1S 2 :1-10
Récemment Jean-Louis Trintignant a retiré sa participation à un programme du prochain Festival d’Avignon. La raison, c’est que Bertrand Cantat, son ennemi n° 1 participera au même programme. En effet, le premier, acteur connu était le beau-père du second, jusqu’à ce que celui-ci, à l’époque un célèbre chanteur, a frappé à mort la fille du premier, Marie Trintignant. Judiciairement, après avoir vécu 4 ans en prison – la moitié de sa peine initiale – Cantat est en pleine période de réintégration. Dans un interview, Trintignant a confessé que l’autre est l’homme qu’il déteste le plus au monde. Nous constatons que la violence meurtrière dans la scène de ménage est de plus en plus fréquent, en Occident et en Orient. La peine purgée par le chanteur m’a étonné dans sa courté ; cependant nous comprenons cette haine du père pour renoncer à un programme avec une personne qui a tué sa fille. Mais par cet événement, nous trouvons qu’il est très difficile de changer une idée qui s’est installé dans le cœur de l’homme. L’homme s’obstine à une idée fixe et a tendance à ne pas la lâcher jusqu’à la mort. En lisant cet article, je me suis dit que c’est une peu mesquin d’agir ainsi. Mais, un instant après, je me suis dit de nouveau que ce pourrais une réaction normale à laquelle je me serais peut-être associée si je n’avais pas accepté l’amour du Christ.
Oh ! pourtant quelle contraste avec cette femme missionnaire appelé Darline qui priait pour le geôlier japonais si cruel de la prison où elle fut enfermé, malgré que cette race avait tué son mari qui fut enfermé dans l’autre camp masculin. Oh ! quelle contraste avec Pasteur coréen Sohn qui avait adopté un des communistes qui avaient tué son fils, afin de sauver la vie de celui-ci. Suis-je encore un Trintignant ou suis-je devenu un Sohn. Je ne sais, car je n’ai pas passé la pareille expérience. Mais, je veux réfléchir quand-même ce matin avec vous sur ce thème assez singulier du titre : la fixité d’idée n’est pas seulement une mentalité.
Pathologiquement, la personne qui se fixe une idée mégalomane ou masochiste etc. et qui ne la relâche pas facilement est nommé paranoïa. C’est une sorte de malade mentale. Le symptôme de cette personne est la colère fréquente, la déprime ou le changement d’humeur radicale rapide. On peut constater que ses pensées sont étroites et son cœur serré et tendu très fréquemment.
Mais spirituellement parlant, cette personne est encerclée par une puissance quelconque invisible. Ce n’est pas uniquement le démoniaque comme nous le voyons dans Marc 5 qui se meurtrit et hurle qui est contrôlé par le démon, mais il y en a qu sont contrôlés par les démons dans leur mouvement mental, quoi que ce paranoïa ou le déprime sont considéré par la médicine moderne comme une simple maladie. Si on commence par la conclusion, nous pouvons dire que ces mouvements mentaux, la fixation des idées singulières condit à l’esclavage et cet esclavage est le but ultime des êtres malins spirituels appelé démons, dont le chef est Satan.
Mais une attention est exigé, quand on parle de la présence des démons ou de Satan, c’est que même si l’agent principal est Satan, l’homme est censé être toujours le responsable, car c’est lui qui se laisse emporter par Satan, en ouvrant sa porte vers lui. Donc, ce n’est pas une bonne attitude d’imputer toutes les choses à Satan et de s’extirper de toute la condamnation. L’homme doit savoir s’imputer à lui-même la responsabilité des affaires de la vie. Jésus dit de trouver la poutre dans son œil avant de trouver la paille dans l’œil des autres, car l’homme a toujours cette tendance d’imputer la responsabilité sur les autres et de se justifier devant Dieu et devant les hommes ; Il en est de même vis-à-vis des démons.
En tout cas, la fixité d’idées conduit l’homme à l’esclavage. Nous pouvons le voir bien, si nous voyons le cas d’Israélites dans le désert. Même si leur condition physique était la liberté de la main des Egyptiens, les Israélites étaient encore dans l’esclavage. Ils ne se contentaient jamais de leur condition, mais étaient, autant qu’ils aient l’occasion, portés à se plaindre ; ils languissaient sans cesse la viande dans les marmites en Egypte.Leur situation était comparable à la femme de Loth qui était sorti avec son mari de la ville de Sodome, mais qui ne put se débarrasser vite de sa vie confortable de Sodome dans son fauteuil de coussin doux et la cuisine pleine d’armoire et qui devint un statue du sel.
Nous pouvons trouver que l’un des plus excellents exemples de cet esclavage est celui des leaders religieux à l’époque de Jésus. Si nous voyons les récits bibliques, nous nous apercevons que ces religieux poursuivaient Jésus et ses disciples de façon vraiment harcelante. Ils étaient tellement opiniâtre qu’on peut les nommer paranoïaques.Quand même les disciples se promenèrent au milieu du champs de blé, ils étaient là à guet-apens et dès qu’ils arrachèrent les épis pour les frapper, ils firent l’apparition de je ne sais d’où et se mirent à les accuser ; ces jours-ci, en venant au centre le matin, comme c’est le printemps, les oiseaux se mettent à changer, dès que je sors de mon appartement, ce qui m’a beaucoup étonné, car je ne savais pas que les oiseaux chantent si joyeusement en plein milieu de la ville. Mais en marchant dans la rue, en arrivant au centre, de plus en plus le chant disparaît et fait place au bruit des moteurs des voitures. Les disciples se réjouissaient du chant d’oiseaux en plein milieu de la campagne en compagnie de leur bien-aimé Maître. Mais tout à coup une voix harcelante de je ne sais d’où qui se fit retentir, « Pourquoi mangez-vous en faisant ce qui est interdit le jour de Sabbat, Hein ? » C’était terrible et surtout terrifiant. Ils étaient ainsi surpris par les leaders religieux. Ces gens méchants étaient les gens qui n’auraient pas été émus, même si les oiseaux chantaient et les bébés leur souriaient. Le sang même ne serait pas sorti de leur peau qui aurai été encroûté comme celle de crocodile ou de dinosaure. Quels malheureux êtres !
