God is forever full of holes, the marks of his love and compassion and mercy. It may be difficult to look
at him, for we see ourselves too clearly: utter human fragility joined forever
to resurrected divinity. In him we see our reality as individuals, as Church,
as monastic community. It takes courage to gaze upon the passion-gashed Jesus.
For he shows us who are and who we are meant to become more and more - never
poor victims of our sin and bad choices, never mere hapless victims of our
sin-filled histories and misery, never ever wounded wounders, but wounded
healers, wounded forgivers like him. Our wounds are
meant to make us more compassionate.
Jesus has been wounded by his loving us to
death. To become his body now, we must go and do likewise, break the cycle of
hurt by continually being vulnerable and compassionate - pain and sin and hurt-absorbers for
one another. As we look upon Jesus, he reveals who we are - his beautiful
wounded body. No wonder that Saint Bernard will say to Christ: “When you gave me yourself; you gave me back myself.”
