The Chaplain as Spiritual Guide

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The Chaplain as Spiritual Guide
Rev. Douglas S. Hardy, PhD Professor of
Spiritual Formation Director, DMin
Program Nazarene Theological Seminary dshardy_at_nts.
edu
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i - words
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i - dol
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Exodus 32
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i - con
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An icon (eikon) is a religious painting or
picture, which is understood to act as a window
through which the worshipper may catch a closer
glimpse of the divine than would otherwise be
possible. (McGrath, 60-61)
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Psalm 96
4For great is the LORD, and greatly to be
praised he is to be revered above all gods.5For
all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the
LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are
before him strength and beauty are in his
sanctuary.
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Idols Icons
Mirror Window
Look at Look with
(or through)
Self now Presence of culture the
divine
Create Discover
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Icons in Eastern Orthodoxy have served the Church
as spiritual guides

• helping form a sensibility to the presence of
  the divine

• inviting persons to commune with a personal
  sacred presence

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The Chaplain as Icon (Not Idol)

• helping form a sensibility to the presence of
  the divine (Emmanuel, God-with-us)

• inviting believers to commune with a personal
  sacred presence (the risen Christ)

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The Chaplain as Icon (Not Idol)
1. we look at those we serve (so their gaze can
meet ours)
2. we invite them to actively participate in the
gaze (to see and be seen)
3. we help create a new space between us for
experiencing God
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The Chaplain as Icon (Not Idol)
4. we model for tutor them in waiting and
receiving
5. we model for tutor them in unkowing and
mystery
6. we help them to recognize the many things
that can be(come) iconic for them
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Sources Garcia-Rivera, Alejandro. Aesthetics.
The Blackwell Companion to Christian
Spirituality, Arthur Holder (editor).
Wiley- Blackwell, 2011. Heib, Marianne. Icon
Space and Spiritual Direction. Presence 22
(1996). McGrath, Alister E. Christian
Spirituality An Introduction. Blackwell, 1999.