Pendant toute sa vie ministérielles, Jésus essayait de casser leur donjon si dure, mais en vain. Jean 8 nous raconte la rencontre de Jésus avec ces gens-là. Alors Jésus dut se donner de nouveau la peine inlassable pour combattre ces insecourables gens. Comment dans le filme, « il faut sauver le soldat Ryan, » Jésus vint de secourir une femme tombée dans le piège des religieux. En effet, d’un moment à l’autre, ces religieux se transformèrent comme les caméléons, en les policiers civils et ainsi ils se promenèrent dans le quartier des lanternes rouges parmi les filles de mauvaises mœurs, puis après avoir satisfait leurs vues concupiscentes, ils tombèrent dans un endroit où une femme mariée était en train de s’amuser avec un homme qui était lui aussi marié. Quand ils surprirent l’endroit, l’homme malin a déjà foutu le camps, mais la femme resta seule, faute du temps de se revêtir. Ils la prirent ainsi en flagrant délit d’adultère, et la traînèrent jusqu'au milieu du temple, à mi-vêtue, mi-nue. Jésus sut que cette femme était doublement piégées, premièrement par son désir coupable de péché : le péché est toujours savoureux, si ce n’est qu’il laisse ce arrière-goût amer, puis deuxièmement par la loi des Juifs qui est impitoyable à l’égard d’une adultère. Elle sera lapidé. Donc, cette femme a été esclave en double. Jésus, partant de sa compassion, décida de la sauver.Quand il pria en écrivant quelques lettres sur le sol, Dieu lui donna une idée divine pleine de sagesse. Il se leva et dit aux religieux qui l’entouraient : « Celui qui n’a pas de péché lui jette le premier la pierre. » La femme fut délivrée des ennemis en un instant, car du plus vieux au plus jeune, piqué dans leur conscience, laissèrent tomber la pierre et s’en allèrent. C’était la victoire totale de Jésus-Christ. Jésus avait qu’il a gagné la loi des Juifs. Mais il ne savait pas qu’il ait gagné Satan complètement, car cette victoire dépendait aussi de la femme. Jésus lui dit donc : « Va, désormais, ne pèche plus. » Pour cette femme, le combat a commencé.
Un peu plus tard, Jésus enseigne aux Juifs qui crurent en lui le chemin de la vraie liberté. Cette femme devra se libérer de son désir maudit et coupable. C’est le chemin que chaque homme doit s’efforcer d’obtenir dans sa vie. Nous sommes en quelque sorte, dans la bifurcation soit vers la liberté soit vers l’esclavage et, nous devons choisir un de ces 2 chemins. Que ce soit cette femme sauvée de ses accusateurs ou ces Juifs qui vinrent de croire en lui, c’est-à-dire les chrétiens débutants, tous sont invités à emprunter le chemin de la liberté. Devant nous, il y a toujours un alternative. C’est la bifurcation quotidienne en face. C’est pourquoi, la phrase de Jésus début souvent avec la préposition « si. » « Si quelqu’un veut venir après moi, qu’il renonce à lui-même, qu’il se charge de sa croix et qu’il me suive. » Pour être disciple de Jésus, il faut savoir renoncer à la fierté et à l’orgueil, et se charger de la croix de mission. Mais, si nous ne le choisissons pas, nous prenons un autre chemin qui est celui de l’esclavage ; la vie pleine d’orgueil et d’égoïsme. Alors on est garrotté dans la vie de tous les jours.
Jésus débuta une autre phrase avec « si. » « Si vous demeurez dans ma parole, vous êtes vraiment mes disciples. Vous connaîtrez la vérité et la vérité vous rendrait libres. » Tout ce chemin de vérité commence par le fait qu’on demeure dans la parole. Et le reste bien heureux s’ensuivent presque automatiquement. Que signifie alors de demeurer dans la parole ? C’est d’avoir une relation bien organico-biologique avec la parole de Dieu, comme le sarment s’est attaché au cep. Alors, le disciple reçoit sans cesse la sève nécessaire pour sa croissance et son épanouissement. Dans la chrétienté, il y a pas mal de gens qui vivent pendant la semaine toute à fait comme les gens du monde et se réveillent le dimanche matin pour réfléchir sur la parole oubliée, puis qui oublient de nouveau la parole entendu du pasteur dès qu’ils quittent leur église pour vivre encore parmi les gens du monde comme eux pendant une semaine. C’est un cycle vicieux et un engrenage qui accumule les regrets dans la lie de l’âme. Ils viennent à l’église comme un élève qui fait son devoir, et après avoir l’accompli, un soulagement. Non ! ce n’est pas ainsi qu’on acquérait la liberté. Il faut demeurer dans la parole de Dieu 7 jours/7, depuis le matin jusqu’au soir.
Mais demeurer dans la parole n’est pas facile, d’autant plus que nous vivons dans l’époque où la haute mobilité est pleinement appréciée. Les modernes n’arrivent pas demeurer dans un endroit. Ils meuvent sans cesse.Mais, même si la parole nous donne moins de goût, nous devons y rester et creuser la sève qu’elle nous donne. Le fléau des modernes est le portable. A cause de ce monstre, les gens n’arrivent pas à demeurer. Les gens sont tellement attachés à cet outil – je ne nie pas son gigantesque avantage : nous pouvons signaler notre retard lors de l’embouteillage, nous rencontrer dans le point de rendez-vous en se rapprochant au téléphone, etc. – qu’ils ont parfois les hallucinations auditives. Il arrive parfois que quelqu’un entend quelque chose, alors que nous n’entendons rien. Alors à ce niveau-là, il est impossible de demeurer dans la parole. Nous devons savoir parfois éteindre le portable pour que nous contempler la parole de Dieu.
Comme je viens de le dire, j’attire votre attention à ce mot, « contempler ». A mon avis, il est le synonyme de « demeurer. », car il est un verbe composé, c’est-à-dire con (avec) + templer (origine « temple »). Il s’agit de s’unir avec le temple. L’avantage et le bénéfice de s’associer au temple est au-delà de notre imagination. Il est primordial pour la vie d’un chrétien. Il y en a qui franchit jamais le seuil du temple, en raison de la relation humaine. Ce n’est pas bon pour leur vie spirituelle. Hébreux 10 :25 dit, « N’abandonnons pas notre assemblée, comme c’est la coutume de quelques-uns »… pour ceux-ci, dit la Bible continuellement, « une attente terrifiante du jugement et l’ardeur du feu prêt à dévorer les rebelles ! » Donc, demeurer dans l’assemblée est comparable au fait qu’un naufragé tient la ligne de vie qu’il ne faut jamais relâcher s’il veut vivre. Ainsi, demeurer dans la parole et dans sa maison qui est l’église est pour quiconque une question de vie ou de mort.
