Is Chaplaincy a form of Public Theology?

Kate Bradford

In much theological literature chaplaincy appears within the broad discipline of Pastoral Theology.[1] Doubtless there are good reasons for this, not least of all the fact that Chaplaincy is concerned with Pastoral Care. I wish to suggest because of the secular context of much Chaplaincy practice, Public Theology is better fit for the theology of Chaplaincy, while retaining strong links to both pastoral theology and theological anthropology.[2]

Because much Chaplaincy is concerned with the provision of pastoral care within Public institutions and secular work places it falls more directly under laws of the state.

For example, in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand chaplaincy is delivered via the Ministry of Public Health, National Health Services, Departments of Mental Health, Aged Care Services and Departments of Correctional Services and Prisons. The provision of many chaplaincy services is regulated and legislated by federal and national laws.

The non-compromising and legislative nature of the world in which chaplaincy operates must be a pre-eminent (even if not the most important) concern in trying to develop a theology of chaplaincy as this is the doorway through which chaplaincy must be passed before any public chaplaincy can happen. As such the provision of chaplaincy is placed squarely in the public square and is regulated by the rules of the public square. As such theology of Chaplaincy must work within some particular limits if it is to have permission to operate or indeed to have any voice at all.

If we start with a Biblical pastoral care model and try to thread it through the narrow doorway into the public space, the ministry offered may well be severely compromised and curtailed in the transition – this is the lamentable situation for much pastoral care in the public space. Much of the theology of contemporary pastoral care ministry has generously accommodated the culture and sought to keep the status quo by jettisoning essential truths of the Gospel. In this accommodation Jesus the pastor/shepherd has been extracted from pastoral care to make it culturally acceptable.

A more radical theological application involves creative examination and questioning, before accepting the limits placed on ministry in the public space. By consciously assenting to such limits there is much more scope to construct a theology inside the public space that retains its theological integrity while operating within the rules of the public space. The need to negotiate this situation may be relatively new for the Christians in the English speaking, Post-Christian, western, countries but was the normative state for the early church, and continues to be, for church communities in countries where there is no privileged concession for Christian ministry.  

What are the guidelines for Christians operating in the Public space?

·         Understand that in the Public space, in stark contrast to church based ministries and events, Christians do not control the space or direct the message.

·         The church’s law is restricted to its own institutions and members. The church should not have the power to impose beyond their institutions or discipline non-church members.[3]

·         There is no place for coercion, manipulation by Christians or enforcing an authoritarian theocracy.[4]

·         From a Biblical perspective unless someone is born anew they are unable to choose God or to serve God, this is a spiritual work originating from God, not something a person can manufacture.[5]

·         The state should not have the power to restrict or legislate on religious matters that do not violate state law.[6]

·         Recognise that there are a number of ways in which Christians can contribute to the public space; these activities are all forms of showing God’s love and bearing witness to the world.[7]

1.       Advocacy

2.       Commentary

3.       Evangelism

·         The Christian recognises their shared humanity with all people, who also share God’s image, are part of his creation and loved by him; For God so loved the world he gave his only son (John 3:16). All people are recipients of God’s providential care and common grace.

·         All people have physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs.[8]

·         As Christians we long for the best for others and work to defend their basic rights.  

·         As Christians we are subject to law and acknowledge the necessity for laws for the protection of individuals and society, and to place limits on evil and abuses of vulnerable members in society.

The first task in constructing a theology of chaplaincy is to understand the ground rules and secure the perimeter fence.  In many countries, there is great freedom within the defined space to construct a theology of chaplaincy that remains theological conservative combined with a radical cultural application.

Chaplaincy that follows this model is respectful of the law, longs to see rights and freedoms of people upheld together with their responsibilities as people made in the image of God. Chaplains 1) advocate for the vulnerable, 2) provide Biblical commentary to the events around us and 3) provide spiritual care that engages the eternal horizon while attending to things within the immediate frame. This care takes Gospel forms of intentions, actions and words that point to the saving and transforming ministry of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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[1] Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) and the associated Journal of Pastoral Care and Counselling

[2] In his book ‘Chaplaincy in the Twenty-First Century’ Christopher Swift uses the tools of Practical Theology to describe the complexities of Hospital Chaplaincy in the British NHS system. 

