We walk this earth broken, ravaged by sin. Each of us carries deep hurts from our experiences with other people. It could be family, friends, work, church, etc. Wherever there are people there is such brokenness. The problem for each one of us is that we forget that fact. We become blinded by our own duties, experiences, and beliefs. We see the world as ourselves and no other perspective matters. We forget, that as Christians, we are called to bind the wounds of the world. I forget constantly.
I am a mother. My primary role is to protect, teach, and care for my child. How often do I forget that all she yearns for is my love? My authentic, selfless, and total love. She was created with that longing. It is in her nature as a child created in the “image and likeness of God” to desire that love. I am to show her how to fill that restlessness and ache. I am to love her and then show her to the way to Love. I am to direct her to the very reason for her being and that is to look and live in love with the Holy Trinity. To see that it is in God’s very nature, in his essence to love. He can give no less than his infinite, gratuitous love. He is love itself. Yet, even though within me lies that call, how often do I turn away? How often do I turn away from showing my daughter the answer to the question that will haunt her until her time here on earth ends?
It is not just the people within our families who are clamoring for love, acceptance, and peace. There are so many people who do not experience those things within their families, so they seek it in others. How often do we, do I, fail to recognize that need within my neighbor? I am not talking about physical necessities. I am talking about how often I fail to respond to the poverty of love in the people I meet. How often do I refuse to enter into the suffering of someone else out of fear or apathy?
Christ came to bind our wounds. He came to rescue us from sin and death. Pondering the awe of the 2nd Person of the Blessed Trinity becoming man, is stifling. The Creator of the universe looked on his beautiful creation. He looked upon his crowning achievement, man, and knew it was good. How do we repay him? We abandon him to worship ourselves. Even though we violated the very nature of God in disobeying him and choosing a counterfeit, he still would not abandon us. He could have left us in our sin and death. Isn’t that what we do to one another? No, he humbled and lowered himself and took on human flesh. He walked among us. He entered into history that we might know and see him. He endured our sin. He went into the vast ugliness of sin and accepted scourging, mockery, hatred, abandonment, and torture. He even went to the very ends of sin: death and hell.
In light of the Risen Christ, who gave everything to conquer sin and death, we must choose who we want to be. Do I want to bind up the wounds of others? Do I want to show Christ to my family and every person in my path? Will I give myself as an offering day-in-and-day-out to the people God has entrusted to me? Will I choose to follow in his steps? Will I cling to my heart of stone or allow Christ to replace it with a heart of flesh? These are not questions that we asks ourselves once. This is what each one of us must choose to assent to every single day. If I am going to choose to love God, then I am going to have to continue making that choice no matter the pain, anger, fear, or weakness that I may face. Am I going to allow God to be greater than my sin? Can I truly let him come into the deepest recesses of my being and heal my wounds? I cannot bring the healing salve to others if I do not allow God to heal my hurts.
In a society that thrives on individualism, it is easy to forget and admit our brokenness, weakness, and insecurities. I forget so easily that I am a member of the walking wounded. That includes over 6 billion people who are on this planet right now. All of us are wounded, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. As Christians, we have the answer to all of the longing and emptiness of this life. We have the Living God. We are under the care of the Divine Physician. It is now our call to go out and show Jesus Christ to the world. We must start within our families and move out into the world. God bless. Happy Feasts of All Saints and All Souls.
Swimming the Depths 