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Mention “healing” and most people think of physicians, the medical
arts, and pharmacology. Yet increasingly medical personnel are
broadening their horizons to think holistically about human health.
They have come to see that the physical health of a human being is
connected to mental and emotional health. Some health professionals
have even begun to see that these two components of human well-being
are incomplete without a third–spiritual health.
People who take the Scriptures seriously are not surprised. Humans
exist in three distinct yet overlapping dimensions–body, soul, and
spirit.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy
name! Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits, who
forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems
your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the
eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5
Notice here how the healing God provides embraces all three
dimensions of human existence–the forgiveness of sins, the healing
of disease, and the redemption of life from despair.
Classical Christianity takes seriously this biblical view of
humanity. In fact, the earliest designation for what it is that
pastors do for people was called the cura animarum–the cure of
souls. Clergy were viewed as “physicians of the soul” precisely
because they were engaged in a healing art. Their work included both
diagnosis and treatment, just like physicians of the body. But the
work of pastors as spiritual physicians focused on the diagnosis and
treatment of ailing souls.
In the Lutheran tradition we find the same understanding of pastoral
ministry–seelsorge, or the care of souls. A word about that little
word “care.” Certainly empathy and emotional care for people are
just as important in pastoral work as they are in medical work. But
the “care” involved in pastoral care is far deeper than mere
empathetic concern for the well-being of people. It means addressing
the spiritual health of people using the tools that Christ has given
to His church on earth: the living Word of the Gospel and the healing
ministrations of the sacraments.
Thus, the classical understanding of pastoral work includes two
distinct, but overlapping, activities: the care of souls and the cure
of souls. Common experience with medical care helps us to understand
the distinction and connection. To maintain their health, people go
to their physicians for care–that is, regular checkups, monitoring,
and early detection of possible ailments. When people experience
illness they go to their physicians for cure–that is diagnosis,
prescription, and treatment designed to eradicate the disease, or at
least minimize its effects. When people are chronically ill, they
need care. When people are acutely ill, they need cure. Both are
provided by competent and trained physicians.
The same holds true when it comes to spiritual health. Ever since the
rebellion of Adam and Eve, all humanity has been chronically ill–our
disease is sin. God sent His Son to earth to treat this disease at
its root. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so
that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Cor.
5:21) The essence of the care of souls, therefore, is the forgiveness
of sins and that’s what pastors do for sinners under their care.
They apply the forgiveness that Jesus won for all the world on His
cross.
In the absolution pastors announce the forgiveness of sins to
penitent sinners “in the stead and by the command of (the) Lord
Jesus Christ.” In Holy Baptism pastors baptize penitent sinners
“in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
for the forgiveness of sins. In the Holy Supper pastors distribute to
penitent sinners the Body and the Blood that Jesus gave once upon His
cross for the forgiveness of sins. These are the ordinary means of
the care of souls; this is what pastors do continually for the souls
entrusted to their care in order to maintain their spiritual health.
Through the divinely given Word and sacraments, pastors apply the
forgiveness of sins that Jesus purchased for His church by His
innocent suffering and death and with His holy, precious blood.
But in this fallen world, sinners have special circumstances that
call for extraordinary interventions. Because of the impact of their
own and others’ sins, people can come under spiritual attack and
fall ill, acutely and spiritually speaking. Luther describes these
circumstances as anfectungen, or spiritual assaults. The devil, this
fallen world, and our own sinful nature often conspire to deceive or
mislead us into false belief, despair, “and other great shame and
vice” (Small Catechism, Sixth Petition). When this happens people
need spiritual cure–it’s no longer a question of maintaining
spiritual health; now it’s a matter of restoring and guarding
spiritual health.
Faithful pastors, like the Good Shepherd in whose Name they serve,
care for the whole flock and for each individual sheep within the
flock. “I am the Good Shepherd,” says Jesus. “I know My own and
My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father,
and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15) The Good
Shepherd calls His sheep by name, “My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they
will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John
10:27-28).
Like the Good Shepherd, undershepherds know their sheep. The care of
souls is tailored to the unique spiritual needs of each person under
a pastor’s care. As he gets to know each person, he begins to
understand the natural disposition of each personality within the
flock–a factor he bears in mind as he seeks to diagnose and treat
their spiritual ailments. For example, distress, fear, and anxiety
manifest themselves differently in people who are quiet and reserved
than they do in highly energetic people.
The care of souls is a complex and challenging responsibility for
pastors. Like medical care, it involves both a science and an art.
Thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, as well as a healthy
understanding of the human psyche, is fundamental to the care of
souls. Historically, this is why our church has emphasized the
necessity of building and maintaining an educated clergy. But
knowledge itself doesn’t heal people. A good “bedside manner” is
vital when applying the means of grace to the needs of people.
Diagnostic and treatment skills are developed while practicing the
art of spiritual care. There is no substitute for pastoral experience
and pastoral practice when it comes to developing competencies in the
cure of souls.
Finally, when all is said and done it is not the pastor who cures
people of their spiritual ailments. He is only the “best man” by
which the heavenly Bridegroom sends gifts to His beloved bride, the
Church. Christ Himself is the great physician of body, mind, and
spirit. By His death and resurrection He has conquered sin, death,
and hell. The sacred washing which He has instituted is a link to His
saving work at the cross and open tomb; it is a bath of regeneration
in the Holy Spirit for all who believe. In His sacred Body and most
holy Blood there is health and healing for every wounded soul. In His
powerful Word there is life eternal, starting here and now within His
church.
These are the sacred means of Grace, the medicine Jesus Christ has
given for the forgiveness of sin–for the health and well-being of
His church on earth. And they are good for whatever ails you! The Rev. Dr. Harold L. Senkbeil is an Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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