KAIROS NIGERIA
Kairos Nigeria recognise the
interrelatedness and interdependence of the struggles of the peoples of Nigeria
and Africa, and the role that faith has played and continue to play in the
humanization or dehumanization processes in our country and region. “The
South African Kairos document of 1985 recognises that Church and State
Theologies, while often dominant, need the corrective of Prophetic Theology in
order for faith to be credible. The Zimbabwe Kairos document of 1988 builds
upon this prophetic tradition. This organisation and network is now conceived
and established to reconnect and nurture the prophetic voice that recognises
God’s face in the face of the poor and most marginalised people in Southern
Africa”. At a time like this we discovered
that the time has come for us as people of faith in Nigeria to act
prophetically in this time of confusion and poverty of mind, body and spirit.
- Though some speak of a “kairos
time”, Kairos is actually a “moment”, of truth, of discernment, of
discovery. It is a revelation of the reality we live in, of what is at
stake and our responsibility in that moment. It is a moment decisive in
history. Not all history but ours, of the times in which we live.
In that sense it is unique, for us to see, understand, and act
upon. Without seeing, understanding and acting the moment passes us by.
Hence the moment is decisive. A Kairos consciousness is a consciousness
awake and open to the discovering of, and responding to the decisiveness
and uniqueness of that moment.
- A Kairos consciousness knows
that the discovery of that moment of truth is not a moment of triumphalist
gloating, confirming our own spiritual superiority, but rather of profound
and humble joy for the gift of discernment. We are not the truth: the
truth has found, recovered and reclaimed us. We are not the light: the
light illumines and leads us. We are not the voice: we speak and
act because we heard the Voice that calls us to do justice, to love mercy
and to walk humbly with our God.
- The voice that we hear does not
come mystically from heaven, even though we know and confess that a Kairos
consciousness is a gift of the Spirit of God. The voice we hear and
respond to is the voice of the voiceless, the poor and oppressed, those
who are the faces at the bottom of the well. It is the voice of those
whose dignity, humanity and lives are threatened on a daily basis. A
Kairos consciousness knows that the assault upon the lives of the weak and
powerless is an assault upon the dignity and worthiness of God.
- The voice we hear is the voice
of the victims of injustice, but that is precisely the voice of God. As
ones whose consciousness has been touched by the spirit of God, we say: vox
victimarum vox Dei: the cries of the victims are the cries of God. We
have learnt this from the reformer
John Calvin. This is one of a very
favourite quotations to which we return again and again, and in many ways
is a most accurate understanding of what we mean by a Kairos
consciousness:
- “Tyrants and their cruelty
cannot be endured without great weariness and sorrow… hence almost the
whole world sounds forth these words, ‘How long? How long’? When anyone
disturbs the whole world by his ambition and avarice, or everywhere
commits plunders, or oppresses miserable nations, when he distresses the
innocent, all cry out, ‘how long’? And this cry, proceeding as it does
from the feeling of nature and the dictate of justices, is at length heard
by the Lord… [The oppressed] know that this confusion of order and justice
is not to be endured. And this feeling, is it not implanted by the Lord?
It is then the same as though God heard Himself, when he hears the cries
and groaning of those who cannot bear injustice”.
- But hearing the voice of God in
the voice of the victims of injustice and oppression means seeing the
situation through the eyes of those who suffer and are wronged. A Kairos
consciousness looks at the world as Jesus must have looked at it: as a
baby from a manger in a stable, one excluded from the warmth and comfort
of the inn; as a refugee fleeing from the murderous power of the powerful
to the hoped-for safety of a place he did not know; as the child of a
single mother who grew up “fatherless in Galilee” (Van Aarde), stigmatized
as a sinner, called a “Samaritan” because of his uncertain birth status
and his dwelling with people who “lived in darkness”; growing up in the
poverty in which the am ha’aretz, the poor peasants of the land in
Galilee were immersed. He saw the world through the eyes of one who was a
homeless wandering prophet and teacher who knew that the birds of the sky
had nests and the foxes holes to sleep in , but he had “no place to lay
his head”. Jesus looked at the world through the eyes of one who
experienced the relentless oppression and exploitation of ordinary people
by the Roman Empire and their cohorts of the Jerusalem temple, who drained
the people of every single penny for their own enrichment; as one who as a
consequence lived in constant confrontation with those elites in power,
challenging their authority because of his conviction of his calling to
bring justice on the earth. He saw the world as an accused, abused and
judged; then hanging from a cross, a criminal, a bloodied deterrent to
those who think they had a right to fight for justice. From this view the
world is decidedly different than the world viewed from the palaces
of the king, the Roman Procurator or the High Priest. Seeing through the
eyes of those who suffer is seeing through the eyes of the Suffering
Servant. Through these eyes the truth in every situation is revealed and
we can discern truth from propaganda. Eating with outcasts, prostitutes
and sinners is decidedly different than having lunch with Herod.
- A Kairos consciousness is a
critical consciousness. It discerns and critiques the situation in which
we live. It understands that it is a situation of life and death.
There is a conflict – between rich and poor, oppressor and
oppressed, powerful and powerless, beneficiaries and victims, those who
are included and those who are excluded. In that critique there is no room
for sentiment and romanticism – peoples’ lives are at stake. The crisis we
are facing is not just economic, social and political, it is a moral
crisis.
- By the same token, a
Kairos consciousness is a self-critical consciousness. This works at least two levels. There is a conflict,
but there are Christians on both sides of the conflict. There are those
Christians, and sometimes whole hierarchies of churches, who seek to use
the Bible, the tradition and theology to serve and protect to the
detriment of the poor, the weak and the vulnerable. On the other side of
the conflict are those with a Kairos consciousness – who understand God’s
call as a call to commit themselves to justice and the liberation of the
oppressed. A Kairos consciousness is critical of the church that takes
sides with the oppressor, but realizes that we ourselves are part of that
church. At another level the self-critical Kairos consciousness knows that
the strongest ally of the oppressed is the mind of the oppressed; that
oppressors of all kinds cannot be successful without the cooperation of
the oppressed, that through fear or desire for reward or a distorted
theology we ourselves might become complicit in our own oppression or that
of others. Hence there are choices to be made here, for a Kairos
consciousness is one that urges us to make the right choices.
- Certainly choices are made on
empirical evidence – social, political, economic analysis, and an
understanding of the ways in which power and powerlessness work. But just
as certain a Kairos consciousness makes these choices on the basis of
faith. Much more than only the liberation of the oppressed is at stake
here. Because Christians oppress others claiming faith in the God of Jesus
who came to establish justice upon the earth, that faith, the integrity of
the Gospel, and the credibility of the witness of the church are at stake
here. The moment of truth is a moment to act for the sake of justice and
humanity, but also for the sake of the integrity of the Gospel. This calls
for critical judgement; hence our emphasis on integrity and humility.
- The situation is one of extreme
urgency precisely because the stakes are so very high. This calls for
action and we respond with prophetic faithfulness and prophetic daring. A
Kairos consciousness is a critical, liberating, empowered and empowering
consciousness and allows us to respond to the moment of truth, for the
sake of the wronged and the Gospel, precisely this consciousness is a gift
of God.
We urge you to support or join us.
You can contact us through the following means:
Facebook: kairosnigeria
Email: kairosnigeria@yahoo.com
Tel: +234 806 2206882
www.kairospalestine.ps
www.kairosusa.org
www.karibu.no
www.kairosbritain.org.uk
www.kairossouthernafrica.wordpress.com
www.kairospalestine.ps
www.kairosusa.org
www.karibu.no
www.kairosbritain.org.uk
www.kairossouthernafrica.wordpress.com
