Binding Up the Brokenhearted

Binding Up the Broken-Hearted
By Jenny Komenda after Asta Nørregaard

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
Psalms 147:2-3

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Amid life’s trials and difficulties, we often find ourselves in the posture of waiting, not unlike the figures in this painting. This is the essence of our human experience — marked by moments of suffering, sickness, and despair, where our hearts ache for the presence of Christ to bring solace and hope — as well as the glorious promise of that hope’s ultimate realization. As Jesus himself described His mission to a skeptical Nazarene audience, He was called and anointed “to preach good tidings unto the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

Still, in our times of painful waiting, we may vacillate between despair and hopefulness, between doubt and faith. The painting suggests a variety of human emotions in the face of suffering, but also a universal longing for healing and wholeness. In our journey of faith, we are likewise called to wait on Christ, not in passive resignation, but with a hope that transcends our circumstances.

True discipleship, true waiting on Christ, calls us to a deeper transformation. It beckons us to mirror the compassionate presence of Christ in the world, just as the Good Samaritan tended to the wounded traveler. As Christ Himself said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Thus, as we wait for our own healing, we can find purpose in comforting the afflicted, caring for the sick, and supporting those in despair. The words of St. Francis of Assisi resonate: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” Through our actions, we can become the vessels through which Christ’s love and healing flow into the world.

As we reflect on our own seasons of waiting, let us remember that Christ is with us in the midst of every trial. His transformative love can change our despair into hope and our doubt into unwavering faith. In our waiting, may we not only seek solace, but become the bearers of Christ’s solace to those who wait alongside us, for it is through that Christlike service that we truly encounter the Master Healer. In the words of Mother Teresa: “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”

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