Exploring The Wounds of Christ
If you ever want to see an example of perfect vulnerability, look at a crucifix. Christ's vulnerability had to be perfect, for it is through His brokenness, through his vulnerability that we are united to Him.
In the beginning, Adam was given a beautiful gift, a helper; Eve. Seeing that there was none among the animals fit for man's helper, God casts a sleep over Adam, and forms Eve from the rib from Adam's side, closing up the flesh in its place. The sleep of Adam in the Garden gave life to his bride, who was born from his very side, his very flesh. Adam arose, resurrected from his original solitude, entering into a deep communion with Eve.
From the beginning, the biblical narrative informs us of the deep and immediate union and intimacy of the man and his wife. The perfect union of Adam and Eve with each other in their original innocence was symbolized by their unashamed nakedness.
This biblical narrative is crucially important as it predisposes us to understanding the relationship between Christ and the Church.
Christ's death on the cross is much like the sleep of Adam. Just as Eve was born from the side of a sleeping Adam, so too is the birth of the Church, the Bride of Christ, symbolized by the blood and water flowing from the side of the dead Jesus.
But when Christ arises from His sleep, the flesh in His side has not been closed in place. Instead, the risen Christ carries His wounds as the symbol and the entrance into union and intimacy with Him.
Christ invites each of each into His Wounds and into His Passion, just as He invited the apostle Thomas into the wound on His side.
But Christ inviting us into His Wounds is not the end of intimacy, it is the beginning. We must also invite Christ into our own wounds and weaknesses. We must invite our brothers and sisters into our wounds and weaknesses.
It is not enough that I invite Christ into my wounds, and for Him to invite me into His. I am not the Bride of Christ. I am but a member of that Mystical Body. If the members of the body stop communicating their hurts with one another, the other parts cannot save it and restore itself to integrity and health. Christ tells us when we are giving to the needy not to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing. But while this is a good statute to live by when it concerns performing good works, it does not carry over into our brokenness. Just as Christ becomes weak and opens His Heart to us, we must do the same for the other members of His body.
We are called to participate in the vulnerability and the sacrifice of Christ. We don't need to be sharing our success stories with our brothers. We need to be sharing our struggles.
This does not mean we complain to one another about our hurt feelings, and that we struggle with the same sins over and again. Rather, we imitate Christ. Christ did not use His wounds to seek pity. He invited us into His wounds to seek intimacy and communion with us, His Church. He showed us ultimately that He is one of us. He is God made Man, we are flesh of His flesh. He became like us so that we may become like Him, and He shows us this by inviting us into His Wounds.
We also must invite our brothers into our own wounds, not to seek pity, but to seek communion and intimacy. By doing this we remind each other that we are the same, we are one, one body in Christ Jesus who saves us through His Wounds.
Through our own vulnerability, we can invite our brothers into the Wounds of Christ.
And remember, if you ever want to see an example of perfect vulnerability, look at a crucifix.
Jesus, hide us deep within the wounds of your Most Sacred Heart!
In the beginning, Adam was given a beautiful gift, a helper; Eve. Seeing that there was none among the animals fit for man's helper, God casts a sleep over Adam, and forms Eve from the rib from Adam's side, closing up the flesh in its place. The sleep of Adam in the Garden gave life to his bride, who was born from his very side, his very flesh. Adam arose, resurrected from his original solitude, entering into a deep communion with Eve.
From the beginning, the biblical narrative informs us of the deep and immediate union and intimacy of the man and his wife. The perfect union of Adam and Eve with each other in their original innocence was symbolized by their unashamed nakedness.
This biblical narrative is crucially important as it predisposes us to understanding the relationship between Christ and the Church.
Christ's death on the cross is much like the sleep of Adam. Just as Eve was born from the side of a sleeping Adam, so too is the birth of the Church, the Bride of Christ, symbolized by the blood and water flowing from the side of the dead Jesus.
But when Christ arises from His sleep, the flesh in His side has not been closed in place. Instead, the risen Christ carries His wounds as the symbol and the entrance into union and intimacy with Him.
Christ invites each of each into His Wounds and into His Passion, just as He invited the apostle Thomas into the wound on His side.
But Christ inviting us into His Wounds is not the end of intimacy, it is the beginning. We must also invite Christ into our own wounds and weaknesses. We must invite our brothers and sisters into our wounds and weaknesses.
We are called to participate in the vulnerability and the sacrifice of Christ. We don't need to be sharing our success stories with our brothers. We need to be sharing our struggles.
This does not mean we complain to one another about our hurt feelings, and that we struggle with the same sins over and again. Rather, we imitate Christ. Christ did not use His wounds to seek pity. He invited us into His wounds to seek intimacy and communion with us, His Church. He showed us ultimately that He is one of us. He is God made Man, we are flesh of His flesh. He became like us so that we may become like Him, and He shows us this by inviting us into His Wounds.
We also must invite our brothers into our own wounds, not to seek pity, but to seek communion and intimacy. By doing this we remind each other that we are the same, we are one, one body in Christ Jesus who saves us through His Wounds.
Through our own vulnerability, we can invite our brothers into the Wounds of Christ.
And remember, if you ever want to see an example of perfect vulnerability, look at a crucifix.
Jesus, hide us deep within the wounds of your Most Sacred Heart!
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