Posts tagged “depression

Sermo Dei: Psalm 69

Posted on July 18th, 2012

The Psalmist is in despair. He is in emotional, psychological, spiritual trouble. He is also quite literally threatened by enemies. His trouble he describes as flood-waters. Today we use the term “overwhelmed.” Crying out to God, he says, “The waters have come up to my neck.” He is also trapped, as in quicksand: “I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold.” He has worn himself out crying his prayers, and wailed such that he has a sore throat; he has spent sleepless nights, but has found no answer. “I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.” A physician or psychologist would certainly diagnose the Psalmist as depressed. To what extent…

Is it okay to take anti-depressants?

Posted on March 2nd, 2012

Russell Moore tackles this question from a reader: Dear Dr. Moore, Not long ago, my doctor prescribed me as having a (relatively) mild form of depression. He put me on an anti-depressant. I hate the side effects, and I don’t like the way it makes me feel, but maybe I’ll get used to it. My biggest struggle is whether it is right to be on these at all. If I have the Holy Spirit, why do I need this drug? Is it ethical for a Christian to take drugs like this? Dazed and Confused Click here to read his very sensible answer. Here are some of my own thoughts on the topic: If you struggle with depression, it’s okay. You’re not alone. Here’s what…

Singing and sadness

Posted on February 27th, 2010

I was looking for this Luther quote the other day and couldn’t find it. Entirely unrelated, I was just reading in The Lutheran Study Bible on Job 36 and Serendipity! When sadness comes to you and threatens to gain the upper hand, then say: Come, I must play our Lord Christ a song on the organ (be it the Te Deum laudamus or the Benedictus); for Scripture teaches me that He loves to hear joyful song and stringed instruments. and strike the keys with a will, and sing out until the thoughts disappear, as David and Elisha did. If the devil returns and suggests cares or sad thoughts, then defend yourself with a will and say: Get out, devil, I must now sing and…

Thanksgiving Divine Service sermon

Posted on November 26th, 2009

Text: St. Luke 17:11-19 When St. Paul describes why God is full of wrath toward mankind, he gives this reason: “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (Rom. 1.21). The failure of mankind to give thanks to the Creator is no mere breach of etiquette, no mere failure to send a cosmic thank-you note. At the heart of man’s ingratitude is hubris, the attempt to seize the things of God’s creation as though they belonged to us by right. When our first father grasped what was not given to him, God evicted him from his home in Eden. Man became a wanderer, a sojourner. He became homeless, and the whole human race has been homeless…

Book on Lutheran View of Depression now available

Posted on June 21st, 2009

LCMS World Relief/Human Care is publishing a book by Pr. Todd Peperkorn on depression. The book is entitled I Trust When Dark My Road. I just ordered a large quantity to give away to all the members of Immanuel; if you’d like to order your own physical copy, click here; the book will be available next month. Or, to download a PDF now, click here. There is also a blog dealing with issues of depression and mental disorders by the same title: I Trust When Dark My Road – I highly recommend it. UPDATE: I didn’t want to wait for the physical copy to arrive, and I’m not going to print the thing out. I saved it as a bookmark in Safari (my bookmarks…

Depression and Natural Sorrow

Posted on April 24th, 2009

Courier-Journal religion writer Peter Smith explores issues of church and depression raised in a recent issue of Christianity Today. He notes something that I believe to be true: pastors and churches are ignorant regarding clinical depression, which only ends up hurting the people we are called to help. Here’s a sample: Probably the best part of the issue was what wasn’t included — medical-spiritual quackery that tragically misdiagnoses real suffering. Religious leaders do not have a good track record in this area. In a Baylor University survey of Christians who had been medically diagnosed with mental illnesses, one-third of them had been told by their pastors that their problem was spiritual, such as unconfessed sin or demonic possession. You can read the whole piece here. I…

First Sunday after Epiphany

Posted on January 13th, 2009

The Gospel reading is the historic one for this Sunday: Luke 2.41-52. In today’s Gospel, Mary and Joseph take Jesus to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When the feast is over, Joseph and Mary begin the journey home, traveling with a large group of their relatives and friends. They imagine that Jesus is with them, probably running along the road with the other young boys while the adults talked about everything they had seen and done in the temple and throughout the great city. But Jesus is not with them. He is lost. And that is the first application for us today. Sometimes we “lose” Jesus, too; i.e., sometimes we can experience a crisis of faith, where we stop looking to, trusting in,…

Post-Palin/Biden Debate Diversions

Posted on October 3rd, 2008

Mark Hemingway, in Socialism in the Treasury Chest, observes that if you think the bailout is a good idea, “you may well be an idiot.” R.R. Reno is no idiot, even if he does support the bailout. He’s wrong, but nevertheless has some good things to say about greed over at First Things. Matthew Harrison details C.F.W. Walther’s depression/breakdown here and here. Speaking of depression, the poem “Teeth” might make you laugh. I did. Obama supporters are voting early and often, in states where they may not have legal residency, and may do it again and again, while you fund it. How did we get in this financial mess? Something about too many subprime loans? In 1994, Obama sued Citibank for not issuing enough…

Zoloft as ad-hominem attack

Posted on August 22nd, 2008

If the last acceptable form of bigotry is anti-Catholicism, the second-last is anti-anti-depressants. I’ve observed faithful pastors tossing off one-liners about mega-church pastors being on Zoloft, and it needs to be said: Guys, it’s not funny. Depression is a serious illness that affects both the mind and the body, and those who are afflicted with it often need medication. Sometimes it’s for a few months, but it may be for the rest of their lives. There is a serious stigma attached to the medications, though, that often worsens the problem and prevents people from seeking help. Is medication sometimes misused or unnecessary? Probably. But that doesn’t detract from the very real problems that people have, and the necessity of medication in some cases for…

Trinity 1 + Luke 16.19-31

Posted on May 25th, 2008

Did he get depressed, lying in the dirt? As people passed him by on the road, hurrying to meetings, walking or running for exercise, heading for the store to purchase a present, carrying a bag or basket to market to pick up food for the evening meal, did he get depressed? Perhaps a few people tossed a small coin to Lazarus, but doubtless more passed by with nothing. With guilt some would look away from him; but children drew a little closer to their mother’s skirts when they saw his hideous body, covered with sores, and the more callous adults would stare with revulsion and condescension. Did this make Lazarus sad?   Did he snarl with anger at the passers-by, so cold to his…