A Spiritual Perspective on the Theology of Woundedness

On the same day, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the evening, Jesus also appeared to the disciples. He showed them the wounds on his hands and his side and said to them “‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained,’” (John 19:20-23). There seems to be a significant theological message the author of John has attempted to convey to us in having Jesus show the disciples some of his wounds beyond simply “proving” Jesus stands before them. There also seems to be a theological message from the author in including the disciples “commissioning” in this same scene. I would propose that Jesus is telling the disciples that to be free to minister to his people with love and compassion, they must first acknowledge their own woundedness and allow it to be transformed, allow it to come into His light that He might use it to transform others. Jesus is not telling them that he is giving them the power to forgive sins, only God has the power to do that. So, what indeed, is he telling them, then?

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Guercino, 1621, The National Gallery

In Pope Francis’ homily of February 17, 2017, he reminds us of how Jesus approached the sepulchre that housed his dead friend, Lazarus. “He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33), and then he wept. As he approached the sepulchre, “he was deeply moved again” (John 11:38). But he does not allow himself to be paralyzed by the trauma of his friend’s death. Instead, he says, “take away the stone” (John 11:37) and “come out” (John 11:43). Pope Francis tells us, “We too are called to decide on which side to stand. One can stand on the side of the sepulchre or on the side of Jesus. There are those who allow themselves to be closed within their pain and those who open up to hope. There are those who remain trapped among the ruins of life, and those who, like you, with God’s help, pick up the ruins of life and rebuild with patient hope.” Our wounds shape our call into ministry, shape our ability to be vessels of the Holy Spirit, enable or block us from being Christ to others. Pope Francis continues, “we have two paths: either stay and wistfully contemplate past and present sepulchres, or allow Jesus to approach our sepulchres. Yes, because each one of us already has a small sepulchre, some area that has somewhat died within our hearts; a wound, a wrongdoing endured or inflicted, an unrelenting resentment, a regret that keeps coming back, a sin we cannot overcome.” Dr. David Wang, professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary tells us, “Someone (Jesus) who has literally gone to hell and back, the Divine Healer, still has wounds. How much more will we have scars?” 

Surrendering Our Sepulchres: How Christ Transforms Our Wounds Into Instruments of Healing

Thomas, who was not there, was still holding onto the anger, pain, and despair of the crucifixion and the loss of his friend and teacher, Jesus. He was still in the sepulchre, symbolically when Jesus came the week before, and now, as evidenced in this scene. “So, the other disciples said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe’” (John 20:25). Thomas’ unbelief was rooted in the trauma of the death of Jesus. Which then causes him, at the very least, to be combative with his friends who have been through the same trauma he has and deserve his compassion and love, and at its worst, the sins of unbelief and unforgiveness. Is Thomas ready to receive the Holy Spirit and minister to others at this point in the story? It is not until Jesus comes and invites him to experience his wounds, the scars from his passion, that Thomas surrenders his own sepulchre. his suffering, to Jesus. And his passionate and heartfelt confession “Oh Lord and my God” (John 20:28) rings in the ears of every believer, even today.

 Our own wounds can cause us to withhold love, withhold forgiveness, not be generous and patient, and many other sins of the heart. These sins of the heart that are rooted in woundedness and block virtuous behavior can then manifest in sinful actions like cursing, gossiping, deliberately undermining someone’s (rightful) authority, not showing up for someone, being angry all the time and taking it out on family, and other sinful behaviors. Really, all of the things we take to the confessional to surrender to God so that he can transform them/us, make more room in our hearts, to love and be loved. Jesus’ invitation to the disciples was not to forget the wounds and the scars that are left once transformed. Instead, as Dr. Wang describes to us, “it means holding them in a different way.” It means meeting people where they are with empathy and compassion because the grace we are given in the surrender of our sepulchres, the wounds, is meant to be shared, used to help to heal others. Every trauma, every wound, involves some kind of loss. These losses must be grieved, as Thomas learned, that they can be healed, integrated, and used to facilitate encounters with Christ for others. In order for us to be ministers of peace, reconciliation, and healing, we must be able and willing to recognize when we are being Thomas, so that we can surrender and become Christ-like. Like the Centurion, we must come to  understand that, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed” (Matthew 8:8).