Wounded Glory

Apr 22

“He is Risen as He said.”

Scripture commentator, William Barclay, stated: “Jesus did not come to make life easy. Jesus came to make us great.”

As we see so clearly in the life of Jesus, greatness is not measured by a challenge-free life. Greatness is a function of how well one works through and transcends challenges in life! And to drive home that point, as great as the Risen Jesus was, He still bore the wounds of His betrayal, arrest, interrogation, rejection, humiliation, crucifixion, and death. But those wounds did not have the last word. And remarkably enough, it was the presence (NOT the absence) but the presence of those very same wounds that convinced the apostles – particularly, Thomas – of Christ’s greatness and glory.

Life being what it is, we all bear wounds of sadness, setbacks, struggles, failure, disappointments, misunderstandings, or loss. Like the apostles hiding in the upper room, we might allow our wounds to drive us into some secluded emotional, relational, or spiritual corner, letting life’s heartaches and heartbreaks have the last word. St. Francis de Sales observed:

"We must often remind ourselves that our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance, and that we must work out our salvation in the midst of sufferings and afflictions, enduring with all possible forbearance the injuries, denials, and discomforts we may meet."

Jesus incorporated the scars of His wounded humanity into His glorified body; the power of the Father’s love transformed and triumphed over His wounds, making them the source of life and love for others. To the extent that we can recover – even grow – through our woundedness, we can experience even now something of the healing, transforming power of the Resurrection and be sources of that same healing, transforming power in the lives of others.

Jesus did not come to make life easy. Jesus came to make us great. Wounded as we are, let us have the confidence and the courage to be great like Jesus was…together.