Rich Wounds

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” ~ John 20:27a

During Holy Week I was listening to music from my college years and found myself overwhelmed with a flood of painful memories. I experienced guilt, shame, rejection and deep sadness. As I wrestled with these old wounds, it suddenly occurred to me that as Our Lord revealed His wounds to His disciples after he had suffered the cross and risen from the dead.

Often we think of the faithful departed as being disembodied spirits, vapors who show no deformity. This idea is present in the Star Wars first trilogy. In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) appears to his son Luke in a vision at the end of the film. If you know the film Darth Vader was horribly deformed in life having burned on a volcanic planet after his defeat in a battle against his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Yet in his appearance to Luke through the force, Anakin shows no sign of the scars. Instead he appears whole and smiling. In the special addition of the film, the younger version of Anakin appears, handsome, viral and complete.

The resurrected Christ, however, bears His scars. He is alive, a new creation, the first born of the dead…and yet Jesus still has the scars from his earthly suffering. Why? Why would God not recreate a whole and unblemished body?

The classic hymn Crown Him With Many Crowns has these words in the text:

Crown Him the Lord of love,Behold His hands and side,

Rich wounds, yet visible above, In beauty glorified.

Crown Him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o'er the grave,

Who rose victorious to the strife For those He came to save.

In some sense the wounds of Christ, the Resurrected One, remind us of His suffering which brought us victory over sin and death and all evil. His death and resurrection are complete and total victory. And as Peter quoted Isaiah, “by His wounds you have been healed.”
Old wounds can surface in our relationships and cause us to feel paralyzed and out of control. We do and say things we regret because of the past pain that has come into our present.

How might you find victory and healing knowing that Christ bears rich wounds that have set you free?

Discuss with your spouse.

If you need to ask forgiveness for past abuses, do so. Trust your spouse with your old wounds and together before Christ pray for healing.