… for the week of April 27, 2025
Scar Stories
Do you know a person without any scars? It is hard to imagine anyone getting through the years without a few cuts and scrapes, or worse. Some scars we regard with a sense of humor, even pride. These tend to be the marks of superficial injuries that we describe in stories with mostly happy endings. But other scars lay bare deeper physical and emotional pain—the scars of trauma, heartbreak, loss. These are precisely the wounds that benefit most from the attentiveness of others but may be harder to talk about.
If you were to guess what physical form the risen Jesus would take on Easter evening, would you imagine that any sign of suffering and shame would remain? And yet, his scars are intact. What remarkable continuity between the Jesus the disciples have known and the Jesus they encounter in resurrection.
Even more remarkable is Jesus’ readiness to draw attention to his scars. “Peace be with you,” he greets them (John 20:19). Then he immediately shows them his hands and his side, as if to say, “See my scars? These are the signs of my suffering. They will always be part of me, even though I’ve overcome them.”
In this way, Jesus models courageous vulnerability. If he can tell his scar story, defying the shame of the cross, then maybe his friends can tell theirs too. Rather than locking their pain away, the disciples have permission to throw open the doors. They can own their grief instead of letting it own them.
Easter does not erase Good Friday. Risen life incorporates our scars. But by acknowledging our pain and the pain of others, we bear one another’s burdens in the spirit of Christ. This mutual caring engenders trust and closeness. And together we can tell our scar stories with confidence, making way for healing and new life.
Devotional message based on the readings for April 27, 2025, reprinted from sundaysandseasons.com.
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… Happy Easter