Pastoral Care
One of the most common phrases in the New Testament is one another’ or each other’. It appears over 100 times, around 60 of which are specific commands teaching us how to relate to one another.
At the moment we are seeking God for a fresh vision for pastoral care at Christ Church. As part of that prayer and discernment I would like to share five of those one another’ verses.
1. Romans 13.8: Love one another
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
Love is the heart of our faith. It is why the Father chose us, why he sent Jesus, why he sends – pours his Spirit on us. God’s love never stops, and so neither should ours. That’s why Paul calls love ‘the continuing debt’, something that never gets paid off: we always owe love to one another.
Pastoral care is an expression of that love. It means noticing needs, showing up, sticking around. I would love us to ask God to stretch our capacity to pay the debt of love to one another – the first step of which is asking him to fill us with his love for us, that we might then love others.
2. Galatians 6.2: Carry one another’s burdens
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.
Burdens are not evenly distributed: some are bowed down under multiple heavy burdens; some struggle for a time; some seem light-footed. Paul encourages us to share the load, I think picking up on Jesus’s own teaching that his yoke is easy – that is, it fits well and enables us to share burdens with one another.
3. 1 Thessalonians 5.10-11: Encourage one another
Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.
When people are in crisis, of course we step in to offer help and support. But pastoral care is about so much more than that. Paul calls us to encourage and build one another up: not in mental resilience – though of course that is important – but most of all in faith in Jesus who died for us so we might live: together, with him. Let us encourage and build each other up in that faith.
4. Ephesians 4.32: Forgive one another
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Few things sabotage a culture of care faster than grudges. Unforgiveness is like a splinter: it might start small but if not removed it can fester and become infectious. We need to pay attention to such splinters, and learn to let go, to keep short accounts, to forgive others as we have been forgiven by God in Christ.
5. James 5.16: Pray for one another
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
The kinds of prayers James talks about are hard. This is not about surface-level problems but deep, personal prayers that go to the heart of our desires and our sinful nature. Praying like this takes courage and needs to be done with people we trust – do you have anyone you trust enough to pray like this?
As we are already doing, I invite us to pray. These verses or some of the other one another’ verses may help guide those prayers. And if you feel God is speaking to you, or you have some thoughts about how we can refresh our vision for pastoral care and how it’s led, please let me know!
Lord, make us a people who live Your one another’s. Amen.
Revd Ben Green – Vicar
Go link: go.ccsp.uk/5517