[3] Drawn from the thinking of Roger Williams (1603- 1683 the Puritan Thinker who successfully lobbied the English Parliament to outlaw of religious persecution on the grounds of conscious. Williams successfully lobbied for religious liberty and freedom of conscience. Roger Williams founded the state of Rhode Island as a refuge for those fleeing religious persecution. Roger Williams also upheld land rights and advocated for the purchasing of land from the indigenous New Englanders. 

[4] Roger Williams

[5] John 3:1-21

[6] Roger Williams

[7] From a public lecture by Dr Andrew Cameron, Moore College, Centre for Christian Living.  Christian Voices in the Public Square Mon 2 April 2012.

[8] World Health Organisation  http://www.who.int/hia/examples/overview/whohia203/en/index.html

Reflections on James 5:13-18 in the pastoral context.

 ¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let himsing praise. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

James 5:13-18

Important things to keep in mind when reading this passage of James and trying to apply it with real people, like you.

1. As a result of the Fall, sickness and suffering are a reality. Further, we will all die a physical death (and after that, face judgment. Hebrews 9:27) In the thick of it, people do forget these truths, but don’t remind them immediately because they will not hear you. See point 3.

2. It is likely that our deaths will be preceded by a period of illness, from which, in the plan of God, we will not be physically healed.

3. People faced with prolonged illness or suffering invariably have to modify their beliefs about God and themselves as a result of their experience. In addition, what they know in their heads often conflicts with their heart response to their experience of suffering (hence the "Why?" theodicy question, see Psalms 13 and 22). So we need to have patience and not be afraid of the expression of powerful emotions that can and do, under God, lead to new insight.

4. In broader context, James has been focusing on love in action authenticating a saving faith in Christ. In the immediate context of this passage, his encouragement to believers is to be mindful of the return of Christ and the coming judgment while persevering in faith in the face of suffering (as per the prophets and Job).

Notes on the text: James 5:13-18

The primary idea in the opening verse (v13), in keeping with James' theme, is that faith should be applied in action in all circumstances.

Where someone is sick, the faithful response of that person is to "call the elders to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord." In other words, the faithful response is for the sick person to request intercession by the leadership of the church.

(nb The word translated "sick" here in verse 13 has a broader meaning in Greek. The word is astheneo, which is more commonly used in the NT to denote weakness of various kinds, including weakness of a spiritual/moral nature, weakness of a physical nature (illness, yes, but not necessarily serious or life threatening), or weakness of a more general nature (including anxiety, personal inadequacy linked to a sense of rejection, disrepute, dishonour, general powerlessness or even economic weakness (ie poverty)).

(nb the second "sick" in verse 15 is the Greek word kamne, which only appears in one other place in the NT, in Hebrews 12:3 as the word "weary" as in "consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." This I believe to be highly significant given the fact that immediate context indicates James has in mind Job-like faithful perseverance in the face of suffering.)

What are we to make of the fact that these two words translated "sick" in the NIV have such rich layers of meaning? Well, I think James is trying to not limit the context of intercessory prayer and anointing by the leaders of the church to that of serious illness. 

Note too that James’ focus is on the faith of the elders praying, not the weakened person. There is no room for telling the weakened person that their faith is deficient if the prayer is not answered. We will see why in a moment.

Just as the words translated "sick" in verses 13 and 15 are able to be interpreted differently in a wide range of contexts, so the words for 'well' and 'raise him up' (verse 15) and 'healed' (verse 16) can be as well. To spare you, I will not go into the details, but ……this only adds more fuel to the hypothesis that James is wanting to cover a wide range of circumstances, including, but not limited to, physical sickness.

Within the context of new covenant relationship with God through love in action (ie faith) in Christ, God's care of his suffering, trusting and persevering ones is multi-faceted and various - God expects faith in action from us in all circumstances, but his care knows no bounds either, nor is there a circumstance where prayer is inappropriate.

