Pastoral Care and the Local Pastor

Recently I spoke with a group of pastors. They were seeking wisdom on how they might interact with the Hospital and provide patient care. How well do you provide this type of support?

I responded with the following:

First, when coming to provide pastoral support with patients and families come as a servant. This was how Jesus presented himself. One of the clear pictures of Jesus as a servant is found in the Gospel of John, Chapter 13 where Jesus dresses as a servant as washes the disciples' feet. Here is Jesus, the Son of God and Master of the disciples, serving the needs of those in his care. When he was finished Jesus told them that they should care for each other in like manner.

The word for deacon (diakonos) is essentially the word for servant. In the 6th Chapter of Acts Stephen and his peers were chosen to serve the Apostles and the widows were fit for the job, not because they were good at passing out food but since they were men committed to God.

There are three scripture passages that come to mind to address pastoral care.

1. In the Gospel of Luke 17: 11-14 Jesus comes across ten lepers. The question of often asked whether Jesus was aware that these lepers would be there for him to meet? Luke suggests that this was a chance occurrence by using the words, "Now it happened. . ." It would appear from the Gospel that Jesus was being spontaneous as he encountered these men. As pastoral care providers there are times in which each of us is called to be spontaneous in providing care. There was no time for Jesus to say "I will get back to you". Likewise the pastoral care provider is called to always ready to provide support appropriate to the patient's need.

Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, tells a tale set in the days of city states. Every day warriors would go outo battle. If someone was injured they were responsible for getting back to the safety of the walled city. The tale tells of one individual (you decide if this person if male or female). This person was among the wounded. She or he (you decide) daily tended to the wounds on her/his body. She/he took care of one wound at a time. She time to carefully unwrap each wound, clean it, apply ointment, and rewrap the wound. She never treated all of her wounds at once for she wanted to be able to quickly respond to the needs of another wounded individual returning from battle. You might say that this person was spontaneous and oriented to the needs of others.

2. The Gospel of John 5: 5-9 tells of Jesus interaction with a paralytic lying next to a pool of water. He was one of many such persons. The area he was lying was covered by a roof, it was a type of Hospital of his day. The believe shared by those there was that when an angel stirred the water the first one who entered the water would be cured. This man had laid there for a long time and still waited. As Jesus approached him the man interacted. I would like to believe that the miracle telling was shortened in the telling and that Jesus began his support of the paralytic by listening to him.

When first supporting a patient it is best to listen first. How can accurate care be provided without listening first? Jesus did not berate or belittle this man. He listened and then he respectfully asked the man if he wanted to get better? We an celebrate the healing of this man but listen first.

3. Later in the Gospel of John (Chapter 9) Jesus and his disciples encounter a man born blind. The disciples asked who sinned. At that time it was often assumed that blindness (or some other condition) was the result of the failure of the one afflicted or, perhaps, the parents. In the moments later Jesus restored the man's sight. Here was a man who did not know who Jesus was but Jesus healed him anyway. The man had not voiced the correct belief or acted in the best way and Jesus healed him anyway. The need to be cared for exceed the need to be believe correctly.

There may be more to talk about but enough for now.

Al