Brokenness of Jesus a Means of Healing

            

             Jesus experienced an intense form of brokenness when he was rejected by his own, including his most intimate followers, and crucified at Calvary. We hear this most poignantly in his cry of isolation to his Abba, Father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27: 46). Dr. James Adams beautifully writes about the brokenness of Jesus on the cross. In his booklet, Cross Examinations: Stations Of The Cross, one can hear the voice of Jesus saying, 

I was dying – and it hurt. I was alone, so utterly alone. I had never felt that way before. I was sinking to hell and wondered if I would come back. I said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” … Some of you may think I cried “My God, why have you forsaken me?” only because I was reciting a psalm or fulfilling a Scripture passage. But I said that because I felt it profoundly. I was lost. I was despairing, even if I didn’t stay in despair for very long. This cry was not pretending. How could it be? Could I have lived and died as a man without experiencing despair and doubt? 

Adams in the above reflection states that even Jesus in his experience of abandonment on the Cross felt extreme brokenness. If Jesus experienced such intense form of brokenness then can we escape from brokenness? Truly Jesus experienced human brokenness, as the letter to Hebrews also says that he became like us in all ways, except sin. The brokenness of Jesus was not the result of his sins, as can be the case with our brokenness. His brokenness does not bring brokenness to others, but instead brings healing. Can we also allow God to use our brokenness as a means of blessing and healing for others and ourselves? 

John Baptist OFM Cap. | Clinical Counselor & Psychospiritual Resource Person | Pennsylvania, USA

Notes

John Baptist, 2021, Brokenness to Wholeness, Delhi: Media House.