Claude Nikondeha set the context brilliantly in his opening address on the first night of Amahoro. It set the tone for the conference and spoke prophetically into a broader context in which many find themselves. Quoting Richard Rohr he said ‘pain, if not transformed is transmitted’. This for myself and my Australian colleagues became the most profound statement and most quoted sentence of the conference. Claude spoke about transfiguration in the context of redemptive suffering post apartheid. Using Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela as he quoteable sources he also quoted, ‘When we are able to see the larger purpose of our suffering, it is transformed, transmuted. It becomes redemptive suffering’ (Desmond Tutu).
This was powerful stuff we were hearing and Claude (founder of Amahoro) communicated so powerfully and articulated for me not only the theological and ecclesiological that lie ahead for the formation of God’s people in South Africa but this was powerful formational process for any of us who harbour resentment, anger, revenge or hatred due to suffering that has been inflicted upon us. Claude was reminding us of God’s heart for redemption and reconciliation despite us and what we do to each other.
i write this under the title of Amahoro context because i really feel this was the context of the conference. Everything seemed to fall into the zone of developing effective frameworks for the reformation of God’s people through a transformative…transfigurative process of encountering the other through the love and grace of God.
So I promised you a story about 3 weeks ago and it’s taken me forever to find the time to get back on the blog. So having set some context according to the observations of an Aussie visiting South Africa as a learner, my next post will be a powerful story. It is the define moment of the conference for me and the image of what I observed is burnt into my memory and I will never forget it. However everything we heard and saw at Amahoro is deeply embedded within a context so that is why I am attempting to paint a picture for you before I tell the story
This is drawing out longer than the announcement of the winner of Australian Idol isn’t it? I promise I will post within the next 2 days
Sometimes there is just no “larger picture” to be had in pain – it is just pain. Will be interested to hear more about the transformation. Is it redirected behaviors or reinterpreting the ‘feelings’?