Page 67 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 22

denying “the power thereof” in the stark phra- The incarna�on also offers Chris�an psychology
sing of the King James Version (see 2 Tim. 3:5).
Moreover, the clinician must resist the tempta-
�on we see in some contemporary forms of pi-
ety to empty the work of the Holy Spirit of all
theological content in favor of emo�vism.
In what follows, I want to sketch out if only
briefly the anthropological implica�ons of the
three-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit. Wri�ng as
I do from the theological tradi�on of the Eas-
tern Orthodox Church, some (or even all!) of
what I have to say may seem new or even alien;
it may even, God forbid, appear here�cal.
Against such reac�ons and cri�cism, I stand wi-
thout defense beyond a gentle reminder that
on that first Easter Sunday, the report by “Mary
Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother
of James, and other women” of the resurrec�-
on of Christ seemed to the apostles “as idle ta-
les, and they believed them not” (Lk. 24:10,11).
Let us begin.
The Gods of Idolatry Were Destroyed
It is no denigra�on of the Cross to insist we join
Good Friday to the rest of Jesus’ life—before
and a�er. To a�empt such a separa�on either
explicitly or by neglect is to overlook the cos-
mological, soteriological, and even implica�ons
of the incarna�on. This ma�ers because it is
the incarna�on of the Word that jus�fies the
project of Chris�an psychology and its evangeli-
cal mission. Orthodox hymnography for Christ-
mas is helpful here.
When Augustus reigned alone on the earth,
the many kingdoms of mankind came to an
end; and when you became man from the
pure Virgin, the many gods of idolatry were
destroyed; the ci�es of the world passed un-
der one single rule; and the na�ons came to
believe in one single Godhead; the peoples
were enrolled by decree of Caesar; we the
faithful were enrolled in the name of the
Godhead, when you became man, O our
God. Great is your mercy, Lord; glory to you!
(Vespers, Christmas Day).
All liturgical transla�ons are by Ephrem Lash, available online h�ps://web.archive.org/web/20160113113202/
h�p://www.anastasis.org.uk/, accessed 11/1/2024.
67
a therapeu�c agenda that is wholly posi�ve
and indeed even cheerful:
Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, as we tell of
the present mystery. The middle wall of par-
��on has been destroyed; the sword of fla-
me turns back, the Cherubim withdraw from
the tree of life; and I partake of the delight of
Paradise, from which I was cast out through
disobedience. For the express Image of the
Father, the Imprint of his eternity, takes the
form of a slave, coming forth from a Mother
who did not know wedlock, not undergoing
change; for what he was he has remained:
true God; and what he was not he has taken
up, becoming man through love for mankind.
To him let us cry out: God, born from a Virgin,
have mercy on us.
The incarna�on changes all humanity, indeed
all crea�on, for the be�er. While not yet perso-
nally embraced by all, by taking on our humani-
ty the Son unites each human being ontologi-
cally to the Father and so offers all the poten�al
of new life. To be sure, the therapist ought
not to lose sight of the concerns that bring the
client to therapy. However, the Chris�an clinici-
an has the unique privilege and obliga�on to
see the client’s suffering in light of the “secret”
of the incarna�on.
Secretly you were born in a cave, but heaven
proclaimed you to all, using the star as its
mouth, O Saviour. It brought you Magi, who
worshipped you in faith. Have mercy on them
and on us.
As the incarna�on was both seen and yet unse-
en, known and yet unknown, so too the work of
the Holy Spirit is hidden in the depths of the hu-
man heart only slowly coming to light. And,
even then, it is only seen “through a glass, dark-
ly” and known only “in part” (1 Cor. 13:12). This
means that a certain lack is inherent even in an
ac�ve Chris�an faith.