Who Knows... The Kairos Moment

Father Emmanuel Katongole of the Duke Center for Reconcilliation talking to Maggie, founder of Maison-Shalom.


“Who knows, but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.”

This was the challenge put before a gathering of Christian leaders who met in Bujumbura this past week. They came from all over the great lakes region (Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo) as well as Sudan, Nigeria, Ivory Coast as well as other places in Africa. The person who put the challenge before them was Emmanuel Katongole, a Catholic priest from Uganda who is a Professor at Duke University and heads the Duke Center for Reconcilliation.

He was quoting Mordecai in his charge to Queen Ester (Ester 4:14) The jews are exiled in Babylon, and basically through a beauty contest, she, a jewish woman, becomes wife of the King of Persia. She does not have much power, but some influence over the King in her position. She is afraid to use it even to try to dissuade the King from remanding an edict to have all the jews in Persia slaughtered.

Mordecai, a jewish man who works as a gatekeeper at the palace challenges her by reminding her: “Do you think that because you are at the kings house you alone of all the jews will escape? If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the jews will arise from another place, but you and your family will perish.”

Father Emmanuel Katongole’s theme for this conference was Kairos. The Greek word for the fullness of time. He was talking about a Kairos moment in Queen Ester’s life, that required of her a decision to act, or to let it pass. “Who knows, but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.” Ester did take the challenge, and despite her very weak position before the King, sought an audience with him at the risk of her own life. Her response to Mordecai was: “I will go to the King, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

I was very impressed with the conference and the challenge it was putting before African church leaders and NGO leaders who do have some influence in their countries. There were bishops from many of these countries from the Anglican, Catholic, and United Methodist churches, as well as representatives from most other denominations. There were leaders from NGOs like World Vision, World Relief, ALARM, MCC, as well as others. Emmanuel invited us all to consider the time in which we live and the influence we have, to act to bring on behalf of peace and justice in the region. He challenged us to consider the Kairos moment that may be upon us and asked if we were willing to act in faithfulness and obedience, even if we perish! This is a bold call, especially as at least 4 of the African countries involved face elections this year.

Throughout the 3 days we considered several aspects of the story and roles we might play in our own stories:
Ester- A woman, who came from humble beginnings, chosen for her beauty to become king at a time when woman were particularly oppressed by men. ( see the edict against women in Ester 1:19) She appears to be fairly compliant and not a very likely heroine.

Mordecai- An assistant gate keeper at the palace. A position that is not very near, nor very far from the seat of power. He knows what is going on in the country (including the edict to kill all jews) and is powerless to stop it, but in a position to advise Queen Ester.

Time- We were invited to consider the times we are living in now in our own current situation. Is there a Kairos moment ahead coming for us?

I have to say, I was very impressed with Father Katongole and the Duke Center’s capacity to bring together a gathering of so many influential church leaders, especially across the Catholic/Protestant spectrum. (In many countries around here Catholics and Protestants are quite deeply divided and there is little common work between them.)

The conference met from Tuesday-Friday, although Rebecca was part of the pregathering planning committee that met for the weekend prior. We participated in the event as best we could as we had some logistical responsibilities, often bringing David along, or leaving Oren with our SALTer Robyn who offered to do babysitting duty.

It was good during the days to struggle with the invitees over these questions and what is required of us. I was personally very challenged by the call to live out my faith even to the point of giving my life. In my own country I had not encountered any life and death struggles with my being a Christian. I might face ridicule, but here, there are real possibilities of making enemies, or taking a stand for which one might actually be killed. I did not take this call to these leaders lightly, and I do not think they took it lightly either, especially since most of them have already passed through some horrific experience in the past losing friend, family, and colleagues during crises here from war to HIV.

We were offered opportunities to see some who have taken the call to Esther to heart. On Thursday we went on a field trip and saw Maison-Shalom, run by a catholic woman named Maggie. She is also a tutsi that has worked tirelessly for her Hutu neighbors, despite the fact that during the crisis, hutus killed 72 members of her family before her eyes, including all of her children. She does not mourn, but has responded with a spirit of God’s love that is frightening in its power to heal.

She started by taking in children, (hutu and tutsi) and began an orphanage, then a school, then a hospital. She has many enemies: Her tutsi family consider her to be a traitor, and her hutu community think she is a spy. But she has been fearless despite many attempts on her life.

It is so amazing to me to say how much the world really is threatened by Agape (the love of God.) I believe now that if you are really boldly doing God’s work, you will have enemies who will want to kill you, because true Agape challenges worldy spirits of injustice, hatred, and fear. These are powerful forces that will put up a fight to protect their territory. It was a harsh reminder to see just how offensive this woman of profound compassion and love has been in her deeply divided community. AND YET, the amazing, miraculous favor of God that has been on her in her work, protecting her life, and blessing the efforts she has made. Profoundly inspired, the 60 of us that made the bus tour to her fairly remote community in Eastern Burundi, returned to Bujumbura on time for dinner.

The conference ended Friday, which was a relief for us despite how inspiring it was. Since our out of town team (Jodi, and Ruth and Krystan) came down for the conference, we took the opportunity to have a team retreat over the weekend at our house. It was a chance to have Ruth and Krystan meet the new family (Ressler-Horsts). We had brunch together on Saturday morning, then had some worship time together. The theme for the weekend was a compliment to the conference in that it focused on what our lives should look like in ‘ordinary time’, that is the time between the Kairos moments. I used Psalm 131 as our theme psalm:

My heart is not proud O Lord,
My eyes are not haughty,
I do not concern myself with great matters,
With things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with its mother
Like a weaned child, is my soul within me.

We talked about developing spiritual disciplines to live in ordinary time, but prepared for the Kairos moment. I used the illustration of the rescue workers on 9/11 who ran into the building to rescue those inside. Their response was not just a spontaneous act of bravery, but something that they had been trained and prepared for. I talked about us, in order to respond in the Kairos time takes spiritual preparation in ordinary time, and much of our lives are spent in ordinary time. (I also gave the example of the 40 years in the wilderness spent by those who were waiting to enter the promised land.)

We challenged everyone to find a spiritual discipline that might help them be renewed spiritually and a way to prepare them to hear the call that God might put on them at any time. We agreed to be accountable to each other. Rebecca and I have been committed to fasting weekly, and have done so, from Friday dinner to Sunday dinner the past 3 weeks. This feels like an appropriate discipline in a place where we are so aware of hunger, of those who cannot make that choice. Everyone committed to do something in the coming year some more orthodox than others.

On Sunday, many of us went to the Anglican church together, then had brunch at Nathan and Lara’s house, followed by a day at the beach down south at one of the newly constructed resorts. It was a really fun day in an idyllic setting, as you can see by the photos. It is amazing to see our team so large. All said, we are about 17 counting spouses and children. We felt that the team retreat was a fitting end to an inspiring week, and helped to draw us nearer.


I want to close by sharing a prayer/poem that was a theme of both the conference and the team retreat. It was written for Archbishop Arthur Romero, who was a champion of justice for the poor in El Salvador. He was assassinated for his efforts and his willingness to use his position on behalf of them. It was a reminder of Esther’warning about a Kairos moment: “if I perish, I perish.” In order for us to be Christian leaders, we have to be willing to follow Jesus all the way to the cross. In order to do that, we have to believe, as Oscar Romero did that we are ‘Prophets of a Future not our Own.”

Prophets of a future not our own It helps now and then to step back and take the long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expreses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. That is what we are about: We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not Master Builders, ministers, not Messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.
- Bishop Ken Untener