This does not mean that the elders of the church should always keep a bottle of oil in their back pockets, but there are clear implications for pastoral ministry within the church context here for prayer, for the leadership of the church and for the membership in general. How might this passage be applied in your church, in your ministry context? Is it already? How?
Why oil though? It’s a good question.

Culturally, oil for the Jews symbolized a number of characteristics that encouraged the one being anointed.  Ps 89:20-25 points to oil being something that infused the anointee (in this case David) with strength from God. Oil was also used to mark a new beginning (of particular pastoral significance to one weakened by suffering), it was also associated with joy (Ps 45:7, Isa 61:3) and an expectation of restoration, security and care by God. (nb It must be said that the "nard" referred to in John 12:1-8 at Mary's anointing of Jesus was a very expensive fragrant oil often used to rub on a dead body to neutralize the smell of decay, but she, out of an immediate and pressing desire, used it to express her devotion to Christ while he was alive.)

The prayer of faith -- the anticipation is that God will do as he desires, in accordance with his character, not that he will do what we want him to. To anticipate the latter runs counter to James telling his readers to preface their plans with "if it be the Lord's will," thus demonstrating a humble dependence on God's faithfulness to his promises, not a high-handedness or a presumption. God's will determines the outcome. So the prayer of faith can only be offered if the will of God is in keeping with the prayer. The righteous person's prayer is powerful and effective not because of personal merit, but because of close relationship with God enabling discernment of how to pray in accordance with the will of God. There is also of course the possibility that the weakened person will indeed die, and if that is likely, then confession if they need to and intercessory prayer by the leadership of the church are entirely appropriate preparations for the ultimate healing (resurrection and eternal life, see Rev. 21:1-5)

Confession - It is destructive to assume that sickness (although we might understand it more as weakness in this passage)  is as a result of sin. Job's wasn't. The man in the gospels who was born blind was born so not as a result of sin ("Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" Neither! says Jesus (John 9:2ff). In some cases there can certainly be a direct link, eg alcohol abuse and vascular dementia is one that springs to mind, but even then, there may be people with vascular dementia who have not abused alcohol at all. So we need to be very careful. However, there is evidence in my pastoral experience to say that some sickness has its origin in sin. For example, knotted pain in the stomach can be a result of unforgiveness and if not dealt with, can lead to ulcers. The notion of sin resulting in sickness accords with scripture as well, although my example (which just springs to mind) is in a very specific context. Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:30 that some of the Corinthians have grown weak and sick and some have died as a result of failing to take communion after appropriate self-examination and failing to recognize that it is the bodily sacrifice of Christ that brings them forgiveness.

Indeed, I believe James is saying that if sin is involved as a cause of the weakness, however that weakness might be experienced, confession and prayer will bring healing, both physical and spiritual (eg. Sin confessed, forgiveness sought and received, knotted pain disappears, ulcer heals).  If it is not the cause of the weakness, then prayer in accordance with the will of God (see above) will still be powerful and effective.

The last verses highlight the value of fervent prayer and right relationship with God. Also, there is a fellowship with Elijah that James' readers would have found encouraging - that of his humanity perhaps, but more importantly that he was a figure who suffered much in the midst of faithful service. It was when the people of Israel confessed their sin and renounced idols that rain came.

I hope this has been of some help to you.

Rev. Stuart Adamson, Anglican Chaplain and Pastoral Supervisor (CPE) (Prince of Wales Hospital, NSW Australia)

Christ’s Agenda for Chaplains Today

An open agenda

Even though chaplains are taught not to impose their own agenda, do they legitimately have one? If so, by what authority, and how are they to express it?

Christ has an open agenda for creation, the church, and the individual. There is both an openness and a hiddenness. “The secret things belong to the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of the law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29). The once hidden Gospel for all nations has now been revealed in the Gospel so that God’s manifold wisdom may, through the church be declared in the face of the demonic powers of evil (Ephesians 3: 1-13). There is nothing manipulative about God’s agenda or his methods.