Si nous demeurons ainsi dans la parole et dans la maison de Dieu, Jésus promet de nous offrir la pleine liberté. Mais quelle était la réalité des leaders religieux ? J’en ai déjà mentionné, mais à mon avis, il est judicieux d’approfondir nos réflexions à ce sujet.
En un mot, les religieux avaient des idées fixes au sujet de leur religion. Ils avaient ces idées fixes qu’ils étaient les hommes qui sont déjà sauvés. Ce fait est vraiment pour eux un acquis intouchable. Ils sont sauvés et point. C’est indiscutable. Ils pensaient ainsi parce qu’ils étaient enfants d’Abraham. Pour eux, naître dans la lignée d’Abraham garantissait qu’ils étaient la race élue pour lequel le salut état plus qu’évident. Cette idée était tellement fixe dans leur esprit que personne ni nul ne peut la mettre en cause par quelque cause que ce soit. Mais en réalité, cette idée était le chemin direct vers la perdition, car c’est rien d’autre que le piège tendu par le diable.
Jésus leur dit, « quiconque commet le péché est esclave du péché. » Celui qui s’enferme dans son idée, ne serait-ce qu’elle a l’aspect de spiritualité noble, par exemple, si un chrétien noble juge un autre chrétien vile, est un esclave de ce jugement et ce jugement est un péché devant Dieu. Or, l’agent principal de tous ces choses est le diable. Cet agent a cet étrange plaisir de voir un homme qui se fixe son idée s’enfoncer de plus en plus dans cette idée jusqu’à ce qu’il n’arrive plus se défaire d’elle. Jésus dit au sujet de cet agent qui manipulait ainsi les âmes religieuses et en avertit à celles-ci : « Vous avez pour père le diable, et vous voulez accomplir les désir de votre père. Il a été meurtrier dès le commencement, et il ne s’est pas tenu dans la vérité, parce que la vérité n’est pas en lui. Lorsqu’il profère le mensonge, ses paroles viennent de lui-même, car il est menteur et le père du mensonge. » Il chuchote sans cesse dans les oreilles des faibles âmes, afin que celles-ci s’entête dans le chemin de perdition et qu’elles soient perdue finalement.Comme je vous ai dit précédemment, on ne peut imputer toute la responsabilité au seul diable, car ce sont les enfants qui choisissent d’être ses enfants et d’être sous son égide. En tout cas, le but ultime du diable est qu’il garde ses victimes, pour faire perdre leur âme dans la géhenne lors du jugement dernier.
Mais Jésus libère tout homme qui vient humblement en se repentant de ses péchés. Jésus dit en parabole, « l’esclave ne demeure pas pour toujours dans la maison ; le fils y demeure pour toujours. Si donc le Fils vous rend libres, vous serez réellement libre. » Les disciples seront amenés à connaître la vérité et la vérité les rendra libres. Mais au fond, celui qui rend libre, c’est Jésus, le Fils de Dieu. Si nous avons le Fils de Dieu dans notre cœur, nous seront tôt ou tard libres, entièrement libres.
Le diable rendait les Juifs ses esclaves à travers leur idée fixe de la descendance d’Abraham. Il y a vraiment beaucoup de sorte d’esclavage. J’ai lu récemment que 10 % des cancérogènes sont dûs à l’alcoolisme. Satan rend esclave les hommes par leur attachement à l’alcoolisme. Un autre article m’a dit qu’un scientifique a inventé un médicament qui fait oublier la pensée traumatisante d’un accident en enlevant une protéine dans une partie du cerveau qui se produit lors de l’accident. Beaucoup de sinistré des accidents graves sont esclaves des traumatismes. Que ce sera bon si nous arrivons à oublier toutes les mauvais souvenirs ! Le mot « vergessen » allemand dont le sens est oublier – vous vous souvenez du maxime : vergeben et vergessen – a une même racine du mot « Gasse » qui signifie le chemin. Si nous perdons le chemin, nous nous disons que nous sommes égarée. C’est un état très embêtant. Mais, oublier le mauvais chemin que nous avons emprunté est aussi une grande délivrance. Paul dit : oubliant ce qui est en arrière, et tendant vers ce qui est en avant, je cours vers le but. Si nous oublions le chemin mauvais du passé, nous pouvons ouvrir un nouveau chemin prometteur. Mais le problème, c’est que rien ni personne nous aide à oublier ce qui est en arrière, le mauvais chemin. La guerre est donc toujours là. Nous serons toujours resté esclaves du passé. Malheureux que je suis ! Qui nous délivrera de ce maudit passé ! si j’emprunt les mots de Paul. Seul Jésus en est capable. C’est l’Eternel Dieu, le Tout-puissant le rend possible. Cela devient possible, quand nous demeurons dans la parole et dans la maison de notre Dieu.
Avant d’aborder le texte d’aujourd’hui qui est le cantique d’Anne, donc, je pense qu’il est judicieux de vous proposer de faire une sorte d’anti-thèse de la parole de Jésus pour que celle-ci soit plus clairement ancré dans notre esprit : c’est-à-dire, que le diable aurait-il dit à la place de Jésus ? On dit que spirituellement chaque individu a une faiblesse particulière à laquelle il se soumet ou un point particulièrement vulnérable auquel le diable s’attaque facilement pour le faire tomber. Prenons un exemple d’un jeune qui a une faiblesse de désir charnel qui le fait souvent tomber, que le diable de ce nom lui aurait-il dit ? Je crois que cela sera comme suit : « Si tu demeure dans ton désir charnel, tu sera mon disciple, tu connaîtra la vérité – mais en fait c’est un mensonge, par exemple, la beauté corporelle est meilleure) – et cette vérité te rendre libre, mais en réalité esclave.Donc, selon chacun, vous pouvez remplacer le désir charnel par d’autre point fatale par exemple, le pharisaïsme, c’est-à-dire, la propre justice, le sentimentalisme, tel chagrin, tristesse, apitoiement, etc., ou même les philosophies telles humanisme, pragmatisme, matérialisme, communisme, capitalisme, etc.
