The Reverend Evan D.

Howard: The Best Remedy for Sadness

The spiritual truth at the heart of Christianity is the best remedy for sadness, but it only works when we believe this truth and live in its power daily. The truth I'm speaking about is this: The wounds of Jesus Christ were his greatest source of suffering but they became his greatest source of healing for others. During the Easter season, we focus on the experience of Thomas, the doubting disciple, and the wounds of Jesus are prominent. Please notice something very important: The way Jesus relates to his wounds is radically different from the way we typically relate to ours. At some point, life wounds us all, and sometimes the wounds cut into the marrow of our bones and the arteries of our hearts. We get wounded by loss, betrayal, sickness, disappointment, rejection, failure, defeat, and so much else. And what is our response? So often we fall into self-pity, into anger and depression, into hurting others, into comparing our hard road with someone else's easy street. But look at Jesus. There's no self-pity, anger, or sadness in him. In his relationship with Thomas, his wounds are his greatest asset. When we stop lamenting the ways life has hurt us and begin seeing our wounds as our greatest gifts, our entire perspective on who we are and what we have to give changes. If there is any remedy for sadness it's this: Embrace your wounds as Jesus embraced his, and then become a wounded healer for others, as he did.