Hiddenness within God’s agenda can be pastorally challenging, but is never manipulative, unlike “Fabianism”. – the strategy of the inevitability of gradualism, which aims to achieve undisclosed ultimate ends by the gradual and incremental achievement of a long succession of disclosed short term goals. The effect would be that people would inevitably be guided in the direction of targets that they would never accept if they knew the whole plan in advance. Contrary to this, Jesus Christ has revealed his plan ever since his resurrection from the dead. When his servants seek to persuade people to follow him, they are able to do so with full integrity, for Christ has revealed his hand.

God placed all things under Christ’s feet and appointed him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body and which is being filled by him who is in the process of filling all things in every way. (Ephesians 1: 22-23)

Now here is a summary of the plan of Jesus outlined in Ephesians 1, that finds its completedness in the last verse of that chapter.

1          God the Father has given all authority and power to Christ.

2          Christ is head over all things in the universe, including nature, people, earthly power structures, angels and demons.

3          Although this work is often invisible, Christ is inexorably and continuously pursuing his own agenda with regard to the universe (including the church).

4          Christ’s agenda is to bring the whole universe to its full destiny in line with God’s purposes. Insofar as this was interrupted by the Fall, Christ will restore and then take it further.

5          Within this process Christ has a special agent, with whom he has a type of marital union, which is the paradigm for marriage – of a man and a woman. That agent is his bride the Church, his own special body whom he nourishes and cherishes. Collectively and individually we are precious to him – and chosen from eternity!

6          This church is at the centre of his plan and purposes. It is made of people eternally chosen, in love set free by the substitutionary death of Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. He gives foretastes of heaven, wisdom and empowerment to achieve his goals.

7          What Christ is doing cosmically he is doing also in the church and what he is doing in the church he is also, in principle, doing cosmically – completing his eternal plan.

8          The sphere for Christ’s agenda and activity is the totality of all that exists in the created order.

9          The methods that Christ is using are described as “in every way”. There is nothing that he does not use for his ultimate glory and will.

10         As Christ is Lord of All, then he is Lord over marriage, family, politics, nations, the economy, sport, recreation, technology, and nature. He is Lord over all hospitals, correctional centres. He is Lord over medicine, surgery and unexplainable miracles.

God’s Agenda at Work – Through, Beyond - and even Despite us

Every type of person is in hospital, and many wrestle with multiple losses. As people who suffer we may be sharing in and identifying with these crises for ourselves, but we are there for them and not for ourselves. We need also to find separate and deliberate opportunities when we are not ministering – to receive prayer and healing, forgiveness and forgivingness regarding our own pain.

Our agenda as chaplains operates within the segment that intersects the circle of Scripture with the circle of the patient’s situation and life. Without a confidence in Scripture, we have nothing ultimate to speak into the patient’s situation – hence the cry of the ER patient, “Send me a real chaplain who believes in a real God and a real hell!” Without a deep compassion and understanding of people for whom we care, we can bring nothing from the faith to these folk. “Truthing in love, we are to grow up into Christ” (Eph 4: 15). In that verse the Greek word has to imply action within the truth. Truth is not there merely sound cognition, even of the content itself of God’s revelation. Truth is ontologically dynamic. Our living out of truth is inseparable from a continual dying and rising with whom who is the Way, the Truth and the Life – and it is all of grace.

Our experience may lead us, at times, to feel despondent about how far God is actually fulfilling an agenda in the world.  We may well ask, ‘How inclusive is “all things” and “in every way” in Ephesians 1: 23?’ “All things” are everything in the cosmos. The celebration of our gratitude to God should not stop short of the continuing practice of thanking God concerning every type of thing within his creation (Ephesians 5: 18ff). We are to reinterpret our context within hospitals or other public institutions in line with the fact that God has an invisible plan that looks quite different to the visibility that we perceive. This is meant to inspire hope and also a sense of quiet and confident authority. Our intercession and our visits are all within God’s sovereign plan and will. This is so encouraging and empowering.

