The Gospel narrative of Jesus sending his twelve disciples
on mission (Mark 6:7-13), which is the Gospel reading for the 15th
Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle B, always reminds me of a certain distinctive
experience I had during my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) at Lutheran
General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL. It
is because there is a similarity between the disciples sent out on mission in
Galilee by Jesus and hospital chaplains being sent to patients in the hospital.
Though hospital chaplains are assigned to certain
unites where they are based, they can be sent anywhere in the hospital as
needed. In fact, in cases of code yellow
and code blue, chaplains are called to the ER (emergency room), whether they
are actually needed or not. Being a
hospital chaplain means being ready to be sent – to be deployed – to be
dispatched anywhere in the hospital at any moment during the shift. Hospital is the field of their mission, as the
region of Galilee was the field of the mission for the twelve disciples in the
Gospel story. Therefore, hospital
chaplains are on mission.
One unique quality about hospital chaplains is that
they do not have to wait for a call to be sent, as they can initiate their
mission in the hospital, especially within the unit that they are assigned as
their bases.
At Lutheran General Hospital, it is customary that
chaplains initiate their visits to newly arrived patients on their assigned
units at the beginning of shift. This
way, all the patients can get to know who the chaplains are on their units,
feeling at ease to call them whenever they need. The most important thing in pastoral care is
a relationship between patient and chaplain.
So, here is my first story that is evoked by the aforementioned
Gospel story.
I was trying to introduce myself as a chaplain to a
newly arrived patient as I began my shift on the unit I was assigned to. The door of the new patient’s room was half-open.
So, I said before I would enter, “Good morning! My name is Masa Nakata. I am a
chaplain on this unit…”. While I was still
speaking, I hear with a strong protesting voice, “I’m Jewish!”. Apparently the new patient in the room that I was trying
to introduce myself was not happy with my presence at her hospital room door. It
was as if she were saying, “Don’t bother me, chaplain! Leave me alone! I don’t
need you! Not only that, the fact that
she distinctively said she is Jewish was what puzzled me, as I wondered if I
had offended her Jewish religious status for trying to introduce myself as a
chaplain on the unit. I also wonder if
she was not happy about my religious affiliation (Roman Catholic) – though she
did not know what it is yet, since she interrupted my introduction so soon and
abruptly. I wonder if she meant
something like, “Mr. chaplain, don’t even bring your Jesus stuff to me, because
I am Jewish”. I could have kept on
wondering for the rest of my shift like this. But, I thought it would be wise
to consult a rabbi on stuff, a Jewish chaplain on the Lutheran General Hospital’s
pastoral care team.
I immediately called a rabbi, who is a staff
chaplain. Upon listening to my panicked voice, the rabbi was laughing over the
phone. It was not funny to me, and I wonder why it sounded so funny to the
rabbi. Then, the rabbi said, “Sorry, I did not mean to laugh but I think I know
that patient. I will go see her and you come with me”.
The rabbi arrived on the unit shortly and went to
the patient’s room, while I stayed outside the room. Apparently, the rabbi and
the patient knew each other. They were having a smooth conversation. I could
even hear light laughter. Then, the rabbi told me to come in. I went into the
patient’s room. Then, the rabbi introduced me to the patient, who just
responded to my introduction as to reject me. No problem at all in meeting the
patient through the rabbi’s introduction.
She must be a good Jew as she sure listened to a rabbi. In fact, this
Jewish patient and I enjoyed a meaningful conversation afterward.
In my analysis of this experience I had in light of
the Gospel story, I was at first rejected when I sent myself to the
patient. Perhaps, because I tried to
reach out to her alone, rather than going by two. Jesus sent the disciples two
by two, according to the Gospel story.
However, when I returned to the patient with the rabbi, making my mission
two by two, I was accepted. At least, I
did not have to “dust off my sandal”, thanks to the rabbi – thanks be to God. Though chaplains in hospitals visit patients usually
alone, sometimes it is necessary to go two by two.
When the disciples were sent out by Jesus on mission
in the region of Galilee, as described in the Gospel story, I am sure they made
personal connections with people they met and ministered to – unless they had
to dust off their sandals. Likewise,
hospital chaplains are sent out to patients in need throughout the hospital by
patients’ requests and by chaplains’ initiatives.
Pastoral care is all about being sent and reaching
out with compassion, accompanied with action of care, as Jeanne
Stevenson-Moessner (2005) describes in her “A
Primer in Pastoral Care”(p.17), and it is what chaplains are called and
sent to do for patients. Though the
disciples did when they were sent out on mission was ἐθεράπευον (etherapeuon)(Mark 6:13), what hospital chaplains do to
patients when sent out on their mission in the hospital is σέσωσται (sesostai), as the former is more of physical and mental
healing while the latter is more of spiritual healing leading to the restoration
of the salvific fullness.
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