Christian Caregiving 1- What is a flourishing human life?
In the letter to the Romans St. Paul says,
“we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them” (Rom 12:5-6).
God gives gifts to the Church so that the church will be strengthened and for the church to accomplish her mission in the world (1 Cor 12:7). All of us have God-given abilities that are to be used in the service of God.
The church hasn’t always been very good at helping people understand their gifts, and the church hasn’t always made room for people to use their gifts. Sometimes the church can function as if the clergy are the ones with all the gifts, but if you’ve known very many clergy you know this isn’t true. The church is healthiest when Christians know what their gifts are, they develop them, and they are free to use them.
Some people have a God-given ability in a particular area, but we all still participate in that ministry to some degree even though we aren’t particularly gifted in that area. … For example, all Christians are supposed to be open to talking to people about what they believe, but some will have a special gift for evangelism that goes beyond what most Christians are able to do. The fact that someone has a special gift for that activity doesn’t mean we can back away from that activity entirely. … Similarly, some have a God-given ability to care for hurting people- to listen to them, to sit in their pain with them, to be encouraging- but obviously that doesn’t mean the rest of us can back away when we encounter someone who is hurting. Christian caregiving is something all of us are called to even if we don’t feel like we have a special talent for it. Some of us will have to learn how to do this because it doesn’t feel like it comes naturally.
This week we are starting a sermon series on Christian caregiving. I’m hoping this will be helpful for everyone, and that as we move along in this series, some of you might notice that this is actually something you have a God-given ability for.
Sometimes we can feel really overwhelmed when it comes to helping someone who is hurting. Part of the reason for this is that we live in a world full of experts and so we worry that we don’t have the training to help someone. … We also live in a world full of quick fixes. We want a pill, or a surgery, or an essential oil, or a new diet that will fix the problem. … So, if we aren’t an expert and we don’t have the quick fix, then we can feel frozen when we are faced with a hurting person.
I’m not saying anything against experts (like psychologists), or even quick fixes (like Tylenol). We need experts, and medications are a gift. But sometimes the problems people face aren’t the type that a pill will solve, and sometimes a loving community is what is needed, rather than an expert.
My hope is that we can learn a bit more about being a healing community- Being people who feel free to help and who don’t feel frozen because we aren’t experts and don’t have the quick fix. … Sometimes people don’t need the experts- they need someone who cares. And sometimes there is no quick fix to their problem- sometimes they just need someone to listen and to be ‘in the mess’ with them.
As we begin, it’s important to ask, “What is a healthy human being?” Some forms of care are very pathology centered. They focuses on the disease- “What is the problem?” The idea is that if we fix the problem, then we will be healthy. …
The church hasn’t always been very good at helping people understand their gifts, and the church hasn’t always made room for people to use their gifts. Sometimes the church can function as if the clergy are the ones with all the gifts, but if you’ve known very many clergy you know this isn’t true. The church is healthiest when Christians know what their gifts are, they develop them, and they are free to use them.
Some people have a God-given ability in a particular area, but we all still participate in that ministry to some degree even though we aren’t particularly gifted in that area. … For example, all Christians are supposed to be open to talking to people about what they believe, but some will have a special gift for evangelism that goes beyond what most Christians are able to do. The fact that someone has a special gift for that activity doesn’t mean we can back away from that activity entirely. … Similarly, some have a God-given ability to care for hurting people- to listen to them, to sit in their pain with them, to be encouraging- but obviously that doesn’t mean the rest of us can back away when we encounter someone who is hurting. Christian caregiving is something all of us are called to even if we don’t feel like we have a special talent for it. Some of us will have to learn how to do this because it doesn’t feel like it comes naturally.
This week we are starting a sermon series on Christian caregiving. I’m hoping this will be helpful for everyone, and that as we move along in this series, some of you might notice that this is actually something you have a God-given ability for.
Sometimes we can feel really overwhelmed when it comes to helping someone who is hurting. Part of the reason for this is that we live in a world full of experts and so we worry that we don’t have the training to help someone. … We also live in a world full of quick fixes. We want a pill, or a surgery, or an essential oil, or a new diet that will fix the problem. … So, if we aren’t an expert and we don’t have the quick fix, then we can feel frozen when we are faced with a hurting person.
I’m not saying anything against experts (like psychologists), or even quick fixes (like Tylenol). We need experts, and medications are a gift. But sometimes the problems people face aren’t the type that a pill will solve, and sometimes a loving community is what is needed, rather than an expert.
