A Persian Apolugue

Love came to crave sweet love, if love might be;
To the Belovëd’s door he came, and knocked:—
‘And who art thou?’ she asked,—‘we know not thee!’
Then shyly listened, nor the door unlocked.
Love answered, ‘It is I!’ ‘Nay, thee and me
This house will never hold.’—’Twas thus she mocked
His piteous quest; and, weeping, home went he,
While thro’ the night the moaning plane-tree rocked.

Three seasons sped, and lo, again Love came;
Again he knocked; again in simple wise,
‘Pray, who is there?’ she asked,—‘What is thy name?’
But Love had learnt the magic of replies,—
‘It is Thyself!’ he whispered, and behold,
The door was opened, and love’s mystery told.
-Samuel Waddington, 1844

“A Persian Apolugue” covers the lover’s fight to enter into the house of the beloved. Entrance is achieved when the lover identifies not as “It is I” but as “It is Thyself”. This is hauntingly similar to the relationship God has with humanity. The relationship began with YHWH, I am who I am, and through the amazing tale of the Jewish people transcended into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Suddenly God can identify not only as “I am who I am” but also as “I am Thyself”. This is the movement that takes us beyond the Law and into an intricately deep relationship with the Godhead. It is this relationship dynamic that the minister must keep in mind at all times when attempting pastoral care.
In a hospital setting the one needing pastoral care, the patient, is already overwhelmed. Firstly there is the problem for which the patient has been hospitalized and the immediate needs that causes. Secondly there is the cause of that problem, be it random illness, tragic accident, or an act of violence, which adds another level. Third, there is the fact that reality has come crashing down on the patient bringing all of the issues we try to ignore to the forefront. In the hospital there is a lot of time to dwell on these issues.
Into the above enters the minister, the hospital chaplain, in hopes of being an aide. The chaplain’s purpose at this point is not to add more to the patient’s plate but to aid the patient with what is already there. This means the chaplain’s own spiritual identity, dogma, and the like must take a back seat to that of the patient. The goal is to make the patient aware of inner strengths that are currently unrecognized.
A Christian Chaplain might say that the purpose of the pastoral visit is to make the patient recognize the Christ Light within. Such a phrase, however, might be easily lost on the patient. An exceptionally Christian yet also universally understandable approach would be to help the patient recognize where various fruits of the spirit come into his or her life. The fruits all have recognizable secular meanings and the patient’s ability to acknowledge that any one of them is part of his or her life will be an aide to recovery.
When this happens the chaplain is knocking on the door and saying not “it is I” but “it is thyself”. This, as Waddington tells us, allows the door between the chaplain and the patient to open. This is not an easy task and requires basic skills on the part of the chaplain. First is the need to be relaxed within the hospital setting and with the diversity of patient views. Agitation and distraction cause the Chaplain to not be able to be present to the patient and being judgmental will simply cause the patient to retreat. Secondly is the ability to draw out and reflect back the Christ light of the patient. This is not an easy task yet certain skills, such as reflective listening techniques, can increase chances of success. Third the chaplain’s own spiritual stability and intention of being a God-bearing and God-pointing individual is the basis from which all the above finds nourishment. Thus the chaplain’s need to be an “I” is not diminished by the process of being presented as “thyself” but must in fact be stronger, and is made more the stronger, by the process.
Waddington reminds us that to for two people to form a relationship they must recognize the commonality between them. Chaplains must recognize this commonality as given and then become vessels for the best part of the person before them so that they can give that part back to the patient. This sharing of self and recognizing of commonality is one of the great mysteries of relationships. The terrible good is that as Christians we must recognize that humanity shares such commonality with the Godhead.