Have you ever read a book that changed your life? I have.
The Wounded Healer
by Henri Nouwen (1932-1996). Henri Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor of Yale and Harvard, writer and theologian. As I read it and I faced my deepest wound, I found myself free from that which had long laid upon my shoulder and from the bottom of the heart: “our wounds can become a source of healing in our relationships with others.”
Nobody escapes being wounded in many different ways. We all are wounded people. When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers. I have known many other wounded healers such as St. Paul, St. Augustine, Martin Luther and even Mother Teresa. They were all suffering from their own darkness of doubt, moral battles and fear and depression. They all shared their own journeys of woundedness with us and became our sources of healing.
I learned that within each of us is everything we need to heal. These wounded healers help us find within us the seed of healing. Jesus as the wounded healer tries to show us that “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) God is residing within each one of us, waiting to be awakened. Without facing our brokenness or woundedness, this healing does not happen. Jesus showed our brokenness and deep wounds on the cross.
“In the sharing of my weakness with others, the real depths of my human brokenness and weakness and sinfulness started to reveal itself to me, not as a source of despair but as a source of hope. True healing mostly takes place through the sharing of weakness.” The wounded healer path may begin when we face our wounds, but it continues for a lifetime. We are saved yet our salvation is not completed. Many Protestant pastors have loved Henri Nouwen’s writings because we sensed and felt his own struggles. (He had been gay. There had been pressure on him to out himself while he was living, but he did not.) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5) Jesus Christ suffered and died to heal us of our sins.
Reflection:
“The more I try to disentangle myself from the darkness, the darker it becomes. I need light to conquer my darkness, and that I cannot bring about myself.” (Nouwen) How can we become wounded healers? Share your own stories and listen attentively to other’s stories, too; Don’t advise. Instead just share what you found helpful for you.
Pastor Seok-Hwan
