Friday Theology Club 3 (On Pastoral Theology)

Do you want to be healed? (see John 5:6)

It's a surprise to many that Christianity is primarily a therapeutic path. 

The word psychotherapy is from the Ancient Greek words psyche (ψυχή), meaning "soul, spirit, or mind," and therapeia (θεραπεία), meaning "healing, curing, or medical service". Literally translated, it means "healing of the soul".

The moral and doctrinal aspects of our faith are at the service of the healing of our souls.

As Jesus famously declared: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). It's a catch-all way of saying that the Commandments are not to be obeyed because we owe them allegiance in themselves, but because they lead to human flourishing.

The moral demands of our faith are our servants, we are not theirs!

What follows in the video is a wonderful snapshot of what we might call the 'inner work'.

Theo Von is a contemporary comedian (one of my favourites) and in this clip he is wrestling with a profound sense of his brokenness. He's clearly done a lot of introspective work and he has a pretty clear understanding of the way he's wired to seek approval wherever he can find it.

He's also very honest about the fact that his conditioning has some benefits: in his case his need for affirmation has developed into a sophisticated sense of humour that gets him the love and approval and success that he craves.

If he gets healed and is no longer driven by his need for approval what will he be then? Who will he be? What will his identity be based on?

When we get to this level of self-awareness there is often a profound sense of what we might call a primordial nakedness. It always reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve becoming aware of their nakedness in the Garden of Eden after they have eaten the Forbidden Fruit (see Genesis 3:10). 

Who are we when we peel back the masks (fig leaves) that we wear to give us a sense of significance and self-worth? The very fact that we wear those masks betrays the fact that we are hiding something.

Who or what are we hiding from and why? Can we stop hiding and allow another story to be written for us? Can we stop chasing approval and a sense of significance from success or popularity, and rest in the fact that we are already God's beloved children?

I could go on but I won't. 

God bless you all.

Here's the clip.