In St. Paul’s writings, the Christian has to fight on three fronts: against one’s own sinful nature (Eph 4: 22-25); against the cunning and lust of deceitful and manipulative people (Eph 4: 14); against the spiritual rulers of this present darkness (Eph 6: 10-18). God ultimately wins, as Martin Luther well expressed it:

God… works all in all, even in the ungodly; while He alone moves, acts, and carries along by the motion of His omnipotence, all those things which He alone has created, which motion those things can neither avoid nor change, but of necessity follow and obey, each one according to the measure of power given by God: - thus all things, even the ungodly, co-operate with God!…

The source is - Luther, Bondage of the Will. (Translated by Henry Cole, Baker Baker Bookhouse, Michigan, 1981, Section CXXX1, page 317)

Serving, though Hidden, within the Biggest Plan

The Church is the body that belongs to Christ. It is being filled by Christ who is filling all things. He is doing this in every way. He works through love in action and he even hijacks evil to serve his own good purposes (though he never does evil, nor sanctions it by others). We have an ongoing responsibility to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with Christ and his word (Eph 5: 18 and Colossians 3: 16), so that we may respond to and participate in God’s cosmic plan, in any of the all things that he calls on us to do. Then we may be confident that even the smallest and briefest interactions with have with patients, inmates, clients and residents, even where our own agendas are on the back-burner, whatever we are dong serves the ultimate agenda of God in Christ.

Rev Lindsay Johnstone

Chaplain, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney                10 April 2012

Whose Chaplaincy Agenda?

Kate Bradford

As a Christian chaplain, what does it mean to have no agenda?[1] I recall the emphatic advice of our philosophy lecturer many years ago, ‘Remember, there is no view from nowhere, a person is not a tabula rasa, a blank slate’ – and cannot become one. A cognitive, thinking human will have encapsulated within their being, hopes, dreams and desires. These hopes and dreams – good or bad – can be changed, modified or transformed but cannot be erased without emptying the person of part of their identity.

To attempt to remove our agenda is to radically modify or change our own hopes, our desires – our being. This change involves realigning of our being. But with what are we being re-aligned and whose agenda determines the re-alignment?

 As a Christian, a follower of Jesus has placed themselves under the transforming presence of Christ. Alignment to Christ will articulate the direction of change. A chaplain who is a follower of Jesus faces a genuine personal conflict of interest when asked to present without an agenda. The conflict arises because part of Christian transformation involves dying to self, or an emptying of self, followed by a taking up Jesus’s cross:  to put it more bluntly, it is a request that we to leave our agenda and take up Christ’s.

Does this mean that Christian chaplains feel some impunity to act insensitively toward others? No, the Christian chaplain like all chaplains is being trained at a level of deep personal formation and gaining a deeper sensitivity to the needs of others.   

Self-awareness is critical for all chaplains in order to be safe. No chaplain may use chaplaincy encounters to meet their own unmet needs. All chaplains need to become increasingly aware of their own internal motivations. Any ministry that is coercive, manipulative or condemnatory in nature is dangerous and moving radically away from Christ-like transformation. Jesus said Christian followers are salt and light, but he also warns that it is possible to be bad salt or poor light.

Any request for prayer by the sufferer, or offer of prayer by the chaplain is handled with great sensitivity but it is respectfully and humbly prayed in Jesus’ name, for the Christian chaplain can pray through no other name.

An effective Christian chaplain is both Christ-centred and other-person centred. They minister as a person being transformed internally by Christ, this re-alignment transforms the way in which the chaplain both, perceives and responds to others and their needs. The chaplain ministers from their own vulnerability as a fellow human, affirming the infinite worth of each person and respecting the freedom of others. In visiting, the chaplain helps create a space for the sufferer to explore spiritual dimensions of life and suffering. The chaplain responds to questions sensitively from the depths of their own spiritual and philosophical system. Any response by the chaplain at this point does arise from a personal, spiritual and philosophical agenda, for even an agenda to have no agenda is an agenda.

[1] Editor’s note: see for example http://www.professionalchaplains.org/uploadedFiles/pdf/web1201.pdf (accessed 19 March 2012) where Rabbi Laura M Rappaport states, “Chaplains are charged with offering spiritual care without agenda or bias.”

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The role of the steadfast love of the LORD in transforming despair to hope.

By Stuart Adamson.

Psalm 13

    For the director of music. A psalm of David.

 1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
   and every day have sorrow in my heart?
   How long will my enemy triumph over me?

 3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
   and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

 5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
   my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
   for he has been good to me.

