Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

 Be Witnesses to the Risen Lord

Luke 24:36-49
 
 "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
 
In our text today, the resurrected Christ uses his pierced hands and legs to help the disciples identify him. John’s gospel also says that on appearing to the disciples, Jesus wishes them peace, showing them his scars. The wounds of crucifixion serve as a mark of identification and instantly they recognize him and experience joy. In the same line Thomas also identifies and exclaims his faith in the risen Lord saying My Lord and My God after seeing the wounded Christ. It is a spectacular idea that the Resurrected Lord retained his scarred wounds. It is the wounds on Jesus that makes him appealing to me as my personal savior as it provides me with a way to acknowledge and respect my own wounds.
Peter Wehner wrote a meditation in the New York Times titled, Why Is Jesus Still Wounded After His Resurrection? In this he says, “I find the concept deeply moving, that fractures in our lives can be redeemed and leveraged for good. All things, even broken things, can be made new again, and sometimes they can be made even more beautiful. And they need not be hidden, in shadows or in shame. None of this means that people, if they had a choice, would endure the blast furnace of pain and loss, of trauma and shattered lives. It means only that even out of ashes beauty can emerge.” The Risen Lord with his wounds gives me a bit more comfort, hope and confidence when I consider my wounds.
Kintsugi (golden joinery) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Kintsugi is a metaphor for the resurrection because it does not completely erase the wound but transforms brokenness into beauty. Jesus’ resurrection reminds us of God’s ability to repair us into something new. Some of the scars need to remain, for it just may be that God needs our transformed brokenness as components necessary to bring about the kin-dom we’ve been promised.

Prayer
Lord Thank you for the wounds that are shaping us. Help us to embrace them as part of our story, so as to propel us towards a brighter future. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"The wound is the place where the light enters you." - Rumi


Rev Sujith Sam Mammen
Boston Carmel Mar Thoma Church

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