Si on lit le chapitre 1 du premier livre de Samuel, nous trouvons qu’un certain Elqana de la tribu de Juda avait deux femmes dont l’une était Penina qui avait plusieurs enfants et l’autre Anne qui n’avait point d’enfant. La première ne cessa de causer du chagrin à la second, en raison de la stérilité de cette dernière. A cause de cette persécution, Anne était triste, quoique son mari l’aima plus que l’autre. Elle était surtout triste, parce qu’il lui semblait que Dieu tout-puissant l’avait oublié et abandonné. Elle avait plein de sentiment coupable, car on disait que la stérilité venait du péché. 'était son idée fixe selon la coutume des Juifs.Mais d’un autre côté, Anne savait que l’Eternel Dieu d’Israël était puissant et omnipotent. Alors, elle fit un vœu, en disant : « Oh Eternel des armées ! si ton regard s’arrête sur l’humiliation de ta servante, si tu te souviens de moi et n’oublie pas ta servante et si tu donnes un garçon à ta servante, je le donnerai à l’Eternel pour tous les jours de sa vie, et le rasoir ne passera pas sur sa tête. » Elle contempla, c’est-à-dire elle était dans le temple et pria Dieu sincèrement. Le serviteur Eli la méprisa, car elle ne pria pas à vive voix selon la coutume, mais murmura dans son intérieur et Elie considéra ceci comme un signe de l’ivrognerie. Mais, Anne ne se laissa pas affecté par ce traitement injuste, mais se défendait humblement devant le serviteur, qui la bénit en contrepartie. Cette parole de bénédiction prononcée par le serviteur du temple était tellement puissante qu’en la gardant dans son cœur, Anne ne sentit plus le même sentiment qu’auparavant. 1 :18 dit, « Cette femme poursuivit sa route. Elle mangea, et son visage ne fut plus le même. » Ce phénomène peut être nommé changement de paradigme. Maintenant le chagrin que sa rival lui causa sans cesse ne lui fit rien. La parole du serviteur dans le temple la délivra de toute entrave humaine, familiale et sociale, si bien qu’elle devint tout à fait une nouvelle personne et la plus heureuse femme du monde de triste qu’elle était.
Ainsi, Anne a expérimenté un accès à un monde spirituel profond et mystérieux de Dieu qui est au-delà de toutes les limites humaines. Son monde n’est plus un monde étroit et mesquin, mais s’élargit comme un océan. Elle devint mère de la nation, non seulement parce qu’elle a offert son fils Samuel à Dieu, mais parce que désormais elle partage le même cœur si large de Dieu. Il est évident que derrière les grandes œuvres de Samuel dans son temps, il y avait cette grande dame qui priaient pour le bien de son enfant, pour le bien, et la justice de sa nation d’Israël.
Or, ce large cœur d’Anne, sa délivrance de la limite humain est bien décrit dans les versets de son cantique. Surtout, Anne sut maintenant que l’homme n’a pas besoin de rester enfermé dans son optique myope de la relation humaine, mais d’élargir ses regards vers Dieu tout puissant, car en Dieu tout peut devenir possible. Dieu est celui qui peut renverser tout, c’est pourquoi si bas, démuni, impuissant, échoué soit-il, l’homme a tout lieu de lever les yeux vers le haut et espérer un avenir meilleur.
Les versets 4-10 disent, « l’arc des héros est brisé, et ceux qui trébuchaient ont la vaillance pour ceinture. Ceux qui était rassasiés cherchent un gagne-pain, mais ceux qui étaient affamés ont du répit ; Même la femme stérile enfante sept fois, mais celle qui avait beaucoup de fils est flétrie. L’Eternel fait mourir et il fait vivre, Il fait descendre au séjour des morts et il en fait remonter. L’Eternel appauvrit et il enrichit. Il abaisse et il élève. De la poussière, il redresse l’indigent, du fumier il relève le pauvre, pour les faire siéger avec les notables ; Et il leur donne en héritage un trône de gloire ; car à l’Eternel sont les colonnes de la terre, et c’est sur elles qu’il a posé le monde. Il gardera les pas de ses fidèles.Mais les méchants se perdront dans les ténèbres ; car l’homme ne triomphera point par la force. Ceux qui conteste avec l’Eternel seront terrifiés ; contre eux, dans les cieux, il tonnera : l’Eternel jugera les extrémité de la terre. Il donnera la puissance à son roi, et relèvera la force de son messie. »
Les pensées d’Anne s’envolèrent et allèrent jusqu’aux extrémités de la terre et déjà son cœur contint la terre entière qui fut en ce moment dans le ténèbres mais qui recevait bientôt le salut éternel par la venu de son messie, quoi qu’elle ne sut pas encore son nom Jésus-Christ.
En conclusion, il est vrai que la fixité d’idées est considéré en général comme une mentalité. Les hommes sont tentés toujours à se fixer le idées de façon conventionnelle et traditionelle. Par exemple, après la révolution française qui a été marqué par sa tendance de défaire la politesse et les bienséances traditionnelles, qui était l’héritage de la royauté, les gens sont retournés aux manières traditionnelles 19e siècle durant. Une statistique est encore plus parlant : en 1981, donc il y a 30 ans, selon une enquête faite par Madame Figaro, les bonnes manières ont été jugés importantes seulement par 21% des sondés, en 1996, 15 ans après ce chiffre a monté à 53%, en 2003, la même sorte d’enquête nous a révélé que ces bonnes manières, autrement dit la poliesse sont jugées particulièrement importante par 70% de la population. Nous nous souvenons du défi énergétique des 4 amis du paralytique qui démolit l’idée fixe de la bienséance pour faire déscendre leur ami devant Jésus par la foi libératrice. Mais nous apprenons que même si nous ne savons pas où est la frontière entre deux domanes, la fixité d’idées dépasse à un certain moment cette frontière pour atteindre au domaine qui est celui d’un esprit mauvais, comme nous l’avons vu dans le cas des leaders religieux qui sont devenu, à cause d’elle, esclaves des diables. Anne était dans le mauvais esprit au début à cause de l’harcellement de sa rivale, mais quand elle pria dans le temple, elle en vint à se libérer de l’esprit mauvais et aborder la magnificence de Dieu, et put enfin devenir une mère de prière pour la nation.