There are basically three main features to Psalm 13, the fourfold cry of  "How long, O LORD?",  the Psalmist's enemy and the role the hesed (loving-kindness) (translated as unfailing love in the NIV) of the LORD. It is helpful to consider the first two in terms of despair, and the last one in terms of hope.

Psalms such as these abound in Scripture, and they are aptly termed individual laments. Typically, they fall into three parts, and Psalm 13 is no exception - Plea (v 1-2), Petition (v 3-4) and Praise (verse 5-6).

Theologian and commentator Walter Brueggemann says “the question of how the changed mood and ..situation are effected cannot be definitively answered, but that they were changed is beyond doubt.” He argues rightly that the psalm reflects the fact that transformation of life is a central conviction of Israel. As he says “Health is restored, enemies are resisted and destroyed, death is averted, shalom is given again.”

But I want to test Brueggemann and ask “Is it really impossible to know how the changed mood is effected?”

Even to the casual observer, the four-fold refrain of the psalmist (how long) is

the dominant feature of the Plea. The emphasis is on the feeling of abandonment.

We have heard this language before from Yahweh himself. “Then the LORD said to Moses ” (how long) will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?”(Ex. 16:28) (See also Num. 14:11, Jeremiah 47:6, Ps 62:3 and Hab. 2:1). These references portray the LORD as waiting in a longsuffering way for his covenant people Israel to repent and believe in him.

In our text, it is the Psalmist who utters a fourfold "how long".  It is a charge is of divine absence in time of need.  It’s audacious. No, it’s outrageous. Yet it is Scripture, and all of it is useful if we want to be thoroughly equipped (cf 2 Tim. 3:17). So what are we to make of it?

When God forgets in the OT it is often related to God’s covenant faithfulness ( eg Deut. 4:31) and Israel’s unfaithfulness (Jeremiah 23:39-40). But there is no transgression involved here, just a profound sense of betrayal by God.

The second (how long) relates to the concealing of the face of God. As with God forgetting, the

hiding of the (face) of God is related to sin and judgement (eg Isaiah 64:7). Conversely,

being before the (face) of God is a positive thing itself (eg Isaiah 9:3).

The third (how long) relates to the wrestling with personal thoughts (as translated

in the NIV). The Hebrew, (how long shall I set counsels in my soul and afflictions in my heart by day ) is rendered in the NIV as “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and everyday have sorrow in my heart?” I think there are good reasons to conclude that the Psalmist craves the counsels of the Lord, but we do not have space to explore that issue here.

The final (how long) describes the agony of an enemy being exalted over the

psalmist for an extended period, rather than God himself. (eg Ps 18:46, 2 Sam. 2:22 and Isaiah 52:13).

The Petition begins anxiously with three commands, “Look at me!” and “take notice!” and “give light to my eyes”. They correspond to the prior exclamations of agony, forgetting and hiding the face. They anticipate transformation of the mood.  

Here in verse three, in the midst of despair, we have the psalmist, reflecting on his need

of blessing, to have the LORD’s face turned to him and to have peace in his heart. They are

reminiscent of the elements of the Aaronic blessing itself:

The LORD bless you

And keep you;

The LORD make his face shine upon you

And be gracious to you;

The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.

The psalmist’s cry is indeed a cry of faith – one that calls on the covenant God to honour his promises to his child.

Though the identity of (the enemy) in v 4a is debated, there is evidence to say that Death is the main protagonist, but also that mortal enemies arraigned against God are included as well.

The words in verse 3 (Yahweh) and (My God) underscore two things for the psalmist. Firstly that he is addressing the god who has revealed himself as the (the LORD) of the covenant and the god who the creator god who is also personal, and is regarded as “my” god by his covenant people. The utterance “my God” serves as a counterpoint to the fourfold “How long O Lord.” God is reminded of his obligation to those who call him “my God”.

The Praise, in verses five and six is rendered: But I trust (Heb: have trusted, a completed action, indicating that trust has been the hallmark of his attitude) in your unfailing love, I will rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. (Heb: has dealt bountifully, fully, to me).

