In this module and the next, we are going to be reading a series of articles that are found on the website of an online hospice chaplaincy group in Canada. While I do not endorse all of their theological positions, I do think they help us all gain a good introduction to the issues that a dying person faces.  Their articles are focused and meaty. They are based on a wealth of experience as caregivers to the dying, and they open our eyes to the issues we ourselves as caregivers need to face.

It is when we tread the "deepest valley” that we are most in need to the Psalm 23 statement, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Immanuel. Immanuel is the one we need more than anything else. Possessions become a moot point. Dreams of seeing or doing or experiencing this or that which remains on our "bucket list” are gone. The end is in sight. And we must deal with that fact.

The way we deal with the fact of the end of our lives is where a chatplain/chaplain can be of use to all of us. The chaplain, while not knowing what it is to die (obviously), can give encouragement, hope, and answers from the revelation of God that will encourage a person to face mortality with grace and with a sense of purpose. We do not know how the process of death happens, but we do know that God's Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” For Paul, death was a step forward into the "known unknown” - he taught us that Jesus is the one who holds our lives in his hands. And so Jesus, as we die, is Immanuel.  Perhaps Paul would recall the time when he kept the coats of those who were stoning Stephen (Acts 7) and the words of Stephen that precipitated that event.  "....Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look,” he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”"

It is in this moment of life/death, that we are most in need of a person with whom we can freely speak of our relationship with God, our hope for life after death, and our anxiety at leaving our loved ones behind. Thoughts of eternity now seem to pop up every day. Other who knew us "well” will mention that we seem different somehow. For, indeed, we are different. We are now people who no longer can say next week we will go here or there; now we are people confined to a bed and who do not know if tomorrow will dawn in this world or the next.

With that as an introduction, I offer you the following articles as some grist for your thinking as you contemplate how you might very well be involved in the kind of ministry this group offers to those who find them online. In this module, we will be looking at articles that deal primarily with the person who is dying. In the next we will read about being the caregiver and helping those who have experienced loss to deal with their grief.

Last modified: Monday, October 5, 2020, 6:26 PM