I am taking a refresher course on hospital visitation. It is being offered at our local hospital by our Chaplain Toni and members of the Hospital Chaplaincy Committee. It is excellent as it reminds us of some of the tools we need when visiting people in the hospital, or in fact, visiting anyone who needs pastoral care and support.
The first session was on “Spiritual Distress”. Toni asked us to consider what would bring about spiritual distress. Or, put another way, what upsets our beliefs and values?
I have been living with that question ever since. In the setting in which it was posed the obvious answer is being hospitalized and being ill. But Toni pushed as to go a little deeper with that. So if we are hospitalized what upsets our beliefs? It could be our belief that God is all powerful. Or, if our belief is that God is loving and wants only the best for us the distress comes with the question “so why am I sick?”
Spiritual Distress could come to us through many aspects of living – a broken trust – a failed relationship – a death of a loved one – fear of violence – global threat – any one of a number of things could bring about doubt, fear, sadness, worry, all leading to spiritual distress.
In her book Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith Anne Lamott writes “I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me–that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.”
In 2 Timothy 1:7 it says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love.” Just the same sometimes our spiritual equilibrium is upset. That is when the power of community and the strength from others can bear us up.
Maybe today you could be the one to offer encouragement and support through a kind word, a helpful question, or a shared cup of coffee. In sitting with others in the emptiness, the mess and the discomfort we can be the one to bear the light of Christ.
