Thoughts from Egypt

Now, back in Germany, I call the group of strangers my friends. For a few weeks we shared meals and stories, challenged each other in discussions, embraced each other’s theological thoughts and reflected on justice, reconciliation, and peace. Our discussions were deeply enriched by the diversity of perspectives and contexts we shared. This real and honest encounter helped me to understand and internalize the meaning of the metaphor “to be one body in Christ” (1 Corinthians 12). We were able to share our faith, to pray and sing together despite our differences as a diverse group of young Christians.

When I think about the joke from the first plenary session again, it leads me to a deeper message. To understand our call for unity as members of a global church we had to return to Egypt, to the place where the theological discussion about a common sense, a common faith, once started.

We had to become strangers to encounter ourselves with love and to honor the encounter that took place 1,700 years ago. Today we must ask the question about the meaning of the Nicene Creed, to ensure that it is not just a relic and a memory of the past but a call to mission and a call for a lived theology.

In reflection on the creed, questions regarding the identity of our church arise: Whose voices are being heard? Whose voices matter? Which power dynamics take effect in our churches?

As a global church we must return to Egypt, to listen and to be with all who suffer and cry in pain. In our lament with the margins and the oppressed the metaphor of one body becomes reality and leads to action. Our mission is to encounter the stranger with love, to feel empathy, and to feel a deep connection, knowing that the stranger is not far away from us, that they are our neighbors, our siblings, they are us. Regarding God’s creation we should remember that we are all strangers. We are responsible for this creation in times when humanity already faces the devastating consequences of climate change. As a Christian community worldwide, we can use our prophetic voice to lead to action for a world that is filled with love, where justice prevails.

The GETI program created a sense of community and deep connection. It is good and

comforting to know that, in our wounded world, there are others who try their best to do good in their own contexts, motivated by the biblical stories of people on their pilgrimage with God.

These stories are told by the desert in Egypt. They give us hope that one day all of us will live in freedom, in united harmony with our neighbor and with God’s creation.