My hope is that we can learn a bit more about being a healing community- Being people who feel free to help and who don’t feel frozen because we aren’t experts and don’t have the quick fix. … Sometimes people don’t need the experts- they need someone who cares. And sometimes there is no quick fix to their problem- sometimes they just need someone to listen and to be ‘in the mess’ with them.
As we begin, it’s important to ask, “What is a healthy human being?” Some forms of care are very pathology centered. They focuses on the disease- “What is the problem?” The idea is that if we fix the problem, then we will be healthy. …
I want to suggest that isn’t always the best way to approach Christian caregiving. … If you only focus on pulling the weeds you won’t have a garden, you’ll have a patch of dirt. So instead of asking, “what is the problem?” we are going to start by asking, “What is a healthy human being?” We are going to try to be health-centered, rather than disease-centered.
C.S. Lewis, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia series (and numerous other profound books), once stated,
C.S. Lewis, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia series (and numerous other profound books), once stated,
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors” (The Weight of Glory).
According to Lewis, the people you are sitting next to in the pew are immortals. These are people granted eternal life through the work of Jesus Christ. These are people called to grow into the likeness of Christ and who are empowered to do his loving work in the world. … It can be hard to think of ourselves this way, but that is what we are called to be. We are called to be saints- to be a holy people (1 Cor 1:2).
The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the term “Theosis” to describe a human being who has been fully healed- It is a life filled with the life of Christ. It means to become like God through deep relationship with God. … The Western Church has sometimes called this “Sanctification”. As Christians, we are to be in a perpetual process of being shaped into the image of Jesus and reflecting his character into the world.
An Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregorios once said,
The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the term “Theosis” to describe a human being who has been fully healed- It is a life filled with the life of Christ. It means to become like God through deep relationship with God. … The Western Church has sometimes called this “Sanctification”. As Christians, we are to be in a perpetual process of being shaped into the image of Jesus and reflecting his character into the world.
An Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Gregorios once said,
“As long as [a human being] does not find himself on the path of theosis he feels an emptiness within himself … he feels that something is not going right, so he is not joyful even when he is trying to cover the emptiness with other activities.”[1]The process by which sanctification or theosis happens is sometimes called “Spiritual Formation”. It is the process by which the central part of who we are is transformed. … We are all being formed, whether we are aware of it or not. The question is “formed into what?” There are numerous forces that act on us. What we read, who we spend time with, and programs wewatch on television all shape us. These forces affect our desires, our sensitivities, and give us assumptions about the way the world works. … Formation into Christ-likeness is a gift from God, and isn’t something that can be earned, but it does require effort on our part. … As Christians, what we want to happen is for the central part of who we are to begin to take on more of the character of Jesus Christ.
In Genesis 1:27 we read,
“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”.
And one way to understand what it means to be created in God’s image is to look at Colossians 1:15, which says, Jesus
“is the image of the invisible God”.
If we want to know what a human being was meant to be, we look to Jesus. Our lives take on a certain kind of Jesus-ness.
When we are talking about Christian caring, this is the end goal we keep in mind- a healthy and healed human being reflects Christ. Paul said it this way,
When we are talking about Christian caring, this is the end goal we keep in mind- a healthy and healed human being reflects Christ. Paul said it this way,
“I am … in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal 4:19).
To be a Christian caregiver is to, in some way, assist God in a continuous birthing process whereby people are being formed into the likeness of Christ. With St. Paul, that is what we yearn for. … We will know this inner formation is happening when we see a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).
St. Paul also says,
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24).
So, the bad stuff diminishes, and the good stuff grows. The weeds are pulled and the flower garden flourishes. … This is what theosis looks like on the outside- a life not enslaved by our bodily desires, but filled with the Holy Spirit and overflowing with the goodness of God.
When we have been shaped in this way, we get ‘saltier’. Jesus says we are the salt of the Earth (Matt 5:13). In a world that is decaying, we become the preservative. We become the salt that brings out the flavor in the world. … As we are being transformed, we also become the light of the world (Matt 5:14). We shine through the dark and expose firm footing. We shine the light of God which helps the world see reality as it is.
Jesus says,
When we have been shaped in this way, we get ‘saltier’. Jesus says we are the salt of the Earth (Matt 5:13). In a world that is decaying, we become the preservative. We become the salt that brings out the flavor in the world. … As we are being transformed, we also become the light of the world (Matt 5:14). We shine through the dark and expose firm footing. We shine the light of God which helps the world see reality as it is.
Jesus says,
“be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48).
