In a Mass during CPE the Gospel Lesson was
Mathew 18:6-9. It’s a harsh parable to be sure. Doing CPE in a psych hospital
changes a lot of what might otherwise be ok in terms of chaplaincy. The Priest
did state quite clearly about not cutting off your foot literally, because in
this environment the power of suggestion can be very powerful. But what I was
lead to think of in this environment when your brain causes you to sin what do
you do? If you cut it out you will die, it is like telling someone to cut out
there soul in my view.
As a person
with a mood disorder in the six ring circus of the state Psych hospital I was
lead to think about the ‘sins’ I know I did in my deep dark hole of depression.
Such as cursing out God, not loving my neighbors, not telling or showing the
good news to anyone, missing the mark and one might even say my thoughts of suicide
where sinful. At the time I felt them to be that way.
But to me this entire passage is interpreted
in light of how you view sin. I see sin as “missing the mark” and breaking a
relationship. But can sin truly and willfully be committed when someone’s biological
chemistry is causing him or her to do so? When in there true heart they want to
do every thing else but sin and hurt the people around them. So the solution for some might be to cut off
the offending part. But this countered with Paul saying each part of the body
is important. I am siting with Paul here and not Jesus.
Well the brain may be messed up and
it might sound like the easy route to just cut off the offending part. This is
where lobotomy’s had there base. Looking to ancient Greek medicine it was
viewed as people’s humors
or the four body fluids where off. The
term melancholia
is derived from the greek words for ‘bile’ and ‘black’. It was and sadly is
still not uncommon for people to view depression as demonic possession and the ‘anger
of the gods’. Certainly the person is sinning to have I think at this moment in
time, that some sins in breaking relationships are truly from the person
themselves. But more often I am sure that it comes from illness.
I think of one patient who is a
fanatic fundamentalist Christian that is convinced Harry Potter ruined her
childhood (she is in her 60’s BTW). She has a nasty temperament and has burned
through many chaplains. Part of her burning relationships I know comes from her
chemistry, but what I think most of it comes from is that she is lonely and
hurting. She does not know how to forgive herself she just wants to cut the
offending part, or parts off in her veiws.
What happens if the offending part just
needs stitches, wound care, or antibiotics to cure the oozing, festering,
infected wound? Paul’s route is much
harder, learning to love each part, to accept it, to not declare one better then
the other. All parts are not always even or 100% but together we are all 100%
and with the Grace of God we are 110%
