A
few years ago I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Stephen Fowl, a theologian who
teaches at Loyola University, Maryland, talk about theology of health. Although
I am a trained nurse I had never heard nor thought about a theology of health
until this time. So I looked forward to this talk with much curiosity and
interest. As usual I took notes on the things that stood out for me and I share
one of them with you here.
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| 'Wholeness' by Gaia Orion http://www.artofimagination.org/Pages/Orion.html |
My note reads “Scripture begins and ends with the
vision of shalom (Hebrew for wholeness).” That is, our story begins in “Shalom
Garden,” the Garden of Eden mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and will end in
“Shalom City,” the Holy City mentioned in the Book of Revelation. In Shalom
Garden all of creation—human beings, animals, the ecosystem, and the
cosmos—were in harmonious relationship with each other and with God until we
disobeyed God and separated ourselves from God. This separation was so
catastrophic that it resulted in a separation between human beings, and a separation
between humanity and the rest of creation. According to the author of Genesis,
God created an enmity between the man and the woman, and it became necessary
for the man to labor for food and for childbirth to be painful. This then becomes
the root of our suffering. Christianity teaches us, however, that this is
reversed in Jesus’ resurrection when our relationship with God, each other, and
the rest of creation is restored. How then do we explain the suffering that
exists in in our present time? This is a hard question for anyone to answer
concretely though I hope the following might help.
Our
earthly life is situated between the two “locations” of Eden and heaven. The
process of living a human life is filled with contradictions and tensions; for
example, life/death, health/sickness, good/evil, rich/poor, peace/war,
love/hate, joy/sorrow, youth/old age, Christian/non-Christian; the list is
endless. Our tendency is to treat these poles as distinct “things” rather than
aspects of a single continuum; they are parts of a whole. As a result, these
apparent contradictions create confusion and conflict for us and we experience
stress and dis-ease
and other kinds of imbalance. Given this situation, how can we hold these
tensions together in a balanced way? Put another way, is shalom possible in
this life?
I
recently heard a helpful thought from Arthur Zajonc as he was being interviewed
by Krista Tippett (you might be interested to listen to it on onbeing.org). Mr.
Zajonc is a physicist and a contemplative who was recently diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease. When asked how he is coping with the implications of such
a debilitating disease, he responded, and I paraphrase, that we need not be
reminded of our suffering all the time; instead, we would benefit more in focusing
on balancing the challenges we face and the experiences that give us
satisfaction and contentment by attending to our bodies, our minds, our souls
or spirits. Our capacity to attend sets us apart from other creatures. I felt
comforted and humbled to hear this from someone facing the challenge of his
life. So, that may be one answer to our question and our quest for shalom.
In
my experience shalom or wholeness is not something we can gain for ourselves as
individuals. I believe we are God’s greatest gift to one another; we are
created for community after all. This is particularly true when we are
struggling with physical, emotional, or spiritual problems. We need companions
during times of crisis or transitions such as those brought on by death of a
loved one or the loss of a relationship or an unexpected diagnosis. And we need
companions as we sort out our spiritual life and our relationship with God
during our transitory life on earth.
At
St. Martin’s we offer two opportunities for such a companionship; Stephen Ministry
and spiritual direction. In Stephen Ministry someone needing care during a
transition or crisis is assigned a Stephen Minister who has received 50 hours
of training in providing a one-on-one listening presence for the care receiver
to talk about his/her troubles and discern his/her next steps. This is not a
therapy or counseling session; the Stephen Minister does not offer advice but
leading questions to help the care receiver clarify the issue for herself.
Confidentiality is paramount in this relationship which may last from a few
weeks to a few years. Spiritual direction on the other hand, is also a
one-on-one relationship between a spiritual director and a directee. One
desiring a deeper and more authentic relationship with God may be prompted to
seek spiritual direction. The transaction between the director and the directee
is also confidential and may last for a varied period of time. Both of these
ministries provide assistance for one pursuing shalom, though they focus on different
issues facing the person.
For
more information about Stephen Ministry you may contact Karen West at
215.248.3613 and Cary Nicholas at 215.402.0844. For more information about
spiritual direction you may contact Rev. Harriet Kollin at 215.247.7466 x108 or
Rev. Sharline Fulton at 215.283.7342.
- The Rev. Harriet Kollin