THE FIXITY OF IDEA IS NOT JUST A MENTALITY
1S 2 :1-10
Jean-Louis Trintignant recently withdrew its participation in a program of the next Avignon Festival. The reason is that Bertrand Cantat, his enemy Nb 1 will participate in the same program. Indeed, the first one, known as famous actor was the father-in-law of the second one, until this one, at the time a famous singer, beat to death the daughter of the first, Marie Trintignant. Judicially, after living 4 years in prison - half of his original sentence - Cantat is in the midst of reinstatement. In an interview, Trintignant has confessed that the other is the man he hates most in the world. We note that the murderous violence in the domestic scene is increasingly common in the West and the East. The penalty purged by the singer surprised me in his short term, yet we understand this hatred of the father to give up a program with someone who killed his daughter. But this event, we find it is very difficult to change an idea that was installed in the heart of man. The man insists on a fixed idea and tends to not let go until death. By reading this article, I told myself that it's a little petty to do so. But a moment later, I told myself again that this could a normal reaction to which I would perhaps associate if I had not accepted the love of Christ.
Oh! Yet what a contrast with what this woman named Darlene missionary had done praying for the Japanese so cruel jailer of the prison where she was imprisoned, even though this race had killed her husband who was imprisoned in another male camp. Oh! What a contrast with Korean Pastor Sohn who had adopted one of Communists who killed his son to save his life. Am I still a Trintignant or am I become a Sohn. I do not know, because I did not spend such expérience. However, I would like this morning with you think about this subject quite singular: the fixity of idea is not just a mentality.
Pathologically, the person who sets a megalomaniac or masochistic idea etc.. and who does not release it easily named paranoia. It is a kind of mental illness. The symptom of this person is often anger, depression or rapidly changing mood. We can see that his thoughts are narrow and his heart tight and tense very often.
But spiritually speaking, that person is surrounded by
1S 2 :1-10
Jean-Louis Trintignant recently withdrew its participation in a program of the next Avignon Festival. The reason is that Bertrand Cantat, his enemy Nb 1 will participate in the same program. Indeed, the first one, known as famous actor was the father-in-law of the second one, until this one, at the time a famous singer, beat to death the daughter of the first, Marie Trintignant. Judicially, after living 4 years in prison - half of his original sentence - Cantat is in the midst of reinstatement. In an interview, Trintignant has confessed that the other is the man he hates most in the world. We note that the murderous violence in the domestic scene is increasingly common in the West and the East. The penalty purged by the singer surprised me in his short term, yet we understand this hatred of the father to give up a program with someone who killed his daughter. But this event, we find it is very difficult to change an idea that was installed in the heart of man. The man insists on a fixed idea and tends to not let go until death. By reading this article, I told myself that it's a little petty to do so. But a moment later, I told myself again that this could a normal reaction to which I would perhaps associate if I had not accepted the love of Christ.
Oh! Yet what a contrast with what this woman named Darlene missionary had done praying for the Japanese so cruel jailer of the prison where she was imprisoned, even though this race had killed her husband who was imprisoned in another male camp. Oh! What a contrast with Korean Pastor Sohn who had adopted one of Communists who killed his son to save his life. Am I still a Trintignant or am I become a Sohn. I do not know, because I did not spend such expérience. However, I would like this morning with you think about this subject quite singular: the fixity of idea is not just a mentality.
Pathologically, the person who sets a megalomaniac or masochistic idea etc.. and who does not release it easily named paranoia. It is a kind of mental illness. The symptom of this person is often anger, depression or rapidly changing mood. We can see that his thoughts are narrow and his heart tight and tense very often.
But spiritually speaking, that person is surrounded by
any invisible power. It’s not only the demoniac as we see in Mark 5, who is bruising himself and screaming who is controlled by the devil, but there are who are controlled by the demons in their mental movement, whatever the paranoia or depression are treated by modern medicine as a simple disease. If we start with the conclusion we can say that these mental movements, setting the singular ideas conduct to the slavery and that slavery is the ultimate purpose intended by the evil spiritual beings called demons, whose leader is Satan.
But attention is required when one speaks of the presence of demons or Satan, i.e. that even if Satan is the chief agent, the man is supposed to be always in charge, because it’s he who gets carried away by Satan, opening the door to him. So it's not a good attitude to attribute all things to Satan and drag himself out of condamnation. Man must know to impute a responsibility to himself for the affairs of life. Jesus said to find the beam in his eye before finding the straw in the eyes of others, because man has always this tendency to blame on others and to justify himself before God and men; It’s the same and true with regards to the demons.
In any case, the fixity of ideas leads man to slavery. We can see that well, if we see the case of the Israelites in the desert. Even if their physical condition was the freedom of the hand of the Egyptians, the Israelites were still in slavery. They will never be satisfied of their condition, but were, as long as there were occasions, carried away to complain ; they languished ever meat in pots in Egypte. Their situation was similar to Lot's wife who had left with her husband the city of Sodom, but could not quickly get rid of her comfortable life of Sodom in her soft cushion chair and kitchen filled with cupboard and who became a statue of salt.
We can find that one of the finest examples of this slavery is that of religious leaders in Jesus' time. If we see the biblical accounts, we find that these religious were pursuing Jesus and his disciples really so harassingly. They were so stubborn that we can name them paranoïacs. When even the disciples walked to the middle of cornfields, they were there to trap and when they tore the ears of wheat and hit them, they appeared from I do not know where and began to accuse them. These days, coming to the center in the morning, as it is spring, the birds began to sing as soon as I leave my apartment, which surprised me much, because I did not know that birds sing so merrily in the middle of the city. But walking down the street, arriving at the center, increasingly the song disappears and is replaced by the sound of car engines. The disciples rejoiced the birds singing in the middle of the countryside in the company of their beloved Master. But suddenly a voice of nagging from I do not know where is uttered, "Why do you eat in doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath day, eh? "It was terrible, and especially terrifying. They were so surprised by the religious leaders. They were wicked people who wouldn’t have been touched, even if the birds were singing and even if the babies are smiling at them. Even the blood wouldn’t come out from their skin which was crustated like crocodile or dinosaur. What wretched beings!
