God Shares Our Pain: Lessons from the Adoration Chapel

"Sticks and stones can break our bones, but words can never hurt us."

I'm sitting here, fairly late at night, in the Adoration Chapel at my church. It's quiet; it's dimly lit. It feels holy.

I want to leave to write these words that have come to me, but I can't bring myself to leave the comfort and peace. So instead, I sit here, writing on my phone, praying for the words of the Holy Spirit.

A few minutes ago, before this sudden urge to write hit me, I was kneeling down, staring at the Host, trying to open my ears and my heart to God.

And what I heard, was the phrase above. "Sticks and stones..."

We all know how it goes. We all probably sang it as a child, and we all understand that its meaning isn't really true. Those of us who have lived more than a handful of years know just how deeply words can hurt.

But as I sat here listening to it tonight, I started thinking of the other half. The flesh part. The broken bones part.

And I looked up at the Host, and I remembered that it's not just the soul and divinity of our Lord. It's His body and blood too. He didn't feel it was enough to leave us with just His spirit. He knew we needed His body as well. He knew that to enter into our world, He needed a body because he knows it is more than a mere vessel for our souls.

And I contemplate that body and all it did on those thirty some years on Earth. There were definitely hugs and warm blankets and soft winds brushing His body, but we all know there was a whole lot more.

We learned that the damage they tried to inflict upon Him was by humiliating Him in the flesh. They put a crown upon his head; they whipped his body; they hammered nails into his flesh.

And I'm not sure how much I have ever really contemplated that before.

God is God. He is so much More. But he took on the human body, and he took on all that came with that.

And I think there's a lot of healing we can find in that.

Have people tried to shame our bodies? Have they used them to hurt us? Have they tried to define us by what our bodies do or what can be done to them? Have they objectified them or defiled them or used them to absorb punches or knives?

It's easy to think that what harm can be done to a body can be fixed with a cast or with a bandaid. But as I sit here in front of our Lord, I am reminded that our bodies are a part of us just as our spirits are, and to damage one can damage the other.

Our hearts are not our only vulnerability.

But as with all things, Jesus trode the road first. He paved the way. And in our silent, holy moments, we can look to him and find comfort in the companionship he freely provides us on our journey.

He didn't have to pave the way. But He did. And we can rest in the comfort that provides.