Brueggemann’s comment on the three-fold use Yahweh – the LORD - helps us a great deal. “The dramatic movement of the psalm from disorientation to new orientation is marked by three uses of the name (Yahweh). In verse 1, he is named only to be assaulted. In verse 3, he is named with an appellation of intimacy as a ground for appeal, and in verse six, the accused has now become the object of doxology.”

Sakenfeld identifies the attributes of the word hesed in the OT as 1) always involving provision of an essential need 2) by a superior party 3) who is free not to perform the act 4) but recognises the responsibility to act 5) as the sole source of assistance to the weaker party. However, Clark is the one who describes hesed as a characteristic of God rather than of human beings, and as an enduring quality, evidenced by God’s commitment to Israel despite blatant and persistent rebellion.

It is my contention that the linchpin of the whole psalm is the word hesed.  For it is the covenant love of Yahweh in which the psalmist trusts from the first How long? to the final promise of praise. Indeed, it is this very hesed that releases the psalmist to boldly hold God to the promises that his hesed leads him to make. The psalmist has a hope that is sure, founded on Yahweh’s faithfulness, and possesses “a confidence that moves forward into the unseen”. There is nothing that can cause him to despair of God’s eventual help. “Those who pray are certain that what is coming, future help and deliverance, is more sure than what is present.”

At every point, faith in the steadfast love of the LORD is a feature.

And so, we can say that for the believer, faith in the hesed (loving-kindness) of  (the

LORD) (My God) awakens hope. It causes the psalmist to remember that God has been

full in his blessing of him in the past. He has indeed (dealt bountifully with me). So we

can, and do indeed know what transforms the mood of the psalm. It is the hesed of the LORD.

Copyright Stuart Adamson 2011.

Pastoral Imagery in Chaplaincy

By Kate Bradford
Pastoral imagery evokes an idealised view of rural life capturing a charming serene world protected from outside dangers. Similarly the twenty third Psalm captures sheep drinking and resting in a lush green valley inside the protection of their shepherd.

Pastoral care has on a number of occasions been seen as an exegesis of Psalm 23. The few brief stanzas have provided both direction and form for pastoral ministry. Variously harnessed and caught are the images of: guiding, healing, leading, restoring, nurturing, sustaining, comforting and liberating. Pastoral ministry ranges across vast terrains from the heights of the mountains down into deathly valleys, across battle fields opening out onto green pastures and still waters. Times of scarcity and of plenty, solitude and celebration, danger and peace are encompassed.

The enduring Biblical image of the shepherd appears and reappears throughout the Bible; being found in the law, the prophets and the writings, and the gospels, the epistles and the apocalypse.

Pastoral ministry in essence is never a programme that has its end in the material world; it always draws on a transcendent dimension. As people are cared for they are helped transcend their present difficulties; often external circumstances are not greatly changed but they are faced not alone but with the strength of the one who can truly help through prayer. The Pastoral carer draws on the same strength; that of the true shepherd for their inspiration. The Christian pastoral care worker is not any shepherd, but a shepherd after God’s own heart, a shepherd who is led by God’s knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:14-16).  These shepherds are contrasted with senseless shepherds who do not enquire of the Lord, and consequently their flock is scattered (Jer 10:20-22).

God himself is pictured as shepherd tending his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms close to his heart; gently leading those with young (Isaiah 40:11-12). Later in Matthew’s gospel account, Jesus had compassion on the crowd, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:35-37).

The gospel of John (chapter 10) reveals how the idyllic lush pastoral valley of psalm 23 was secured.  The apostle John describes Jesus as the good shepherd, the one who calls his sheep by name and leads them out.  He goes ahead; the sheep follow because they know his voice. He is not only the shepherd showing the way, he himself is the way. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

The Good Shepherd not only cares, protects and and guides in the midst of danger but he comes with authority, and calls his sheep by name.  The sheep are called out through the gate that is the guaranteed safe passage into the future: deliverance far greater than a shepherd’s care or protection. He is the shepherd-king, who gave his life for the sheep; the sheep respond to his voice and follow his way. He calls his sheep into eternity.[i]

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[i] Roland Riem, Stronger than Death: A Study for Love for the Dying (DLT, 1993), p 56.

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.