Emerging Lutherans

Since I’ve finally started to get settled in Toronto, SD as I start my fist call as pastor, and since Kate has been having all the fun (or is it doing all the work?) of blogging, I thought it was indeed right and salutary that I “join the conversation.”

 

Yesterday I made my first home visit as a pastor to an elderly woman who has cancer in her esophagus. This made it difficult to really engage in visiting, but I prayed with her and served her Communion. Very shortly after that, I left to let her rest.

 

At first, I felt kind of bad, even guilty, that I couldn’t have done more for her; pastoral care classes and Clinical Education (CPE) had ingrained in me the need for deep conversation during pastoral visits. But as I thought about it more, and reflected upon how she reacted during the visit, I realized that all she had really wanted to was to know that her pastor (and therefore her congregation) cared for her and to hear the familiar words of prayer and promise that we here when we receive the Lord’s Supper. That is what she needed, and in providing that for her, my short visit had done a lot for her.

 

The more I think about it, yesterday’s visit was probably my best pastoral care visit, because I was forced to focus on God’s promises for us in the crucified and risen Christ. Whatever else the Theology of the Cross is about, and Kate is doing a great job talking about it in her posts, it is about these promises of God with us and God for us in our sickness and brokenness to bring healing being at the heart of our theology.

 

P.S. In future post, I will engage the Forde article that Kate linked to; for now, though, I would like to lift up a book which dedicates an entire chapter to engaging Forde in a thoughtful and constructive way: Christ Crucified by Mark Thomsen.

 

Till next time, peace be with you.

 

Aaron

Filed under: Lutheran Theology on July 25th, 2008