Tuesday, July 31, 2012

THE  INCURABLE  WOUND
 
INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 17 Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “The Incurable Wound!”

That’s part of a sentence in today’s first reading from Jeremiah 14: 17. Other English  translations: “a most grievous injury”[JB]; “a very painful wound” [JSB]; “a cruel blow” [NEB]; “deeply wounded and badly hurt” [GNB];  “mortally wounded” [LB]; “a very grievous blow” [KJV].

BACKGROUND - THE BACK STORY

Jeremiah is screaming, praying, challenging, yelling at God for what is happening in Israel. First it’s a drought - and then on top of that a war is going on - both of which bring sickness, plague, death to so many. Jeremiah blames everything on the sins of the people worshipping false Gods. This was what was happening under Jehoiakim [609-598 B.C.] This takes place in the south - in  Jerusalem and Judah. Jeremiah is begging God for an end to the horrors - and a healing of a wound that seems incurable.

I can hear the people of Syria screaming these very same screams today - along with the people in the Sudan and other parts of the world where war and violence and horror take place on a daily basis.

PROBING WITH QUESTIONS

One of the first thing a doctor asks is: “Where does it hurt?”

If someone asked us that question right now, how would we answer that question: “Where does it hurt?”

Question: Have we ever had a really nasty wound - that seemed incurable - a wound that just wouldn’t heal -  a hurt - that wouldn't go away.

We have heard stories of family fights and cutting disasters - that won’t heal - ongoing unforgiving fights over wills and who took care of parents.

Then we have heard over and over again about sexual abuse cases. People have been wounded for life  in these crimes by those who prey on children.

And there is the double whammy, recent reports indicate that those who are sex offenders, can’t be healed of their mind set and disorder.

Question: How do we bring any of this to a practical turn for the better and not a turn for the worse?

JULY 31 - FEAST OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

Today is the feast of St. Ignatius. We might know he was hit by a cannonball in battle and legs were injured - one shattered. He was operated on and he also had to be reoperated on. He ended up with one leg shorter than the other and he walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

We know in his recovery period - he discovered a deeper wound in his soul - that he didn’t know how it could be healed. His conscience troubled him deeply - from his past. The books he wanted didn’t work. The books he got, a life of Christ and the lives of the saints gave him hope - but only after deep reflection - and when what they said sunk in. Slowly he healed.

I think of one of my favorite saints, St. Camillus de Lellis, whose feast was July 18th. His leg was wounded and infected and sore for years. It kept on getting worse - but it brought him to a holy place - and he was healed.

So yes some wounds are ongoing; some are  incurable; but the deepest spriritual and personal wounds can be cured - please God.

HOW - SOME SUGGESTIONS - A CONCLUSION

I went looking for answers  and quotes last night and came up with these three  answers for now and a few interesting quotes:

1) Admit you're hurting. Admit you've been wounded in life. Show your wounds to someone. Bring them to God Talk. Talk to someone - the right person or doctor. Cuts heal better in fresh air. 

In Vergil’s Aeneid, there is line, “Tacitum vivit sub pectore, volnus.” “Deep in her chest still lives the secret wound.” 

Horace wrote in one of his letters, “Stultorum incurata pudor malus ulcera celat.” “Fools, through false shame, conceal their open wounds.”  

So step one - admit and acknowledge our hurts and wounds.

2)  Realize it takes time to heal. Time heals all wounds. 

Shakespeare - in Othello - Act II, scene 3, line 259, has someone say, “What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” 

That’s an old saying. 

Heinrik Ibsen in Brand, Act. IV, has someone say, “Many a wound must be probed till it bleeds before you are cured of your sickness.” 

If someone has been hurting for a long time, sometimes it takes a long time for a healing. 

The gospel story of the woman who was bleeding for 12 years and was healed instantly by just touching Jesus, would be nice. 

If the hurt is another remember Jane Ace’s one liner: “Time wounds all heels.” There’s a lot of truth to that. Most word it this way: “What goes around comes around.”  Of course we have to hesitate about that one, because it might just add to the hurt.

3) Accept scars. They are part of the healing process. Byron in Childe Harold, Canto III, stanza 84 [1816] writes, “What deep wounds ever close without a  scar?”  

And John Oldham, in his work, Satires  upon the Jesuits, No. 3. [1680] wrote, A wound, tho’ cured, yet leaves behind a scar.”  

Scars can be ugly or unsightly, but they are a sign of healing. 

Anyone want to see my scars?


OOOOOOOOOO




Painting on top: Untitled Wound [1990-91], Oil Painting by Michael Clark [1954-  ]













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