By showing his wounds to his disciples, the resurrected Jesus affirms that all our sorrows, sadness, and wounds are taken seriously.
“Misfortune cannot touch you”, assures Psalm 90, but how can we overcome evil and suffering after Jesus ’ victory over death? The light of the wounds of the resurrected Jesus illuminates the meaning of this very beautiful psalm: “Yes, the Lord is your refuge; you have made the Most High your fortress. Misfortune cannot touch you, nor danger come near your home.” The text resonates as an invitation to experience our pain, our sorrows, and our suffering in the same way that Christ himself went through them during his Passion.
Let yourself be overcome by evil without succumbing to it
Choosing to follow Christ will not prevent us from being confronted with evil or suffering during our lives, but on the other hand, relying with confidence on him will allow us to let evil pass through us, without succumbing to it. -himself, as Christ himself allowed himself to be overcome by evil, pain, and injustice during his Passion. Without refusing them. Neither protest nor recriminate. Evil had no hold on him. Not the shadow of a hook. Not a shadow of a bad answer. Evil remained powerless. Vain. Isn’t this how we can emerge victorious from the many confrontations to which we are subjected throughout our lives? It is not up to us to eradicate evil, but it is up to us to leave no hold on it within us.
Choosing to follow Christ will not prevent us from facing evil or suffering in our lives.
The fact remains that among us, fishermen, the corner, the flaw of sin is deeply inscribed in our hearts… favoring the entry of the bad. Likewise, our lives are marked by sorrow, illness, and mourning. We must therefore fight every day, every moment, only sometimes to survive. Resist. Survive. “God help me, Lord help us”, tirelessly repeats the liturgy of the hours.
Jesus respects our sorrows
Keeping our wounds for eternity is a powerful reminder that God has come to experience our suffering. “I am with him in his trial,” says the psalm. By showing his wounds to his disciples, the Lord affirms that all our sorrows, sorrows, and wounds are taken seriously. Whatever they are, they are never minimized or erased. They are considered and respected to the point that Christ does not erase them from his glorious body after his resurrection.
Carrying our wounds for eternity is the outstretched hand of Christ who tirelessly waits for us to be ready to be raised near him. The Lord does not erase our wounds, he comes to inhabit them. If we let him get close. He took upon himself the suffering, injustice, and sin of the world. In the garden at Gethsemane, he chose to drink the bitter cup of absolute injustice. Out of love for each of us. In his Passion, it was our sorrows and our humiliations that he carried with us. Under a yoke, there are two places. Bearing the yoke with the Lord also means knowing that you are never alone. He came precisely for this, to make us his brothers and offer us Salvation.
With immense gratitude
Let us remember, in the heart of our sorrows and with confidence, that from the height of his suffering, he gives us his mother, the Most Holy Virgin Mary. He also offers us his infinite mercy without measure and equivocation as long as we ask for it with sincerity. He offers us to share his body and his blood. He also leaves us his Word and gives us his Spirit.
It is with these precious weapons that we must lead our lives. And our efforts are tinged with hope since he who is the Way, and who therefore opens the way for us, leads us towards consolation. Confident and full of hope, let us contemplate the wounds of Christ with immense gratitude and absolute confidence. As a powerful reminder that the path of goodness is that which courageously chooses, despite sorrows and wounds, truth and justice rather than the ease of selfishness, indifference, or conformism.