Throughout his ministerial life, Jesus was trying to break their dungeon so hard, but in vain. John 8 tells the encounter of Jesus with these people. Then Jesus had to newly give to himself the tireless effort to combat these insecourables people. Like the film, "Saving the soldier Ryan," Jesus came to save a woman fell into the trap of religion. Indeed, from one moment to another, these monks were transformed as chameleons, in the civilian police and so they walked in the neighborhood of red lanterns quartier among the girls of bad lives, and after satisfying their lecherous sight, they fell into a place where a married woman was having fun with a man who was also married. When they surprised the place, smart man has already gone, but the woman was left alone for lack of time to dress. They took her well in the act of adultery and dragged her unto the middle of the temple, half-dressed, half-naked. Jesus knew that this woman was trapped twice, first by her guilty desir of sin: sin is always tasty, except that it leaves a bitter aftertaste, and secondly by the Jewish law that is ruthless in respect of adultery. She will be stoned. So, this woman was a slave in double. Jesus, starting from his compassion, decided to save her. When he prayed by writing a few letters on the ground, God gave him an idea full of divine wisdom. He stood up and told the monks who surrounded him: "He who has no sin cast the first stone. » The woman was freed from the enemies in an instant, as from the oldest to the youngest, pricked in their conscience, let fall the stone and left. It was the complete victory of Jesus Christ. Jesus knew he won the Jewish law. But he did not know that Satan has been beaten completely by this woman, because this victory also depended on the woman herself. So Jesus said to him: "Go, now sin no more. "For this woman, the fight began.
A little later, Jesus teaches the Jews who believed in him the path of true freedom.This woman should be free of her cursed and guilty desire of sin. This is the path that every man should strive to achieve in his life. We're before a kind of bifurcation or to freedom or to slavery, we must choose one of these two paths. Whether this woman who was saved from his accusers or those Jews who came to believe in him, that is to say Christians beginners, all are invited to take the path of freedom. Before us, there is always an alternative. It is the daily bifurcation in our face. Therefore, the phrase of Jesus often begin with the preposition "if. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, let him take up his cross and follow me. "To be a disciple of Jesus, we need to know to renounce pride and haughtiness, and take over the mission crosses. But if we do not choose it, we take another path which is that of slavery, the life full of pride and selfishness. Then one is garrotted in the everyday life.
Jesus began another sentence with "if. "If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. " Whatever path of truth begins with the fact that we remain in the word. And the happy rest ensue almost automatically. What does it mean to remain so in the word? Is to have a good relationship organic-biologicly with word of God as a branch is related to the vine itself. Then, the disciple receives constantly sap needed for their growth and development. In Christianity, there are many people who live during the week just like the people in the world and wake up Sunday morning to reflect on the word forgotten, and forget again the word heard from the pastor as as soon as they leave their church to live again among the world's people like them for a week. It's a vicious cycle and a cycle that accumulates the regrets in their soul. They come to church as a student who did his duty, and after accomplishing it, they feel relief. No! this is not the way to acquiring freedom. We must remain in the word of God 7 days / 7, from morning till evening.
But remaining in the word is not easy, especially since we live in times where high mobility is fully appreciated. The moderns do not stay in one place. They move without cesse. But, even if the word gives us less taste we must stay there and dig it until it gives us the sap. The scourge of the modern age is the handy. Because of this monster, people can not remain. People are so attached to this tool - I do not deny his enormous advantage: we can point our delay in the traffic jam, we meet at the point of rendezvous, approaching the phone, etc.. - They sometimes have auditory hallucinations. Sometimes someone hears something, while we hear nothing. So at the level like this, it is impossible to remain in the word. We need to know sometimes turn off the phone so that we contemplate the Word of God.
As I say it now, I draw your attention to this word, "contemplate". In my opinion it is a synonym for "remain. "Because it is a compound verb, that is to say con (with) + template (originally " temple "). It’s a question about to unite with temple. The advantage and benefit of joining the temple is beyond our imagination. It is essential for the life of a Christian. There are some who never crossed the threshold of the temple, because of human relationships. This is not good for their spiritual life. Hebrews 10: 25 says, "Not forsaking the our assembly, as is the custom of some" ... for them, does the Bible say continually, "a terrifying expectation of cases and the heat of the fire ready devour the rebels! Apart from the corporal remaining in the assembly, the author underlines the union of heart with it.
But attention is required when one speaks of the presence of demons or Satan, i.e. that even if Satan is the chief agent, the man is supposed to be always in charge, because it’s he who gets carried away by Satan, opening the door to him. So it's not a good attitude to attribute all things to Satan and drag himself out of condamnation. Man must know to impute a responsibility to himself for the affairs of life. Jesus said to find the beam in his eye before finding the straw in the eyes of others, because man has always this tendency to blame on others and to justify himself before God and men; It’s the same and true with regards to the demons.
In any case, the fixity of ideas leads man to slavery. We can see that well, if we see the case of the Israelites in the desert. Even if their physical condition was the freedom of the hand of the Egyptians, the Israelites were still in slavery. They will never be satisfied of their condition, but were, as long as there were occasions, carried away to complain ; they languished ever meat in pots in Egypte. Their situation was similar to Lot's wife who had left with her husband the city of Sodom, but could not quickly get rid of her comfortable life of Sodom in her soft cushion chair and kitchen filled with cupboard and who became a statue of salt.
We can find that one of the finest examples of this slavery is that of religious leaders in Jesus' time. If we see the biblical accounts, we find that these religious were pursuing Jesus and his disciples really so harassingly. They were so stubborn that we can name them paranoïacs. When even the disciples walked to the middle of cornfields, they were there to trap and when they tore the ears of wheat and hit them, they appeared from I do not know where and began to accuse them. These days, coming to the center in the morning, as it is spring, the birds began to sing as soon as I leave my apartment, which surprised me much, because I did not know that birds sing so merrily in the middle of the city. But walking down the street, arriving at the center, increasingly the song disappears and is replaced by the sound of car engines. The disciples rejoiced the birds singing in the middle of the countryside in the company of their beloved Master. But suddenly a voice of nagging from I do not know where is uttered, "Why do you eat in doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath day, eh? "It was terrible, and especially terrifying. They were so surprised by the religious leaders. They were wicked people who wouldn’t have been touched, even if the birds were singing and even if the babies are smiling at them. Even the blood wouldn’t come out from their skin which was crustated like crocodile or dinosaur. What wretched beings!
