Turning points

By Kate Bradford

Historically chaplaincy involved cure/care of the soul[1]. These Soul Physicians worked alongside the medical staff in seeking to cure the whole person. The cure of souls required careful diagnosis, an aspect of care that our Puritan forebears took very seriously[2]. The activity of spiritual diagnosis is central to chaplaincy. Chaplaincy is a bespoke ministry, each encounter is tailor made and carefully crafted to individuals to whom we are ministering. As we listen to people we are consciously taking a spiritual history, listening for losses, absences, presences, joys and distortions. There are no answers without first hearing the complexity. When we do venture to speak it is with a scarcity of words: words carefully chosen; sensitively placed; acknowledging less is more; leaving space.

We are working within the deep structures of a person’s thought world, operating on foundational planks on which so much else rests. What are the foundational planks: those points, on which almost everything else turns?

We find an example of such a turning point in Luther’s writings to Erasmus. For Luther any free-will or human reasoning that contributed to salvation unravelled the whole system:  the system resorted to a works system. Thus for Luther the absence of free-will, or human input into the equation was the factor that secured the doctrine. Luther wrote to Erasmus,

You alone, in contrast to all the others have attacked the real thing.........you and you alone have seen the hinge on which all turns, and aimed for the vital spot.’[3]

 

Erasmus and Luther maintained diametrically opposed views over the vital spot of free will.  But Erasmus had isolated the hinge or point on which the whole discussion turned, and Luther’s respect for an opponent who actually understood him is recorded here. While Luther and Erasmus’s robust debate differs markedly from chaplaincy, the point of connection around which their conversation turns is not so different.

Conversations glance off deep structures of thought and fragments appear in conversation. These fragments are perhaps said more emphatically or sadly than other comments; we as chaplains in turn respond to these hints. As a chaplain, coming from a theological background, my training is in theology rather than counselling or psychology. In helping people to transcend their present circumstances, we apply theology or ‘God logic’ as we engage with people. These hints or fragments provide a starting point and may indicate a turning point on which so much else depends. Such turning points may be indicated by feelings of confidence or worthlessness, doubt and shame, guilt, inadequacy, identity, security, isolation, usefulness or meaningless, integrity or despair.[4] There is no one-size-fits-all. For example guilt may link to a need for forgiveness, but shame or self-loathing may link to a need to know God’s unconditional love. For someone struggling with shame, God’s forgiveness may have little meaning if it is separated from God’s love.

As Chaplains, we have input into the beginnings of these conversations. The end points have to grow out of these, they can’t be known at the start. With prayer and thoughtful conversation we hope to help a Christian patient continue to turn to Christ at a difficult time, moving towards a deeper maturity in Him. For others, hopefully the conversations begin to reveal the nature of Christ, opening an otherwise closed door, and help in turning to Him; exchanging death for life - the beginning of a journey towards Him.

In the Gospels we see turning points in the teaching of Jesus that are very specific to persons or particular situations. Jesus appeals to those who are feeling burdened to come to him for rest. In the beatitudes we see Christological solutions supplied to different groups of people. The poor will receive the Kingdom of God; the hungry will be satisfied; the weeping will laugh; the mourning –comforted; the meek shall inherit; the merciful shall receive mercy; the rejected will be received with joy. But conversely the self-secure and self-satisfied will find themselves on the outside. In other passages sheep are given a shepherd; fruit is maintained by the vine; trees have roots down into living water; thirst is quenched; light overcomes darkness; the doubter receives proof; there is peace in the midst of a storm; and sins are forgiven.

A chaplain’s work is often with those who know they are sick and need a doctor. As soul physicians we help precipitate turning points, staying with a single idea and not leaping ahead of the patient.  We remain mindful of not attempting to turn another but rather allowing them to voluntarily turn. We help or facilitate others to turn rather than be turned by us. It is our Heavenly Father who ultimately affects lasting turnings.

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[1] Swift, Christopher. Hospital chaplaincy in the twenty-first century: the crisis of spiritual care on the NHS. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2009.

[2] Keller, Timothy J. “Puritan Resources for Biblical Counseling.” Journal of Pastoral Practice 9 (3) (January 1): 11-44, 1988.

[3] Luther, Martin, Ernest Gordon Rupp, Desiderius Erasmus, and Philip S. Watson. Luther and Erasmus: Free Will and Salvation. Westminster John Knox Press, 1969.  

[4] List drawn from various accounts of Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development.