The urgency of reconciliation
 

A reflection by Dr Rula Khoury Mansour, founder of the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies, following her presentation at the recent Lausanne Congress   

Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Gaza war, I can’t help but wonder: What have we gained? Where do we go from here? These questions weigh heavily on my heart, shaping the urgency of our work at the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies where we work on the grassroots level to empower individuals and communities as peacebuilders.

With this deep sense of reflection and a heavy heart, I traveled to Seoul, carrying these realities. It was in this context that I spoke at the 4th Lausanne Congress, where over 5,200 leaders from 202 countries gathered. I shared our story—a story of hope and a deep longing for peace—amid the ongoing suffering and division in the Holy Land.

The theme of my talk during the evening plenary panel was ‘Reconciliation – The Church’s Responsibility in Areas of Brokenness.’ Alongside three other panelists from Ukraine, Burundi, and Congo, we were invited to share our peacebuilding journeys. Standing before this global gathering, I felt the weight of not only representing my story but also the people back home in the Holy Land and the Middle East—those in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon—who have faced conflict for as long as I can remember. With the latest war breaking out on October 7, the sense of devastation feels closer than ever.

During my talk, I shared my peacebuilding journey, which started as a law student and then as a public prosecutor, believing that justice could be achieved through legal means. However, God had different plans for me. I soon came to understand that while laws are important, they cannot heal hearts. True reconciliation goes beyond legal frameworks; it’s about repairing relationships and restoring human dignity. This insight inspired me to further my studies, exploring how Christ’s teachings on truth, forgiveness, and justice could offer healing to our fractured land.


The four pillars of reconciliation

In my talk, I emphasised the core elements of reconciliation that guide our work at the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies: shared truth, forgiveness, justice, and a shared future. These principles are essential for genuine healing and sustainable peace. They represent the Kingdom’s strategy for overcoming evil with good, where we are dedicated to transforming hearts and minds—promoting honesty over falsehood, forgiveness and justice over revenge, love over hatred, and inclusion over exclusion.

In our conflict everyone thinks they have exclusive ownership of the truth, this way we end up trapped in a cycle of blame and revenge. Shared truth calls for a shift from ‘truth-owning’ to ‘truth-seeking,’ which requires the humility to recognise that we may not have the full picture or might even be misinformed. It also demands a willingness to listen to others’ perspectives, even when they challenge our convictions or sense of identity.

Healing begins with honesty. Truth commissions demonstrate that healing starts with truth-telling—acknowledging both the wrongs committed and the pain endured. This process requires confronting painful histories and moving beyond narratives that fuel victimhood and anger, toward a shared narrative or, at the very least, mutually acknowledged diverse histories.

Forgiveness is often the hardest part. Asking people to forgive after mass killings can seem offensive, as the phrase “Never forget, never forgive” might feel like the only way to honor their pain. However, holding onto that mindset only deepens the wounds. Forgiveness doesn’t pretend the past didn’t happen or letting go of justice. Instead, forgiveness elevates justice, creating space for truth-telling and healing. It is the bridge between enmity and reconciliation, where we start to recognize the “enemy” as human again.

In our context, where hatred and trauma run deep, forgiveness is not a sign of weakness but a radical and transformative choice. It breaks the cycle of violence and is part of the Kingdom’s strategy of overcoming evil with good.

Justice, in the context of reconciliation, fosters healing by restoring dignity and rights, holding wrongdoers accountable, and repairing what’s broken. True reconciliation demands confronting systemic injustices, addressing the root causes of the conflict, and ensuring a just resolution for all parties.

Without justice, peace is hollow; and without forgiveness, justice becomes another weapon in the fight. In nations where restorative justice has facilitated healing on a national level, it accomplishes three key objectives: documenting atrocities, acknowledging the suffering of victims, and holding perpetrators accountable while seeking reconciliation.

The real challenge lies in envisioning a shared future. Currently, exclusion and separation dominate life in the Holy Land, with radical groups on both sides seeing themselves as pure without the other. Yet, God’s love embraces all of us, and true reconciliation calls us to do the same. After addressing the root causes of the conflict and working toward a just solution healing comes to reconciling past suffering with present realities, through continuous personal, community, and political actions.

Reconciliation envisions a shared future where peaceful coexistence becomes possible, and past wounds no longer define relationships. It requires sincere apologies and reparations—both symbolic and material—that recognize pain and wrongdoing, restore dignity, and raise public awareness. These are essential steps toward genuine healing and meaningful social change.


The church’s role and the path ahead

This vision of reconciliation may seem aspirational, especially as war escalates and voices of hatred and extremism grow louder on both sides—even, sadly, within some Christian circles. yet this conflict isn’t just about land or ancient claims; it’s about real people—Palestinians and Israelis—trapped in its complexities, suffering its tragedies, and longing for dignity, security, and a place to call home. In such a deeply rooted context of pain and violence, historical reconciliation isn’t a luxury; it’s an absolute necessity. Without it, the cycle of violence will only continue.

In Christianity, reconciliation is a divine mandate. We are called to participate in God’s mission of restoration and healing by stepping into brokenness, confronting injustice, and bringing hope to the darkest places. The Church’s role is not to take sides but to serve as a bridge, drawing both sides closer to each other and to God. By living out this mission, we embody God’s reconciling love in action, reflecting the Kingdom of God, where wounds are healed, enemies are loved, and hope endures.

Connecting with leaders who share this vision of peace was deeply moving. The Church, spanning every continent, is called to be a force of healing in our world. As God’s family, we are meant to carry each other’s burdens—this isn’t just the Church’s responsibility in the Holy Land; it’s a global calling. In my closing remarks at the Congress, I urged our global family to stand with the Church in the Middle East and support those suffering in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon. Together, we must speak out, seek shared truth, foster forgiveness, and advocate for an end to the war and a just resolution to the ongoing conflict.


Hope amid the storm

Returning from Seoul to a war-torn land has been extremely challenging, to say the least. The scenes of destruction, the loss of life, the cries of the wounded and the displaced, and the pervasive fear in the air—these are heavy and heartbreaking burdens to carry. Yet, in these moments, I am reminded of the urgent need for reconciliation. It’s easy to lose hope when surrounded by pain, but we are called to be bearers of hope for those who suffer, even when it feels impossible. We are called to stand in the gap, speak the truth even when it challenges our deepest convictions, extend forgiveness where it seems undeserved, and pursue justice that restores dignity and heals relationships. This is the work of reconciliation; it is not an easy path, but it is the path we are called to walk.

What keeps us committed to the work of reconciliation, even when conflict rages around us, is the profound understanding that this calling is woven into the very fabric of who we are—it’s not just something we do, but an integral part of our identity. There is a deep, abiding joy in walking through the valleys with God, witnessing His redemptive power at work through the hands of those who remain faithful. In this journey, we come to realise that suffering isn’t merely a hardship to endure—it’s part of the mission, shaping both us and those we serve. And in the midst of the darkness, hold onto and celebrate the small victories, knowing that even small lights can break through the darkness. 
 

Dr Rula Khoury Mansour is the founder of the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies, and a member of the Baptist community in Israel

This article originally appeared on the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies website, and is published with permission. 

 

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