Throughout his ministerial life, Jesus was trying to break their dungeon so hard, but in vain. John 8 tells the encounter of Jesus with these people. Then Jesus had to newly give to himself the tireless effort to combat these insecourables people. Like the film, "Saving the soldier Ryan," Jesus came to save a woman fell into the trap of religion. Indeed, from one moment to another, these monks were transformed as chameleons, in the civilian police and so they walked in the neighborhood of red lanterns quartier among the girls of bad lives, and after satisfying their lecherous sight, they fell into a place where a married woman was having fun with a man who was also married. When they surprised the place, smart man has already gone, but the woman was left alone for lack of time to dress. They took her well in the act of adultery and dragged her unto the middle of the temple, half-dressed, half-naked. Jesus knew that this woman was trapped twice, first by her guilty desir of sin: sin is always tasty, except that it leaves a bitter aftertaste, and secondly by the Jewish law that is ruthless in respect of adultery. She will be stoned. So, this woman was a slave in double. Jesus, starting from his compassion, decided to save her. When he prayed by writing a few letters on the ground, God gave him an idea full of divine wisdom. He stood up and told the monks who surrounded him: "He who has no sin cast the first stone. » The woman was freed from the enemies in an instant, as from the oldest to the youngest, pricked in their conscience, let fall the stone and left. It was the complete victory of Jesus Christ. Jesus knew he won the Jewish law. But he did not know that Satan has been beaten completely by this woman, because this victory also depended on the woman herself. So Jesus said to him: "Go, now sin no more. "For this woman, the fight began.
A little later, Jesus teaches the Jews who believed in him the path of true freedom.This woman should be free of her cursed and guilty desire of sin. This is the path that every man should strive to achieve in his life. We're before a kind of bifurcation or to freedom or to slavery, we must choose one of these two paths. Whether this woman who was saved from his accusers or those Jews who came to believe in him, that is to say Christians beginners, all are invited to take the path of freedom. Before us, there is always an alternative. It is the daily bifurcation in our face. Therefore, the phrase of Jesus often begin with the preposition "if. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, let him take up his cross and follow me. "To be a disciple of Jesus, we need to know to renounce pride and haughtiness, and take over the mission crosses. But if we do not choose it, we take another path which is that of slavery, the life full of pride and selfishness. Then one is garrotted in the everyday life.
Jesus began another sentence with "if. "If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. " Whatever path of truth begins with the fact that we remain in the word. And the happy rest ensue almost automatically. What does it mean to remain so in the word? Is to have a good relationship organic-biologicly with word of God as a branch is related to the vine itself. Then, the disciple receives constantly sap needed for their growth and development. In Christianity, there are many people who live during the week just like the people in the world and wake up Sunday morning to reflect on the word forgotten, and forget again the word heard from the pastor as as soon as they leave their church to live again among the world's people like them for a week. It's a vicious cycle and a cycle that accumulates the regrets in their soul. They come to church as a student who did his duty, and after accomplishing it, they feel relief. No! this is not the way to acquiring freedom. We must remain in the word of God 7 days / 7, from morning till evening.
But remaining in the word is not easy, especially since we live in times where high mobility is fully appreciated. The moderns do not stay in one place. They move without cesse. But, even if the word gives us less taste we must stay there and dig it until it gives us the sap. The scourge of the modern age is the handy. Because of this monster, people can not remain. People are so attached to this tool - I do not deny his enormous advantage: we can point our delay in the traffic jam, we meet at the point of rendezvous, approaching the phone, etc.. - They sometimes have auditory hallucinations. Sometimes someone hears something, while we hear nothing. So at the level like this, it is impossible to remain in the word. We need to know sometimes turn off the phone so that we contemplate the Word of God.
As I say it now, I draw your attention to this word, "contemplate". In my opinion it is a synonym for "remain. "Because it is a compound verb, that is to say con (with) + template (originally " temple "). It’s a question about to unite with temple. The advantage and benefit of joining the temple is beyond our imagination. It is essential for the life of a Christian. There are some who never crossed the threshold of the temple, because of human relationships. This is not good for their spiritual life. Hebrews 10: 25 says, "Not forsaking the our assembly, as is the custom of some" ... for them, does the Bible say continually, "a terrifying expectation of cases and the heat of the fire ready devour the rebels! Apart from the corporal remaining in the assembly, the author underlines the union of heart with it.
If we remain in words and in the house of God, Jesus promises to give us complete freedom. But what was the reality of religious leaders? I have already mentioned, but I think it makes sense to expand our thinking on this subject.
In short, the religious had fixed ideas about their religion. They had these fixed ideas that they were the men who are already saved. This is really an untouchable achievement for them. They are saved and point. This is indisputable. They thought so because they were children of Abraham. For them, being born in the lineage of Abraham ensured they were the chosen race for whom the salvation was more than obvious. This idea was so fixed in their minds that nobody and nothing can put it in question by whatsoever cause. But in reality, this idea was the direct path to the perdition, for it is nothing but a trap set by the devil.
Jesus said, "whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. "He who locks himself in his idea, even if he looks like noble spiritually, for example, if a noble Christian judge another vile Christian ; he is a slave to this jugement and this jugement is a sin before God. However, the principal agent of these things is the devil. This agent has the strange pleasure of seeing a man who fix his idea sink deeper and deeper into this idea until he can get no longer rid of it. Jesus said about the agent who handled religious souls and warned them: "You are of your father the devil, and you want to accomplish the desire of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in the truth. When he lies, his words come from himself, because he is a liar and the father of lies. » He whispers constantly in the ears of the weak souls, that they stubbornly in the path of perdition and are lost finaly. As I've said before, we can not attribute all the responsibility to the devil because it is the children who choose to be his children and be under his aegis. In any case, the devil's ultimate goal is that he keeps his victims to lose their souls in hell at the last Judgement.
