026 <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n