Developing a Theology of Caring

I was stopped the other day while putting in some documents for my Discernment profile. The fellow wanted to make a time with me to talk about a theology of caring. I have been pondering over his request. What is a theology of caring. I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and really thought about that concept. We commonly refer to theology as the study of God. However, if we look at the root word theology (theologia) it in essence means the logos (word) of God. Caring is the adjective of ‘care’ which is derived from the Middle English word which means sorrow or anxiety. In its adjective form then caring means to have regard for, to attend to, to have an interest in, to have concern for someone or something. A theology of caring then perhaps is best viewed as an understanding of how the logos of God has regard for, attends to, has an interest in or shows concern for someone or something.

It struck me then that in developing a theology of caring one must begin with understanding how the logos of God acts in the world. St John of course wrote and the logos (word) became flesh and tabernacled (dwelt) among us. If we want to understand a theology of caring we simply need to see how Jesus acts in the world. A theology of caring then is expressed in and through the incarnation of God in the world through Christ.

We could look at many examples of the way in which Christ (the logos of God) cared for humanity. This is simply expressed by St Matthew, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, welcome strangers, take care of the sick. Perhaps this is the point one begins in developing a theology of caring.