Meditations 4 Misfits

I believe in One compassionate Creator who is made known in three distinct ways:

Yahweh—the One who seeks us
Jesus—the One who finds us
Holy Spirit—the One who guides us.

The Creator’s passion is relationship with all human beings.

I believe humanity, together as woman and man, were made to reflect the Creator’s beauty.
That all human beings are imbued with the imago Dei

I believe we all have chosen to break relationship with the Creator in the desire to become our own gods. The results are manifold:
The entire good creation has been infected with the disease of sin, we live in a world that still reflects some of its created beauty  and also that is in chaos —
Where we experience injustice, pain, suffering, and fear.
Where we find our human situation is one of hiding:  hiding from the Creator, hiding from others, and hiding from ourselves.

I believe Yahweh did not desert us.
Jesus was sent to find us and restore relationship with the Creator — to call us out of hiding, that this process of reconciliation is called salvation.

Once found, as followers of Jesus, we have been gathered into community and as community have been commissioned to continue this work of reconciliation and are empowered by the Holy Spirit for this task.

Specifically, I believe as a chaplain I am called to:
Help call people out of hiding,
Help create a safe place where people can experience and express grief from life’s sorrows,
Understand that healing must include restoration of role and relationship for the person,
Help people reflect on the deeper meaning of the issues they are facing— but only going where they are willing to go
(not imposing my agenda on them),
Get to know each person as a human being to help alleviate the isolation of suffering,
Sometimes exercising the prophetic role to challenge a person’s illusions,
Realize that I am just one part in the process of the person’s reconciliation,
Learn to give the gifts of encouragement and acceptance,
Proclaim hope,
And realize that every person has something to teach me about the Creator’s love.

To help facilitate this good work I am committed:
To come out of hiding, myself,
To become vulnerable to the other,
To be a servant to the other,
To be accountable to my superiors,
To be sexually innocent,
To be discreet,
To be relationally clear,
To be growing
in the care of my mind,
in the care of my body,
and in the care of my spirit.

This work is to be continued until Jesus returns
When all sin, evil, and disease,
all chaos —
will be purged from this world,
And we will live in peace and harmony,
with ourselves,
with one another,
and with the Creator.