Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 817 (Moderate length)

Scarred Love: A Message For Holy Week

by Thomas F. Fischer

The awe-filled Holy Week has come again. Though Christians
throughout the world observe it in a most traditional fashion, the
repeated remembrance is anything but routine.

The glorious but humble entrance into the Holy City on a donkey is
superseded only by a more humble sight: the blood-filled, pierced,
and lifeless body of the One hailed as the King of Kings, Lord of
Lords, the Son of God.

This sight is an unmistakable sign to many. But to all who see it,
it is unmistakably a sign of sacrificial love. This love is not
human, could not be human. But it was demonstrated to humans as a
consequence of the greatest inhumane-ness.

Yet, the cross is a sign of love.

On one hand it is impossible for the finite, sin-full human to
understand the illimitable, unbounded love of God. Others, torn
between reason and revelation, simply cannot resolve the seemingly
irreconcilable. Humankind’s sinful reason denies man’s worthiness.
Humankind’s experience of sin simply confirms the obvious.
Humankind is not worthy of love. Humankind should surely die.

On the other hand, God’s revelation declares “love.” Not just any
love. Divine Love. Sacrificial Love. Yet, though simple, humankind
cannot always understand something so inestimably simple but
overwhelmingly complex.

How can love be demonstrated in spite of such cruelty? How can
there be love in such abuse? How can there be beauty and joy amid
such ugliness?

The answer lies in the story of a child’s stuffed bear.

A five-year-old was given a bear as a birthday present. Immediately
the boy and his bear became attached. The boy named his bear the
simplest name he could muster: “Bear.” The boy took his bear
everywhere. He took it to school. At naptime, the bear was always
there. He took Bear to a friend’s home. Bear always ate, slept, and
played with the boy.

After several months, Bear started to wear out. Stuffing was coming
out of his oft-hugged neck. The legs were loosing up. Bear’s left
eye was barely holding on by a single thread. Bear’s fur was dirty
and bore countless “scars” from participating in the roughhousing
known to boys.

One day the boy’s mother took her son aside. “Son, we have to do
something about this bear. You’ve carried, dragged, and hugged him
so much that Bear is falling apart. Why don’t we go to the store
and get a new bear?”

“No!” the boy protested. “Why not?” Mom replied. “He’s falling
apart. What’s he good for? After all, he’s all tattered, ripped,
and ragged. Why would you want to keep him?

“Because,” the boy explained, “the only reason Bear has rips and
tears and dirt are because Bear has never left me. When I fall,
Bear falls. When I hurt, Bear hurts. I have healed. But Bear can’t.
I love Bear. How can I give Bear up and throw him away when every
time I see Bear’s rips and tears, I see the marks of love?”

This child knows love not by words but by the scars that it leaves.
The message of Christ’s atonement on the cross is a message of
hope. But it is also a message of scars. The nail wounds in His
hands and feet, the back stripped of skin, the forehead pierced
with thorns, and the beaten and abused face and body leave scars.

Amid the dripping blood flowing from His hands and side, Christians
see more than just scars. As from the perspective of a child, they
see beyond the scars. They see love because they see the scars.

The scars cry out louder than the stones. They cry out God’s
message of hope, of joy, of life and, of course, love. “No greater
love has anyone than that he give up his life for a friend.”

Christ’s love for us is not simply “love.” It is a love beyond all
understanding. It is a love which is beyond any doubt. It is
nothing less than “Scarred Love.” This love is pure grace. It is
Grace given for you.

Our ministries often involve hurts of many kinds. Often we are left
scarred. Like St. Paul, we bear on our bodies “the marks [“stigma”]
of Jesus” (Galatians 6:17).

The word “marks” [“stigma”] referred to a practice in the Roman
army. Soldiers were commonly “branded” as being under a specific
commanding officer. The branding was often caused by cutting a mark
in the soldier’s flesh. This mark, “stigma,” identified them with
their leader and their mission. But the mark was also a scar. It
could never be removed without greater scarring or injury.

Those scars which remain in us are the “stigma” which brand us to
Christ. Regardless of the scars ·whether physical, emotional or
spiritual ·and irrespective of the burden of dealing with these
scars, the “stigma” remains. We are our Leader’s. We are identified
in His mission.

Our strength for this mission comes not merely from the Leader’s
words. It comes from His love. And we know His love the same way He
knows our love: the scars.

The message of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is a
message of pain, death, and scars. But unlike pain and death, scars
imply hope and healing. For scars do not occur unless healing has
occurred. Scars cover the wound, complete the healing and leave
their mark. Scars then become a reminder of love, healing and hope.

The pain of ministry will not always exist. The bleeding will not
always linger. The weakness will not always overpower us. For God
will send healing. In love He will give us resurrection and
renewal. With that renewal He will give us a scar. As with St.
Paul, that “scar” marks our mission and our faithfulness in
Christ’s mission of grace.

The love we preach and the love we bear is a unique love. It is a
scarred love. Such is the love of God.

May your Holy Week and Easter proclamation be one which proclaims
this scarred love to bring healing to all God’s people throughout
the world.

Thomas F. Fischer

Ministry Health E-mail Newsletter
Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999 Thomas F. Fischer
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