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FEATURE
UNPACKING SHALOM
The first time I heard about the concept of shalom was through a song we sang at school. Do you know it?
Shalom, my friends, Shalom, my friends, Shalom, shalom. Till we meet again, Till we meet again, Shalom, shalom
I had a vague idea that it was something to do with peace, but I didn’ t really think beyond the fact that I liked the sound of the word( so much so that I named one of my toys Shalom – but I digress).
I didn’ t get a real sense of the fullness of shalom until I was in my early twenties and started to look at a theology of mental health. I ran into early difficulties when I discovered that the phrase mental health isn’ t actually in the Bible, and I couldn’ t work out what its equivalent would be until I came across the concept of shalom again through the work of theologian John Wilkinson, who writes:
‘ The root meaning of the word shalom is wholeness, completeness and wellbeing … It does however have several secondary meanings, encompassing health, security, friendship, prosperity, justice, righteousness and salvation, all of which are necessary if wholeness, completeness and wellbeing are to come about.’ 1
It’ s a beautiful vision of what God imagined for our lives – wholeness. No broken relationships, no ailing bodies, no fractured minds. We see a picture of complete shalom and wholeness in the garden of Eden, right at the beginning of creation.
Genesis 2 recounts everything Adam and Eve had in the garden that enabled their shalom; from their companionship with one another, to their beautiful surroundings and meaningful work, the safety of the garden and the provision of God through all he had made.
What we see in the Bible is mirrored in how the world describes mental health; the World Health Organisation describes mental health as:
‘ a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.’ 2
Shalom is not an airy-fairy peace, it’ s wholeness.
THE HOPE OF HEAVEN CAN BE FOUND IN THE HELLISHNESS OF MENTAL ILLNESS
And in understanding wholeness, we understand that we are preaching to congregations who are far from whole: struggling with physical, mental and social health problems and wanting to hear where God is.
Finding God in the midst of pain, comes first in presenting our pain before God. Our faith is full of the lamentations of those gone before us, who found God met them when they took their pain to him. J Todd Billings, a theologian diagnosed with terminal cancer, writes in his book on lament:
‘[ Lament can mean ] grieving and mourning, such as those weeping for a lost loved one at a funeral’ or it can mean protest, a form of petition – seeking to take God to“ court” to make one’ s case.’
It’ s the pattern followed throughout Scripture; consider Job railing at God, the Israelites calling out for rescue, Jesus crying his forsakenness on the cross. Lament is something we need not run from, but something we encourage the hurting to do as they place their petitions before God with the hope that he hears us when we call.
CASTING HOPE
Our sermons have to meet our congregations where they are in their seats and show them the way to the throne on which our battled scarred, triumphant Jesus sits waiting for them to pour out their hearts. It’ s something I see in sharp focus as I travel around churches sharing the message that the hope of heaven can be found in the hellishness of mental illness. It’ s through preaching this message that I’ ve heard how God moves when we allow our darkness to meet his light.
It’ s a pattern that is seen throughout Scripture, the pouring out of oneself and one’ s story before God to let him move through it. It’ s seen most clearly in the Psalms where joy and celebration, trial and desperation sit together in the presence of God.
So often in my own life, when I’ ve been stumbling through the darkest depression, the Psalms are the only parts of Scripture I can bear to read because they express where God is in my seemingly unbearable present. I cannot count the number of times I stared, Bible open at the words of Psalm 40, feeling every second of the Psalmist’ s wait and hoping that I would be singing a hymn of praise soon, too.
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.