Wounded And Healed

“But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him” (Luke 10: 33-34).

The story of the Good Samaritan has long been one of my favorite scripture passages. It is a beautiful illustration of how we are to love and serve one another as Christians. This time when I read it, I was struck by one word in particular as I reflected on this passage from the Gospel of Luke. That word is “wounds.”

As I meditated on this word so that I might more fully understand why the word “wounds” stood out this time as I read this passage, I perceived a similarity between the way physical and emotional wounds are healed.

Upon continued reflection, I was taken back to a time when I was nine years old and fell on the playground during a game of tag, suffering a physical wound that was quite nasty.  The injury to my leg was severe enough to require a trip to the emergency room and no less than 12 stitches just below my right knee. I remember the excruciating pain that ensued as the nurse scrubbed the wound to disinfect it.  I then received a shot in the wound itself, causing even more pain.  Before leaving the emergency room, an antibiotic was applied to the injury and the wound was dressed to prevent bacteria from infecting the area.

Emotional wounds can be similar. When someone hurts us with their actions or words, these emotional wounds can be quite “nasty” and “painful” – not unlike the injury to my leg. Just as a physical wound left unattended can become infected, so can an emotional wound. If not cared for, emotional wounds can infect us with anger, hate, revenge, bitterness and much more.  We know what could happen to an infected physical wound if we did not take action to keep the infection from spreading; it could lead to even death. If we fail to treat our emotional wounds with the same urgency as we do our physical wounds, the result could end in death as well – spiritual death.

What must we do to heal these emotional wounds? What antibiotic can be used to prevent/treat infection? I suggest the answer is forgiveness. We need to look no further than the Good Samaritan as an example of this. While he literally helped the injured Jewish man to heal a physical wound, I would surmise that, before that happened, he had experienced the healing of an emotional wound. You see, in the time of Jesus, Samaritans and Jews were bitter enemies. The Samaritan showed the kind of love that Jesus taught us, and I believe that could have only happened if there had been forgiveness first.

I will be the first to admit that forgiveness does not come easily. As I am currently participating in a bible study at my parish, one session in particular challenged me to the core; that was the one on forgiveness. I have found there is a lot of forgiving that needs to be tended to in my life.  I need to forgive myself as well as others. I also need to make amends for those times I have inflicted emotional wounds on others. To be a truly forgiving person, I have come to the conclusion that I need to go to the “emergency room,” just as I did to tend to that physical wound as a young child. I need strength from the grace received in the sacrament of reconciliation.  After all, Jesus told us we are forgiven as we forgive others — one cannot occur without the other.

As the Lenten season continues, let us pray together that we will be inspired by the example of the Good Samaritan. May that inspiration lead to forgiveness and healing, and bring us to the new life promised by Christ on Easter morning.

Brenda Hopf is a member of Divine Mercy Parish in Dubois County and also contributes to the “Sharing the Load” column in The Message.