Ericson: Wounded Healers
“May our Lord Jesus Christ, who walks on wounded feet, walk with you.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, who serves with wounded hands, serve with you.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, who loves with a wounded heart, love with you.
And may you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet.
And may the blessing of God the Father, God the Son,
And God, the Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always. Amen!” —Borrowed from Assisting Priest Bill Ericson, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
It takes some time to realize how our difficulties—or what Stuart Hoke would call our own darkness—can prepare us to minister to others and connect to Christ. When we redeem our woundedness and have worked through it, we are called to reach out to others who have also been wounded.
Knowing this while we are being harmed or when the wounds are still raw and open is usually not helpful or comforting. But with time, our prayers can bring our wounds to the recovery room and move from victim to survivor—and eventually become healers ourselves.
The scars do not go away but are reminders that we share these wounds with Christ and the rest of a suffering world. I eventually share this prayer with spiritual friends seeking answers to their unexplained suffering. Over time, we will be able to connect our wounds to Christ.
There are no easy answers, but it helps to realize that we are not alone and that the God we are trying to connect to also knows about suffering. God suffers with us and alongside us, reaching out to us through God’s own wounds to offer connection and healing.
This wood and bronze sculpture by Gurdon Brewster is titled “Welcome Home.” It is in the Chapel of Saint Augustine of Hippo at the former Cathedral College of Preachers at the National Cathedral in Washington. For so many years, this cross has been my image of the wounded Christ caring for us in our wounds and teaching us how to do the same.
We are thrilled to learn that the College has been renovated and reopened as a new conference and retreat center, now named The Virginia Mae Center. It is part of the National Cathedral’s Cathedral College of Faith and Culture.
We are indeed wounded healers, even more so since we have suffered in many ways through the former pandemic and our political unrest. We are called to minister to those in our community, our nation, and the world who are now hurting.
Joanna. Joannaseibert.com
Thank you for supporting our camp and conference center, Camp Mitchell, located atop Petit Jean Mountain, by purchasing this book as part of the daily series of writings for the liturgical year, A Daily Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter. If you enjoy this book, could you please take a moment to write a brief recommendation on its Amazon page? https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Spiritual-RX-Lent-Easter/dp/0578425130/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=joanna+seibert&qid=1620904788&sr=8-3
More thank-you’s than we can say!!!