And that sounds impossible and overwhelming. When CS Lewis comments on this passage he says,
“I think He meant ‘The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing less.’”
This is the activity of the Holy Spirit in us. … I believe the Biblical goal for human beings is for them to enter into a process (called “discipleship”, or we might say “apprenticeship”, or “spiritual formation”) under the lordship of Christ whereby we are shaped into the character of Christ. We come to reflect his light into the world.
So, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to convince you of this idea. Why is this so important when it comes to Christian caregiving? … It matters because the care we give should be in line with what God is doing in a person’s life. … This might be a difficult statement, but please try to understand that God cares more about your character than your comfort. God cares more about the kind of person you are becoming, than the fact that you are uncomfortable. … Again, please don’t misunderstand, God does care about your pain, so much so that he came to die on a cross for you. God came to feel our pain and to weep as we weep. God cares, deeply. And I do not believe that God causes our suffering. … But if God has the choice of your immediate release from discomfort (on one hand) and a greater formation into the image of Jesus (on the other hand), I believe God will choose to have us shaped into the image of Jesus rather than granting us some immediate comfort. …
So, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to convince you of this idea. Why is this so important when it comes to Christian caregiving? … It matters because the care we give should be in line with what God is doing in a person’s life. … This might be a difficult statement, but please try to understand that God cares more about your character than your comfort. God cares more about the kind of person you are becoming, than the fact that you are uncomfortable. … Again, please don’t misunderstand, God does care about your pain, so much so that he came to die on a cross for you. God came to feel our pain and to weep as we weep. God cares, deeply. And I do not believe that God causes our suffering. … But if God has the choice of your immediate release from discomfort (on one hand) and a greater formation into the image of Jesus (on the other hand), I believe God will choose to have us shaped into the image of Jesus rather than granting us some immediate comfort. …
A surgeon may allow a certain level of discomfort in order to gain a greater healing. Similarly, God may allow us to deal with an annoying neighbour if it means that we will develop the virtue of patience. That’s a silly example, maybe, and I don’t want to minimize our pain. But this has been a Christian teaching from the beginning. … God can transform the torture and execution of crucifixion into resurrection and salvation. So, we trust that God has the ability to redeem all things- even our suffering.
There are many times that Jesus healed people, and I believe that God still heals people, but I also believe that God desires a greater healing- an eternal healing- rather than a temporary bodily healing. St. Irenaeus once said,
“The glory of God is man fully alive.”
God desires our flourishing. That is God’s goal for us. Christian caregiving is to have this goal in mind as well. We are to help people see where the next step is in their journey towards being “fully alive”. We don’t have to explain all this to the people we are helping, but we should have this vision in our minds as we care for people.
This greater vision also matters because it means that this is God’s job. It’s not all up to you to heal someone of what’s bothering them. Your job as a caregiver is to compassionately walk with a person as you both seek after what God is doing in their life. You are there to try to help them along the path, but it’s not all up to you. Whatever healing is needed comes from God, not you, so you can let go of the pressure to have some sort of “quick fix.”
This vision also allows you to not have to be an expert. If a fully alive and healed person looks like Jesus, then the caregiver is also in need of God’s gracious healing just as much as the person being cared for. You don’t have to be the expert. You are allowed to be a broken sinner in need of grace because it is ultimately God’s healing that you both are seeking. You are a companion on the way. You are with them in their journey, recognizing that they are at a particular place in the path, but you are both heading to the same destination and neither of you have arrived yet.
This greater vision also matters because it means that this is God’s job. It’s not all up to you to heal someone of what’s bothering them. Your job as a caregiver is to compassionately walk with a person as you both seek after what God is doing in their life. You are there to try to help them along the path, but it’s not all up to you. Whatever healing is needed comes from God, not you, so you can let go of the pressure to have some sort of “quick fix.”
This vision also allows you to not have to be an expert. If a fully alive and healed person looks like Jesus, then the caregiver is also in need of God’s gracious healing just as much as the person being cared for. You don’t have to be the expert. You are allowed to be a broken sinner in need of grace because it is ultimately God’s healing that you both are seeking. You are a companion on the way. You are with them in their journey, recognizing that they are at a particular place in the path, but you are both heading to the same destination and neither of you have arrived yet.
As we care for people it is important to remember God’s bigger picture. God wants our lives to take on a Jesus-ness. He wants our lives filled with the Spirit. He wants our character shaped through following Jesus as our Lord. We are companions to each other on the road towards this ultimate healing. If our caregiving is to be “Christian” caregiving, then it is important to remember this goal as we care for others. AMEN.
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