Advent Week 4

Hope For Those Who Are Wounded

Monday, December 23

Wounded Healer

Luke 2: 34-35

    In 1972, a Roman Catholic priest named Henri Nouwen wrote a classic book on ministry called THE WOUNDED HEALER. Speaking most directly to professional ministers, Nouwen said that ministers are called to bandage other's wounds even as they are bandaging their own wounds.

    I had graduated from seminary in 1972, become pastor of my first fulltime church, while trying to be a good husband and father to my young children. As a part of this process, I was learning that not everyone approved of what I was doing and what I was saying as a minister. Fortunately, the church was growing, but I experienced the pain of rejection, disapproval, and the other wounds that every pastor experiences.

    That's why Nouwens book, THE WOUNDED HEALER, was so important to me. Not only clergy but also each of us in the church has been wounded or will be wounded in some way. Perhaps, it's something unexpected that changes our lives. Maybe, it's the pain of misunderstanding, rejection, or something not going the way we wanted. The question is, "Do we stop to bandage our wounds or do we continue to care for others in Jesus' name even as we tend to our own wounds.'

    These words in the second chapter of Luke remind us that the coming of the Christ brings it's own wounds. Simeon had been waiting at the Temple in Jerusalem for the coming of the Messiah. When his parents brought Jesus to the Temple, Simeon was overcome with joy and broke into song.

    After the song Simeon turned to Mary, Jesus' mother, and warned, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul to."

    Since we know the whole story of Jesus' life, we know that Simeon's words prove true. Yet, Jesus and his mother also never stopped their mission. What gave them hope and what gives us hope is that somehow God is in all of it shaping even the worst things for God’s sake.

    Sometimes, we may want to give up. I'll always remember Nouwen's words "Bandage other's wounds even as you are bandaging your own."

Dr. Charles Bugg