The Wells of Our Wounds by Nancy R. Smith Is there anyone reading this who has not been spiritually or emotionally wounded at work? The season of Lent is the time when Christians are invited to contemplate the sufferings of Jesus. This is not always an easy calling, for we prefer to avoid suffering and death. Whether because you have felt wounded at work or because it is Lent, I invite you to consider the following: We know God as a wounded, suffering God. Christians worship a God who suffers! We may prefer to skip Lent, Holy Week, and Good Friday and go directly to Easter, but "you can't get there from here!" As Diana L. Eck reminds us in Encountering God: We need the practice of the yearly drama of Holy Week, especially Good Friday, for the time will surely come when in the darkness and grinding grief of death we will need to be able to glimpse God's face.... God wears the face of death... as one who faced suffering and death himself. That is what the incarnation is about. And when people die in all the terrible and untimely ways they die, young and old, God is the first to weep. God does not justify our suffering, God participates in it. |
Wounds are where life and love penetrate. According to Phillip Bennett, in his little book Let Yourself Be Loved, the words wound and wonder come from a common root word meaning to penetrate. Life penetrates us through our wounds! Considering Christ's suffering on our behalf causes us to have to face our own pain as well. God's love uncovers our own wounds and challenges us to look at them in the light of God's love. We can ignore them and let them become infected, or we can use them to teach us how to live and love more fully. Bennett explains: As we experience the healing power of love, we do not merely survive our wounds: we are shaped by them and find new energy in them.... As we experience healing, our wounds never really go away; instead, as they heal they become deep wells within us in which we may feel the pain of the world and respond.... [emphasis added] |
We draw compassion from the wells of our wounds. Henri Nouwen, probably best known for his book The Wounded Healer, reminds us that the real healers among us are those who draw from the compassion they have learned through their own woundings. In the stories of Christ's resurrection, his followers recognize him by his wounds, still visible in his hands, feet, and side. And the New Testament reminds us "by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24 NRSV) As Christ's wounds became a source of hope to his followers, so we can learn to allow our own wounds to make us more compassionate healers for others - even on the job! As difficult as it is, and as frightened as we may be, let us ask God to give us the grace to meditate on the wounds of Christ, the courage to expose our own wounds for God's healing, and the humility to admit our woundedness to each other so that we may become healers for each other. Amen Nancy Smith is a writer, educator, and ordained deacon whose ministry is to link faith and work, spirituality and justice, passion and ethics. From her own commitment to the Christian faith, she affirms the common spiritual experiences of people of all faiths and encourages inter-religious dialogue. Nancy offers Spiritual Life Retreats as well as workshops on Workplace Spirituality and Career Decisions. All are appropriate for both clergy and laity. Visit her web ministry at www.WorkplaceSpirituality.info |