But Jesus frees everyone who comes humbly to him repenting of their sins. Jesus told a parable, "the slave does not remain forever in the house, the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free. » The disciples will come to know the truth and the truth will make them free. But fondamentaly, the one who sets free, is Jesus, the Son of God. If we have the Son of God in our heart, we will eventually be free, totally free.
The devil made the Jews slaves through their obsession of the descendants of Abraham. There are really many kind of slavery. I read recently that 10% of carcerous are due to alcoholism. Satan enslaves men by their attachment to alcoholism. Satan enslaves men by their jealosy, so that they beat their girlfriend to death. Many are esclave of the past. Another article said that a scientist has invented a drug that makes you forget the thought of a traumatic accident by removing a protein in a part of the brain that occured during the accident. Many victimes of serious accidents are slaves of trauma. How it will be good if we can forget all the bad memories! The German word "vergessen" whose meaning is forget - you remember the maxim: vergeben and vergessen - has the same root with the word "Gasse" which means the path. If we lose the way we say we are lost. It is a very annoying condition. But forget the bad path we have taken is also a great relief. Paul says: « Forgetting what is behind, and tending toward what is ahead, I press toward the goal. » If we forget the bad path of the past, we can open a promising new path. But the problem is that nothing and no one helps us forget what is behind, the wrong way. So, the war is still occuring. We'll still remained slaves of the past. Wrethed man I am! Who will deliver me from this wretched past! if I borrow the words of Paul. Only Jesus can. It is the Lord God Almighty who makes it possible. This becomes possible when we remain in the word and in the house of our God.
Before addressing the today’s text which is the song of Hannah, I think it is wise to offer a sort of antithesis of the word of Jesus so that this latter is more clearly rooted in our minds: that is to say, what would devil say instead of Jesus? They say each individual has a spiritually particular weakness to which he submits or a particularly vulnerable point which the devil tackles to make him fall easily. Take an example of a youth who has a weakness for lust that often does fall him, what would the devil of this name say? I think it will be as follows: "If you remain in your lust, you can be my disciple, you will know the truth - but in fact is a lie, for example, physical beauty is best) - and the truth will set you go free, but in reality esclave. So, according to each, you can replace the lust for another fatal point for example, sanctimoniousness, that is to say, self-righteousness, sentimentality, as grief, sadness , pity, etc.. or even philosophies like humanism, pragmatism, materialism, communism, capitalism, etc..
If you read Chapter 1 of the first book of Samuel, we find that some Elkanah from the tribe of Judah had two women, of whom one was Penina who had several children and another Hannah who had no children. The first did not cease to cause grief to the second, because of the sterility of the latter. Because of this persecution, Hannah was sad, though her husband loved her more than the other. It was especially sad because it seemed to her that God Almighty had forgotten and abandoned her. She was full of guilty feeling because they said that infertility had come from sin.' It was her fixed idea from the Jewish custom. But in other hand, Hannah knew that the Lord God of Israel was powerful and omnipotent. Then she made a vow, saying, "Oh Lord of hosts! if your gaze falls on the humiliation of thy servant, if you remember me and do not forget your servant but if you give unto thine handmaid a boy, I’ll give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor come upon his head. "She contemplate, that is to say she remained in the temple and prayed to God sincerely. Eli despised the servant, because she did not pray verbally as usual, but whispered in his interior and Elijah looked at this as a sign of drunkenness. But Hannah was not to be affected by this unfair treatment, but defended herself humbly before the servant of God, who blessed finally in return. The word of blessing pronounced by the servant of the temple was so powerful that in keeping it in his heart, Hannah no longer felt the same feeling as before. 1: 18 says, "This woman went on. She ate, and her countenance was no longer the same. » This phenomenon can be called a paradigm shift. Now the grief that his rival gave her ever did her nothing. The word of the servant in the temple freed her from any human, familial and social contraints, so that she became quite a new person and the happiest woman in the world from the sad woman she was.
Thus, Hannah experienced access to a deep and mysterious spiritual world of God which is beyond all human limitations. Her world is not any more narrow and petty world, but stretches like an ocean. She became the mother of the nation, not only because she offered her son Samuel to God, but because she now shares the same heart of God which is wide and deep. It is obvious that behind the great works of Samuel in his time, there was this great lady who prayed for the warfare of her child, for good and justice of his nation of Israel.
However, this large heart of Hannah, her relief from the human limitation is well described in the verses of her song. Above all, Hannah now knew that the man does not need to stay locked in his myopic view of human relationships, but to extend his eyes to God Almighty, because in God anything can become possible. God is one who can defeat all, so low, helpless, powerless, stranded as he may be, man has every reason to look up at the top and hope for a better future.
Verses 4-10 say, "the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and bring to life ; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich ; he brings low, he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust ; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honour. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world. He will gard the feet of his faithful ones ; but the wicked shall be cut off in darkeness ; for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaires of the Lord shall be broken to pieces ; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth ; he will give strenghth to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed. "
Hannah’s thoughts flew away and went to the ends of the earth and his heart already contained the whole world which was now in the darkness but soon would receive the eternal salvation through the Messiah who was coming, even though she did not know yet his name Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, it is true that the fixed ideas is generally regarded as a mentality. Men are always tempted to set the ideas in a conventional and traditional manner. For example,after the French Revolution that was marked by his tendancy to dicard the traditional politeness and propriety, which was the legacy of royalty, people returned to traditional manners during the 19th century. A statistic is even more telling : in 1981, so 30 years ago, according to a survey conducted by Madame Figaro, good manners were considered important by only 21% of respondents ; in 1996 after 15 years this figure rose to 53 % and in 2003, the same kind of investigation we found that these good manners, in other words poliesse are considered particularly important by 70% of the population. But we learn that even if we do not know where is the boundary between two domains, fixity of ideas, at a certain time, beyond that border, go to reach the area which is that of an evil spirit, as we have seen in the case of religious leaders who are now, because of it, the slaves of devils. Hannah wa in the evil spirit at first because of the harassment of his rival, but when she prayed in the temple, she came to liberate herself from the evil spirit and approach the manificence of God, and could finally become a mother of prayer for the nation.
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